April 24, 1890] 



NATURE 



593 



This accident is without a parallel in the history of steam navi- 

 gation ; the circumstances were so remarkable that many con- 

 flicting explanations of the cause have been suggested. The 

 ship is propelled by twin screws, and the engines are placed side 

 by side in separate compartments. When she was off the coast 

 of Ireland, at half-past five on the evening of the 25th ult., the 

 low-pressure cylinder, with the whole of its gear, of the star- 

 board engine, went to pieces, and fell to the bottom of the 

 engine - room in a confused mass, the debris of the top 

 cylinder cover being apparently at the bottom of the wreck. 

 The smashing of the condenser allowed an enormous rush of 

 water to flood the starboard engine-room, and the longitudinal 

 bulkhead between the engines, being also damaged, allowed the 

 port engine-room to become flooded, and of course slopped that 

 engine from working. Our contemporaries say that, in the 

 opinion of experts in Liverpool, the accident did not originate 

 in the engine, but in the tail shaft, as follows : the brass liner 

 on the tail shaft burst ; then the lignum-vitoe strips were torn 

 out, bringing metal to metal. This, naturally, would allow the 

 steel shaft to grind itself and the bracket away, and the shaft 

 dropped. Then the continual bending of the shaft resulted in its 

 fracture. The engines, being relieved of the resistance of the 

 screw, raced, with the result shown in the engravings. The 

 Engineer at present neither accepts nor rejects this theory of 

 the cause of the disaster. 



The Manchester Field Naturalists' Society opened the 

 summer excursion session on the 19th inst., by a visit to the well- 

 known herbaceous garden of Mr. Wm. Brockbank, Withington, 

 near Manchester. The grounds, of about six acres in extent, 

 are laid out in woodland, shrubbery, rockeries, and fernery, with 

 a patch of wilderness, and are entirely devoted to the growth of 

 the native flowers, and the horticulturists' modifications, so far 

 as they will thrive. The special feature, at the time of the 

 visit, was the display of daffodils, over a hundred varieties being 

 included in the gardens, several of them locally raised. Mr. 

 Brockbank explained that the double variety of the daffodil is 

 not obtained by the absorption of the essential organs, as gener- 

 ially supposed ; the pistils and stamens remain, and specimens 

 were shown, in vigorous health, obtained from their seeds. 



It has been suggested that the epidemic of influenza was in 

 the last resort due to floods in China. The fertile land in the 

 valley of the Yellow River, it has been said, was covered with a 

 deposit of alluvial mud, and in this mud countless numbers of 

 organic spores were developed from the refuse of a dense popula- 

 tion. These germs were carried by merchandise to Russia, 

 whence they spread to Europe generally. Dealing with this 

 theory, ihc Shanghai Mercury points out (l) that there has been 

 no epidemic of influenza in China. (2) There is no valley what- 

 ever of the Yellow River, the peculiarity of that stream being 

 that it flows on the surface of the ground, which actually slopes 

 down on both sides from the river bed, so that in case of a 

 breach of either embankment the river is free to flow to the sea 

 almost anywhere between Tientsin in the north, and Shanghai 

 in the south. (3) The plain of the Yellow River is by no means 

 fertile, and is rapidly deteriorating. (4) So far from the deposit 

 left after a breach being alluvial mud, it is unmitigated sand, and 

 for years refuses, to grow any crops whatever ; and it is only after 

 an exposure of some fifteen or twenty years that the phosphates 

 which enter sparingly into its composition begin to break up, 

 and the land is restored to cultivation. (5) There are no exports 

 of any sort from the plain of the lower Yellow River. Almost 

 the only product exported to Europe from districts anywhere 

 near the river is straw braid, which is shipped not to Russia but 

 to England and the United States ; and this not from the plain, 

 but from the highlands of Shantung, far removed from any 

 communication with the river. 



The Ballarat School of Mines, in the University of Mel- 

 bourne, presented its annual report at a meeting of governors 

 and subscribers on Monday, January 20. The general efficiency 

 and usefulness of the school have been greatly promoted by ex- 

 tensive additions to the buildings and plant, and the numerous 

 improvements effected in connection with the mining and 

 metallurgical departments. That the institution now affords 

 a superior training in scientific and mining subjects is shown 

 by the attendance of a more advanced class of students, and by 

 the better results obtained at the examinations. It attracts to 

 its classes students from all the neighbouring colonies, including 

 Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Tas- 

 mania, as well as from distant places within Victoria. The 

 total number of enrolments in the various classes held during 

 the year was 982, and of individual pupils who attended the 

 elementary science lectures delivered in the State schools, 723. 

 The mean average number of students in attendance at the 

 school classes for the whole year was 526, whilst during the 

 same period 286 lectures on elementary chemistry were de- 

 livered in nine of the State schools in the city and town, with an 

 average attendance of 53 at each lecture. 



Mr. a. J. Campbell has returned to Melbourne after a three 

 months' trip in Western Australia. The Victorian Naturalist 

 says he has been very successful in his observations and col- 

 lections. He obtained about 80 different species of eggs, 13 of 

 which it will be necessary to describe as new. The number of 

 eggs obtained altogether was about 400. About 100 skins 

 of birds were collected, though Mr. Campbell made no special 

 effort to secure them. With regard to geographical range of 

 birds he was particularly successful in his observations. No less 

 than 17 species will be recorded as new for Western Australia. 

 Possibly one or two may be deemed new varieties, while others 

 will be restored, having been omitted from a lately issued tabular 

 list. Baron von Mueller has examined the plants, and finds that 

 two ferns, Asplenium marinum and A. trichomanes (both 

 British species, by the way) are recorded for the first time from 

 the western colony. Of 30 lichens collected, the Rev. F. R. M, 

 Wilson has identified 20 as new for the same colony. Specimens 

 of characteristic lizards and frogs {e.g., Heleioporus albo-punctatus) 

 were secured. About three dozen photographs turned out fairly 

 well, those of the remarkable flights of sea-birds being of great 

 interest. Mr. Campbell considers that he brought nearly 1000 

 natural history specimens back to Melbourne. 



In the latest of his series of instances — printed in the American 

 Naturalist — of the effect of musical sounds upon animals, Mr. R. 

 E. C, Stearns mentions the case of a canary " who is particularly 

 fond of music." This interesting bird belongs to the Rev, Mr. 

 James, who writes as follows: — "Immediately I begin to play 

 upon the flute she chirps about as if enjoying the music. If I 

 open the cage-door and leave her, she will come as near to me 

 as possible, but not attempt to fly to the music ; but if I put her 

 upon my desk, and lay the flute down, she will perch upon the 

 end, and allow me to raise the instrument and play. I often 

 take her into the church and play there upon the organ, and she 

 will perch upon my fingers, notwithstanding the inconvenience 

 of the motion of the hands, and chirp in evident delight at the 

 sweet sounds." 



Last week Prof. Strieker submitted to the International 

 Medical Congress at Vienna a new electrical lantern which will, 

 it is expected, be of great service to lecturers and medical 

 students. According to the Vienna correspondent of the Times, 

 Prof. Strieker, by an ingenious combination of lenses, contrives 

 to project the magnified images of objects on a white screen in 

 their natural colours, so that, for instance, a small pimple on a 

 patient can be shown in its real appearance to an audience of 

 many hundred students. 



