Oct. 3, 1889] 



NATURE 



549 



indigenous to British waters, but one of the hardiest of all the 

 Cj>/>riftida:— the gold-fish. It is difficult to say what amount of 

 impurity a gold-fish will not live in. Yet it is on this fish that 

 the experiments of the effect of sewage and impure effluents are 

 usually made, probably because the gold-fish can be bought more 

 cheaply and more easily than almost any other live fish. Hitherto 

 the rivers on which sewage works had been erected had either 

 had no fish at all in them or had had the hardiest member of the 

 Cyprinida:. He thought that those who were interested in river 

 pollution would be doing useful work by preparing a classified 

 list of the rivers of England and Wales, thus — [a) rivers not 

 containing fish ; {b) rivers containing Cyprinida: only ; (f) rivers 

 containing Cyprinidte 2indLXiOX\-va\^xzX.oxy Salinonida: ; {d) rivers 

 containing migratory Salmonidie. For each class a minimum 

 standard of purity should be agreed to. 



The Ceylon papers announce the death of an elephant named 

 Sella, which had served the Public Works Department for over 

 sixty-five years. Originally Sella belonged to the last of the 

 Kings of Kandy, Sri Wickrema Kaja Singha, and was one of 

 about 100 elephants which passed to the British Government in 

 1815, when the Kandyan dynasty was overthrown and the whole 

 island passed under British rule. It was supposed at that time 

 that Sella was fifteen years of age, but this was uncertain. In 

 i88o it was decided that all the elephants belonging to the 

 Public Works Department should be sold, and Sella fell to a 

 well-known resident of Colombo, Mr. de Soysa. The animal 

 aided in several keddah operations for the capture and taming of 

 wild elephants, but became totally blind about three years ago. 

 He continued, however, to work at the plough until within a 

 short time of his death. After death the tusks were removed, 

 and measured 5 feet in length. Sella himself was 8 feet high. 



The autumn gathering organized by the promoters of the 

 University Extension Scheme in Edinburgh began on the 24th 

 ult., and it will go on till October 5. The objects of the 

 gathering are officially stated to be to make known the advant- 

 ages of the University Extension Scheme, to affiard to those who 

 have not received a University education some experience of 

 University life and practice, and to consider the propriety of 

 organizing "reading centres" in Scotland in connection with 

 the National Home Reading Union. The promoters have been 

 fortunate in securing the assistance of some of the most eminent 

 literary men and men of science in Edinburgh, including Profs. 

 Masson, Tait, Crum Brown, Cossar Ewart, and Geikie ; while 

 the syllabus offers a very attractive programme in the five de- 

 partments of physical science, biological science, political science, 

 history and ethics, literature and art and music. There are 

 forty-five lecturers in all, and the lectures, numbering upwards 

 of fifty, will be delivered on nine days. The opening lectures on 

 the 24th, by Profs. Kirkpatrick and Crum Brown, were attended 

 by about 100 persons, and Prof. Tait at his lecture on Wednes- 

 day had an audience of some 200, and on all these occasions the 

 larger proportion were ladies. 



The twelfth annual meeting of the Midland Union of 

 Natural History Societies was held in Oxford on the 23rd and 

 24th ult. The visitors, who were rather numerous, met the 

 Oxford Society at the University Museum in the Parks at half- 

 past one o'clock on Monday. The company was divided into 

 small parties, who were conducted to the various places of 

 interest. The annual meeting followed, under the presidency of 

 Mr. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., who subsequently delivered the 

 Presidential address, taking for his subject " Heredity." In the 

 evening a conversazione was held, at which about four hundred 

 persons were present, including all the leading members of the 

 University now in Oxford. The large lecture-room of the Shel- 

 donian Theatre was crowded with an audience to hear Dr. 

 Tylor's description of the savage methods of obtaining fire. Sir 

 Henry Acland afterwards made a brief speech, pointing out the 



great progress which science had made in Oxford. Many objects 

 of interest were also exhibited, including some specimens of 

 sand grouse, and specimens of the whole of the grasses of 

 Oxfordshire. Mr. H. Balfour explained the principal objects in 

 the Pitt-Rivers anthropological collection in the Museum, and 

 Mr. Poulton described the local specimens of geology. The 

 afternoon of the second day was spent at the Radcliffe Obser- 

 vatory. 



Prof. Giglioli was the delegate for Italy to the Ornitho- 

 logical Congress held at Vienna, in 1884, under the presidency 

 of the late Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria — a Congress at 

 which, the Tunes report stated, " England was conspicuous by 

 its absence." The subjects which the programme of this Con- 

 gress set forth were of so trivial a nature that it is scarcely to be 

 wondered at that English ornithologists, who seem to fight shy 

 of Congresses as a rule, scarcely deemed it worth while to 

 journey to Vienna to discuss such problems as the origin of the 

 common fowl, &c. Nevertheless, the results of that Congress 

 were really of great importance. Not only were several first- 

 class memoirs presented to the meetings, but the institution of 

 an International Committee for the purpose of creating stations 

 of observation on the distribution and migrations of European 

 birds was a distinct step in advance, and had no more im 

 portant work than that of Prof. Giglioli resulted from this deter- 

 mination, it would alone have justified the meeting of the Con- 

 gress. As a matter of fact, however, these reunions of zoologists, 

 such as the one that has just taken place in Paris, are the means 

 of bringing together men who might not otherwise meet ; and as 

 a vehicle for the interchange of ideas, and of forming acquaint- 

 ances which result in the permanent benefit of the institutions 

 to which the Congressmen belong, they are to be greatly en- 

 couraged. Prof. Giglioli was appointed, on his return, official 

 ornithologist for Italy by the Minister of Agriculture,. Industry, 

 and Commerce, and he at once enlisted a valuable corps of 

 coadjutors in different parts of the Italian peninsula, and 

 the records of these observers are now presented to us in 

 a substantial volume which is entitled " Primo resoconto dei 

 risultati della inchiesta ornitologica in Italia." A map of Italy, 

 which accompanies the volume, marks the places where obser- 

 vations have been made — about 200 in number, with nearly 

 300 observers. Taking, therefore, his own "Avifauna Italica " 

 as a groundwork, Prof. Giglioli follows the same order in making 

 his record of observations, so that anyone studying the bird^ of 

 Italy can find out exactly what has been done in the way of 

 discovery since the appearance of the above-mentioned work — an 

 admirable advantage to the student of geographical distribution. 



The University College of North Wales has issued its. 

 Calendar for the year 1889-90. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Red-handed Tamarin {Midas riifimanns) 

 from Surinam, presented by Miss Gladys E. Meyrick ; two 

 Black- footed Penguins {Spheniscus demersus) from South Africa, 

 presented by Mr. Harding Cox, F.Z.S. ; a Peregrine Falcon 

 {Falco peregrinus) captured in the Red Sea, presented by Mr. T. 

 J. Taylor ; a Common Pintail [Dajila acuta), European, pre- 

 sented by Mr. R. Terrot ; a Himalayan Bear {Ursus tihetanus^ 

 d ) from Northern India, two Common Cassowaries {Casuarius 

 galeatus) from Ceram, a Laughing Kingfisher {Dacelo gigantea) 

 from Australia, deposited ; six Californian Quails {Callipepla 

 californica, 2 (J 4 9 ) from California, purchased ; a Malaccan 

 Parrakeet {Palaornis longicauda, 6 ) from Malacca, a Malabar 

 Parrakeet {Palccornis columboides, S ) from Southern India, a 

 C&Wiorm&n QuzW {Callipepla californica, (J) from California, a 

 Virginian Colin {Oriyx virginianus, S) from North America, 

 received in exchange ; four Long- fronted Gerbilles [Gerbillus 

 longifrons), bred in the Gardens. 



