yune%, 1876] 



NA TURE 



139 



The French Senate and the French Chamber of Deputies, are 

 both of them busy with educational matters. The Government has 

 proposed to the Senate to restore the National Institute of 

 Agriculture, which had been established at Versailles by the 

 second Republic but was abolished by the Empire. The 

 Chamber of Deputies has voted, after a very interesting 

 address delivered by M. Waddington, the Minister for Public 

 Instruction, the first reading of a Bill restoring to the Govern- 

 ment the right of appointing examiners for granting honours to 

 the pupils of the so-called Free Universities. 



The volume of the Zoological Record for 1874 has just reached 

 us. Under the editorship of Mr. E. C. Rye, Librarian to the 

 Royal Geographical Society, Mr. E. R. Alston has undertaken 

 the Mammals, Mr. R. B. Sharpe and Dr. Murie the Birds, Mr. 

 O'Shaughnessy the Reptiles and Fish, Prof. E. von Martens the 

 Molluscs and Crustacea, Rev. O. P. Cambridge the Arachnida, 

 Mr. Rye the Myriapoda and Insects, whilst Dr. C. F. Liitken 

 has taken the lower Invertebrata. Mr. Rye acknowledges a 

 grant of 100/. from the British Association and 50/. from the 

 Zoological Society towards the expenses of the Record. 



The Watford Natural History Society now numbers 170 

 members of all classes. 



The conductors of the' Botanical Locality Record Club have 

 shown themselves amenable to criticism, and have rendered their 

 proceedings muchless obnoxious to the objection at one time raised 

 against them, that they were doing their best to promote the ex- 

 tirpation of rare plants. Their Annual Report for 1875, j^^t 

 issued, is a valuable publication. It is divided into five parts. 

 In the first division they give new " County Records " of various 

 species and sub-species, very few special localities being given ; 

 in the second, a "General Locality List," including all observa- 

 tions of interest made during the year ; in the third, a list of 

 "Extinctions, Reappearances, and Confirmatory Records ; " in 

 the fourth, a list of " Aliens, Casuals, and Escapes ; " in the fifth, 

 "County Catalogues of Plants;" those in the present month 

 being Merioneth and Montgomery and Stirling. In the case of 

 three counties. North Lincoln, Stirling, and Roxburgh, there is 

 in the present Report an addition of upwards of fifty species of 

 flowering plants and Vascular Cryptogams to those previously 

 recorded. The divisions of counties are those adopted by Mr. 

 H. C. Watson. There ought soon to be but little addition pos- 

 sible to our knowledge of the distribution of British plants. 



During the coming summer (July and August) opportunity 

 will be given at Cincinnatti Observatory, University of Cincin- 

 nati, for the study of Higher Analysis, Spherical and Practical 

 Astronomy, and Celestial Mechanics. These advantages are in- 

 tended, primarily, for teachers who may desire to spend their 

 vacation in the pursuit of studies connected with their own work. 

 Special attention will be paid to the art of computing, in order 

 to give an insight into the practical application of mathematics 

 to astronomy. Opportunity will also be afforded to learn the 

 use of instruments. The Americans certainly seem to be ahead of 

 us in the opportunities they devise for varied practical scientific 

 work. 



Messrs. Jarrold and Sons will shortly publish " Rambles 

 of a Naturalist in Egypt and other Countries,'' by Mr. J. H. 

 Gurney, jun. 



On the 29th and 30th inst. an interesting trial of the sagacity, 

 activity, and docility of Collie dogs will take place at the 

 Alexandra Palace. The dogs will be tried successively in the 

 management of one hundred Welsh wethers. 



To those of our readers who are fond of either the rod or the 

 gun, and who intend to spend their holidays in Scotland, we 



strongly recommend Mr. Watson LyaU's "Sportsman's and 

 Tourist's and General Guide to the Rivers, Lochs, Moors, and 

 Deer Forests of Scotland." It contains a vast amount of in- 

 formation, including trequent details as to the natural features 

 and objects of antiquarian interest in the various districts. Those 

 who cannot take a holiday will be quite lefreshed by an occa- 

 sional dip into it at the season when " everybody " is supposed 

 to be out of town. A special large-scale extremely well -constructed 

 map of Scotland accompanies the "Guide," as also a map of 

 England. 



Bentley and Trimen's " Medicinal Plants " has now ad- 

 vanced as far as the seventh part. Each part contains seven or 

 eight coloured plates, with full descriptions of plants which are 

 officinal in the pharmacopoeias of England and the United 

 States. The quality of both letter-press and figures is well 

 maintained ; and when complete the work will be an absolutely 

 indispensable one to the pharmacologist. 



" The Work and Problems of the Victoria Cave Exploration " 

 is the title of an interesting paper read recently by Mr. R. H, 

 Tiddeman before the Geological and Polytechnic Society of the 

 West Riding of Yorkshire. 1 c is printed by McCorquodale and 

 Co., Leeds. 



A WORK entitled the " Anatomia dell' Ape," by Clerici, has 

 been recently published at Milan under the auspices and special 

 supervision of the Central Italian Bee-keepers' Association. 

 This highly interesting publication consists of a series of thirty 

 beautiful chromo-lithographic plates, 8 inches wide by 12 inches 

 high, artistically produced, with admirable frontispiece for bind- 

 ing. ■ We understand that the execution of this anatomical work 

 his occupied considerable time, and that prizes have been 

 awarded to it at the Vienna Exhibition and elsewhere. In con- 

 nection with this we may note the receipt of a useful little 

 "Manual of the Apiary," by Mr. A. J. Cook, of the Michigan 

 State Agricultural College. 



We are glad to see from the 62nd Annual Report of the Royal 

 Geological Society of Cornwall that that Society continues to be 

 prosperous and useful. 



The Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Brighton and 

 Sussex Natural History Society, which is in a prospei-ous condi- 

 tion, contains the following among other papers :— • " On Recent 

 Excavations at Cissbury," by Mr. Ernest Willett ; "On Wing- 

 less Birds," by Mr.T. W. Wonfor ; " What is a Brachiopod?" 

 by Mr. T. Davidson, F.R.S. ; and on "The Birds and Mammals 

 of Sussex," by Mr. F. E. Sawyer. 



An English translation has been published of'Lieut. Wey- 

 precht's admirable address given at Graz last September, on the 

 " Fundamental Principles of Arctic Exploration," of which we 

 gave an abstract at the time. We believe it may be obtained in 

 London from Triibner and Co. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include an Ocelot {Felts parda lis) from Para, presented 

 by Mr. W. A. Sumner ; a Vulpine Phalanger {Phalangista ziil- 

 pind) from Australia, presented by Mr. C. H. A. Forbes ; four 

 Fawn-coloured Field Mice {Mtis cez'vicolor) from India, pre- 

 sented by Col. C. F. Sturt; a Blue Jay ( ^j'^wcr/V/'a crutatd) from 

 North America, a Chinese Jay Thrush {Gartulax chincnsis) from 

 China, presented by Mr. E. Hawkins; two Barnard's Parrakeets 

 [Flatycercus barnardi) from Australia, deposited ; a White- 

 throated Capuchin {Cebus hypoleuci(s) from South America, a 

 White-bellied Sea Eagle {HaliaHus lauogastcr) from Australia, 

 a Derbian Screamer (Ckauna derbiand), two Green-billed Curas- 

 sows {Crax viridirostris), a Red-billed Tree Duck {Dmdrocv^na 

 autumnalis) from Cartagena, purchased; a Bonnet Monkey 

 (^^acacns radia(us), born in the Gardens. 



