Oct. 12, 1876] 



NATURE 



535 



M. PoliakofF, who was sent by the St. Petersburg Aca- 

 demy for the exploration of the fauna of the Lower Obi, 

 which fauna has not been explored since the times of 

 Pallas's companion Zooeff, has already collected many 

 interesting zoological materials. He found, also, vestiges 

 of the stone age. Having received some pecuniary 

 help from the municipal councils of Tiumen and 

 Tobolsk, he proposed to extend his travels to the mouth of 

 the Obi, and to reach, if possible, the Tasofskaia Gooba. 



M. Chersky, of the Siberian Branch of the Geographical 

 Society, explored the lower parts of the Irkoot river, 

 where it enters its deep caiion below the Toonka settle- 

 ment. This caiion has been traversed but once, in 1855, 

 by M. Bakshevitch. It is reported, by the Sibir, that M. 

 Chersky, as might be expected, has collected many 

 materials for the settling of the much-debated question 

 on the origin of the Toonka valley, and of the trough of 

 the Baikal. 



M. Kegel (son of the botanist), having accepted the 

 position of surgeon in the KooMsha district, is exploring 

 the country and preparing large collections for the St. 

 Petersburg Academy and Botanical Gardens ; and Capt. 

 Larionoff with three preparators for natural history collec- 

 tions, continues his investigation of the hilly tracts of the 

 same district. 



Prof. Wagner, zoologist, has just returned from his excur- 

 sion to the White Sea. He stayed more than a month on 

 the Solovetzky islands, engaged in the collection of mate- 

 rials for his biologico-motphological studies ; and his 

 companions, Prof. Grigorieff, and the students Andr^eff 

 and Mereshkofsky, have traversed the shores of the White 

 Sea, and returned with large collections of the sea-fauna. 



The zoologist, M. Grimm, sent for the exploration of 

 the Caspian fauna, gives ampler information as to his 

 proceedings, in letters published in the Golos. Having 

 at his disposition the steamer Persiaiwi, he cruised the 

 sea in various directions. On the cruise between Bakoo 

 and Fort Alexandrofsk he dredged at various depths 

 between six and 300 fathoms, bringing up immense 

 quantities of animal forms. The most interesting were : 

 molluscs, Adcetia vitrca, enormous Cardium crassiwi, 

 and an undetermined species of Cardhim; among the 

 sponges, the Reniera flavaj a new species of Isopoda, 

 some new species of Gammaridce, a new Mysts, the 

 Idotca cntomon, &c. Among the fishes deserve to be men- 

 tioned some small ones from a depth of 70-90 fathoms, 

 as transparent as glass, and a black marine species of 

 Luciaperea, more common at Fort Alexandrofsk than the 

 common Luciaperea sandra^ Further dredgings on the 

 cruise to Krasnovodsk, made during a dead calm, at depths 

 from 6 to 130 fathoms, produced similar large quantities of 

 animals, many of them found for the first time in the Cas- 

 pian, or totally new. The more interesting were : living 

 Adcetta vitrea, Cardium, many Gasteropoda, a new species 

 oi Neriiina, and a living Planorbis micromphalus (disco- 

 vered in 1874), from a beautiful rose-colour. The Crus- 

 tacea: and Vertnes were also numerous. But the most 

 beautiful of the collection found are sponges collected 

 near the Kara-boogas gulf at depths of 40-48 fathoms. 

 Marked by the most vivid colours, from pale-yellow to a 

 bright red, they cover nearly, without interruption, the 

 stones, assuming the forms of flat thick carpets, and half- 

 spherical, totally spherical, or egg-shaped masses, reach- 

 ing the size of a child's fist. Altogether, the two cruises in 

 the northern parts of the Caspian gave a very interesting, 

 varied, and rich collection of animal forms, and proved 

 that the northern part of the sea has a richer fauna than 

 the south, which, at first, seemed improbable. It is well 

 to remark, also, that on the eastern shores, where the 

 water reached as high a temperature as 31" Cels., the 

 animals occupy deeper zones than on the western shores 

 where the temperature of the water is lower. Having 



' The whole number of species of fishes in the Caspian M. Grimm esti- 

 mates to be about eighty, ten of which are new species, discovered by the 

 explorer in 1874. 



made some excursions in the neighbourhood of Krasno- 

 vodsk, M. Grimm proceeded to Bakoo, but the weather 

 was very stormy and the dredgings were made at small 

 depths (sixteen fathoms), producing only already known 

 forms. From Bakoo M. Grimm proceeded northwards, 

 proposing to explore the greatest depths of the northern 

 parts of the sea. 



NOTES 



At the recent meeting of the Association of German Naturalists 

 and Physicians at Hamburg, a proposal for the establishment of 

 zoologico-botanical stations on the German coast was reported 

 on and discussed. The high importance of such establishments 

 to German science was recognised. While all praise was accorded 

 to the Naples establishment, considerations of distance, expense, 

 and climate, render it desirable that similar stations should be 

 established within easier reach of German students and biological 

 investigators. The report of the Committee appointed to con- 

 sider the matter discussed the suitability of various places for 

 such establishments, and concludes by strongly recommending 

 Kiel on the Baltic and Heligoland in the North Sea. The 

 Committee are of opinion that the establishments should be 

 established on the broadest bases for the investigation not only 

 of the botany and zoology of the seas referred to, but also for 

 their physics, their chemistry, and for meteorology. In the dis- 

 cussion which followed it was suggested that the Heligoland station 

 might be conducted in connection with English men of science. 

 The Association finally decided as follows : — i. The erection of 

 stations for zoologico-botanical research at Kiel and in Heligo- 

 land is necessary for the development of German science. 2. The 

 Association approves of the drawing up of a memorandum and 

 petition, to be sent to the Imperial Chancellor, the Bundersrath, 

 and the Governments of the several States of the Empire, with the 

 additional request to the Prussian Government that it would take 

 the initiative in the matter. 3. The Association to appoint a 

 commission to draw up and distribute the memorandum. 4. The 

 memorandum to be circulated among all eminent German 

 scientific men, in order to obtain as many signatures as possible. 

 The following Commission was appointed to draw up the 

 memorandum : — Professors Alex. Braun, Ernst Haeckel, Rud. 

 Leuckart, Dr. H. Ad. Meyer, Alex. Pagenstecher, Pringsheim, 

 and Julius Sachs, with power to add to their number. It is not 

 necessary to say one word in commendation of this admirable 

 scheme ; we cannot doubt that it will be successfully carried out 



Dr. Janssen is devising the construction of an automatic 

 photographic revolver, which will take a photograph of the sun 

 every hour each day of the year, from sunrise to sunset. The 

 photographs which will be taken under cloudy conditions, will 

 be useless so far as sunspots are concerned, but they might be 

 utilised for meteorological purposes. The others will be kept 

 and tabulated. The advantage of this plan is that it will dispense 

 with any observer, and will obtain a mechanical regularity. A 

 communication will be made very shortly to the Academy of 

 Sciences on the invention which was suggested by the discussion 

 on the transit of "Vulcan." It will be set to work in the 

 physical observatory of Dr. Janssen. 



At the inaugural meeting of the third session of the Yorkshire 

 College of Science, held on Friday last. Lord Frederick Caven- 

 dish, M.P., the President of the College, drew attention to a 

 report drawn up by Mr. Beaumont, the Instructor in the Textile 

 Industry Department, in conjunction with Mr. Watts Maclaren, 

 on the Weaving Schools of the Continent. It appears that there 

 are no less than twenty-five separate schools of instruction in 

 connection with textile industries, in addition to seven belonging 

 to Polytechnic Institutions, scattered throughout France, Bel- 

 gium, and Germany, and in spite of the^fact that the majority 



