A9^ 



NATURE 



{Sept. 28, 1876 



NOTES 



The Committee for the National Monument to Alexander 

 von Humboldt publishes a report on the proposal to 

 erect in front of Berlin University buildings statues to the 

 brothers Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt. On the occa- 

 sion of the 1 00th anniversary of the birth of the latter in the year 

 1869, a number of Berlin notabilities met for the purpose of 

 organising a public memorial to the great scientific explorer at 

 the expense of the German nation. A committee was chosen, 

 whose labours were crowned with such success that a sum of 

 nearly 100,000 marks was soon obtained. At the request 

 of the committee to allow the statue to be erected in the Uni- 

 versity grounds, the Senate stated that they could only give their 

 consent if at the same time a similar statue were erected to 

 Wilhelm von Humboldt, the statesman who, as councillor to 

 King Frederick William III., had an essential hand in the 

 erection of the University. It was then resolved to erect the 

 statues one on each side of the gate which separates the front 

 garden of the University from the Opernplatz. On each side of 

 the middle gate a niche will be made, and in these will the 

 statues of the illustrious brothers be placed. As there was some 

 difficulty as to the means for erecting the statue of W. von 

 Humboldt, the Emperor was appealed to, and he has promised 

 to endeavour to get it erected at the cost of the national purse. 

 Thus then Berlin will soon possess two new statues in her 

 Unter den Linden, and the German people will have paid a debt 

 of gratitude long due to two of her noblest sons. 



The well-known physicist, Wilhelm Edward Weber, the last 

 of what was known as the " Gottinger Sieben," celebrated on 

 August 26, in Gottingen, his Doctor's Jubilee. Weber was born 

 October 24, 1804, at Wittenberg, a brother of the physiologist 

 and anatomist, Ernst H. Weber, with whom, in 1825, he laid, 

 in the wave- theory, the basis of the new Optics and Acoustics. In 

 1831 he became Professor at Gottingen, and in 1837 resigned 

 his chair ; with him also protested against the abrogation of the 

 Constitution Professors Albrecht, Dahlmann, Ewald, Gervinus, 

 Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, who, of course, also with him 

 resigned their chairs, and with him went into exile. In the year 

 1849 Weber was restored to his chair, and has just celebrated 

 his Doctor's Jubilee in full vigour of mind, and active as ever in 

 scientific and literary work. 



Mr. J. CocKBURN, of Dam Hall, Eddleston, N.B., on the 

 night of the 23rd, when taking a photograph of some of the stars, 

 saw the brightest meteor that he has seen for two years. The time 

 was 9.51 P.M. ; it lasted about \\ seconds, and left a train which 

 was visible fully half a second after the disappearance of the 

 meteor. The colour was a darkish green, and the train was 

 orange. Its course was from above a Lyrse across the Galaxy 

 towards Aquila. It disappeared before it had quite crossed the 

 Milky Way. Dr. J. E. Taylor, of Ipswich, writes that on the 

 night of the 24th a meteor fell there about 6.30, directly over the 

 planet Saturn. The path described by the meteor was about 

 one-sixth of the sky. Dr. Taylor never saw one so brilliant. 

 The meteor seemed to burst before reaching the horizon, as if it 

 had exploded. For nearly ten minutes the line of white cloud 

 the meteor left behind it was visible, until at length it broke up 

 into patches and drifted away. This same meteor was seen over 

 a wide extent of country — at Broadstairs, West Deeping, in 

 Lincolnshire, Ipswich, Walton-on-the-Naze, Somersetshire, be- 

 tween Dunkirk and Calais, and at Paris. Galignani says : — 

 " A meteor of extraordinary brilliancy was seen in Paris during 

 the twilight yesterday evening at 6.40. In the northern heavens, 

 at an angle of 30° above the horizon, a fiery globe, about the 

 size of a cricket ball, seemed to emerge from the clear sky 

 descending slowly towards the earth, emitting showers of sparks 

 and a scintillating train in its flight. It fell almost perpen- 



dicularly, and grew elongated in falling. It had hardly 

 flashed into sight when it disappeared behind the houses, where 

 it must have burst, for the whole northern sky was illuminated 

 with two successive blazes of fire like lightning, by which the 

 surrounding clouds were tinged as if with gold. The effect was 

 extremely beautiful. " 



The obstruction at the entrance to New York Harbour 

 known as Hell Gate was successfully removed by an explosion 

 of dynamite on Sunday afternoon without any of the disasters 

 that many people anticipated. The mass to be removed was 

 about 70,000 cubic yards. The number of borings was 3,500; 

 the number of galvanic batteries 200, placed in an explosion- 

 proof chamber at a distance of 200 feet from Hell Gate. The dia- 

 meter of the borings was uniformly 3 inches, and the depth 

 varied according to .circumstances, from 3 to 11 feet. Fifty 

 thousand pounds of dynamite were used. The shock was not 

 perceptible, not even glass being broken. A vast volume of 

 water and smoke was driven about fifty feet into the air. All 

 the charges were exploded, and the rock is stated to have been 

 thoroughly removed. The explosion was heard at a distance of 

 ten miles, and a tremor like a slight earthquake was heard in 

 New York City and the localities contiguous to Hell Gate. The 

 work has been in progress for seven years. 



The Golos of Sept. 1 7 gives some late information received from 

 Omsk, as to the Thibetan Expedition of M. Prejevalsky, and as 

 to his latest arrangements relative to the route to be followed. 

 From Omsk, which he left July 9 with MM. Povalo-Shveikofsky 

 and Ecklon, he was to proceed through Semipalatinsk and 

 Sergiopol to Kooldsha ; thence, crossing the Tian Shan, he 

 would go to the Lob-nor, where he is to stay during the autumn, 

 until December. For the winter-months the expedition will 

 return to Kooldsha. Starting thence in the spring, they propose 

 to go through Karatar to Hlassa in Thibet. To the exploration 

 of different parts of that country they propose to devote two 

 years, after which they will descend the valley of the Brahma- 

 pootra. The expedition is well provided with means, having at 

 itsMisposal 25,000 roubles. Their baggage, when it arrived at 

 Omsk, weighed not less than 2,500 kilogrammes. As on his last 

 ioumey, M. Prejevalsky has provided himself with a good supply 

 of the means for hunting and self-defence, carrying 10,000 car- 

 tridges for rifles, 65 kilogrammes of gunpowder, and 250 kilo- 

 grammes of shot. Plenty of small steel instruments (knives, 

 scissors, razors), looking-glasses, some silver tea-sets, &c., for 

 commerce and presents, are said to be well chosen by M. 

 Prejevalsky to gratify the taste of the Mongols. 



The splendid orang-utang in the Berlin Aquarium died last 

 week of consumption. Its friend and playfellow, the' chim- 

 panzee, died the next day of consumption and grief. The young 

 gorilla, the one living specimen ever brought to Europe, which 

 we referred to some months ago, is still alive, but ailing. Ham- 

 burg not long ago offered 100,000 marks for the gorilla ; it is 

 feared that he will soon be sold for less. 



An organ for High Schools under the title Alma Mater, will 

 be published in Vienna on October I. It will appear weekly, 

 will be exclusively devoted to the interests of the High Schools, 

 and will advocate reforms in all academical matters. Many 

 eminent professors in Germany and Austria have promised to 

 become contributors. 



The City authorities of Munich have consented that the 

 meeting for 1877 of the German Naturalists will be held in that 

 town, and have also declared their intention of meeting all the 

 costs of reception. An Ultramontane majority in the town- 

 council of Aix-la-Chapelle, declared that the naturalists should 

 not meet in that town. 



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