Dec. 26, 1878] 



NATURE 



18: 



LA5T week Dr. Gladstone read an important paper at the 

 Society of Arts on science teaching in elementary schools. He 

 visumed, first, that it is not good that poor children should go 

 forth into the world in gross ignorance of the material objects 

 aoiong which they must always live and work ; secondly, that 

 ii is far from desirable to \xy to make scientific men and women 

 of boys and girls of twelve and thirteen years of age. " This 

 -irth," Dr. Gladstone said, «"i3 our dwelling-place, from the 

 ; -adle to the grave ; our bodies are the complicated machines, 

 :> wonderfully made, by which every action of ours is per- 

 ■ armed; the sun, clouds, and atmosphere influence us every 

 ay ; the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms are ready to 

 .eld us their supplies ; and the great mechanical and chemical 

 ■rces, with heat, light, and electricity, are ready to be our 

 er\'ants if we do not allow them to become otir masters. Every 

 -lan, also, in his handicraft or trade, as weU as every woman in 

 er domestic duties, has to deal with some facts and objects of 

 ■ature specially connected with them." Dr. Gladstone then 

 roceeded to point out the present state of the question, show- 

 -g that very much yet remains to be done ere science takes the 

 .ace it ought to occupy in our elementary schools, though the 

 r.ergetic London School Board is doing much to give science- 

 caching an established place in the schools under their charge. 

 He referred to the universality of science instruction in Germany, 

 ^nd expressed a hope that a "knowledge of common things" 

 ould soon take its place alongside of the older subjects in all 

 : ur elementary schools. 



We are glad to learn that the health of Prof. Hoffmann, the 

 ell- known chemist, is now completely restored, and that he is 

 gain among his pupils. 



M. Flammariox writes to us in reference to a note from a 



: : rrespondent last week, that the subscription he is organising 



; mainly for the purpose of founding at Paris a free observatory 



created by private means, on the model of those which exist in 



England. It is desired to establish in the observatory the most 



werful instrument which the funds wiU enable to be con- 

 ;t!-ucted. This instrument is intended above all for the physical 

 investigation of the planets, and particularly of the moon, "the 

 vital state of which," M. Flammarion writes, "may thus be 

 definitely settled. It is not proved," he says, " that the moon is 

 a dead planet, but the progress of optics appears to me to be now 

 such as to justify a serious investigation for traces of life upon 

 it ; in fine, to settle what opinion ought to be held on the ques- 

 tion of the habitability of the moon." 



The September number of the MuiaalogUal Magazine and 

 Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and 

 Ireland contains three original papers. Mr. Sorby gives a few 

 test-experiments of his new method of determining the refractive 

 indices of mineral plates, which will hardly be new to readers of 

 Nature. Prof. Heddle continues his papers on the geognosy 

 of Scotland. The present one is almost entirely occupied with 

 the geolog)- of the Island of Fetlar, and gives several analyses of 

 the minerals found in its different rocks. Prof. How's contri- 

 bution to the mineralogy of Nova Scotia is mainly taken up with 

 mordenite and some altered nodules found at Cape Split ; the 

 rest of the paper is not much more than a list of localities. Ten 

 pages are taken up by verj- poor abstracts from the Zeitschrift 

 fur JCryslallographie &nd other periodicals, which are far inferior 

 to those published in some of the weekly joiHuals. Most of 

 these are by a genUeman vho may be a mineralogist, but is 

 scarcely a cr>staUographer. He is grandly impartial as to nota- 

 tion, apparently following the authors in using either the Mil- 

 lenaa or Naumannian. When using the former he often forgets 

 to state the system in which the mineral crystallises. When the 

 latter is used ia an English- mineralogical journal,, the least we 



can expect is to have ther Millerian equivalents given side by 

 side with the Naumannian symbols. The conversion is not diffi- 

 cult, and tables for the purpose are given in all the text-books. 

 Near the end is an abstract by the editor of a flattering notice of 

 his own book, the good taste of which is obvious. We find it 

 difficult to think that a magazine so indifferently conducted can 

 prove either a commercial or a scientific success. 



Captain Howgate has sent xis some of the results of the 

 preliminary United States Arctic Expedition in the Florence, 

 in the shape of reproductions of photographs and of drawings 

 by the Eskimo. The latter are rude, but vigorous and amusing, 

 and show the well-known talent of the natives for drawing. 



Experiments on the electric light, with Jablochkoff candle^, 

 have been tried at Ha\Te, and, in consequence of the frequency 

 of maritime collisions, are attracting much notice from seamen. 

 The Breeze, one of the British mail steamships, was stranded a 

 few days ago, when trying to enter the Calais port, owing to the 

 prevalence of fogs. This accident would not have taken place 

 if an electric light had been placed at the end of the jetty, as 

 had been proposed. It is said the matter has been reported to 

 the French Minister of Public Works. The electric light expe- 

 riments in the Avenue de I'Opera and in front of the Palais 

 Legislatif are to be continued up to January 15, but at the ex- 

 pense of the company, the Municipal Council having refused to 

 pay more than the sum which would have been spent by them if 

 the streets had been lighted with ordinary gas. 



The question of "reserves" for the aborigines having been 

 recently raised in the Queensland Legislature, it has been recom- 

 mended that the system of the Durundur reserve should be 

 extended, as there are many other places where it might be 

 advantageously tried. 



We have received from Messrs. De la Rue several specimens 

 of their diaries, which are marked by all their usual elegance 

 and usefulness. Much valuable information is prefixed to several 

 of the diaries, though we still regret the absence of some of the 

 astronomical iiiformation which used to give them a distinctive 

 value. Messrs. Letts have also sent us a number of their various 

 forms of diaries, the marked feature of which is their utility. 

 They are of all sizes and prices, and no one need have any dif- 

 ficulty in providing himself with this useful help to order and 

 memory. Messrs. Letts have also published a handy weather 

 table by Mr, Saxby, containing a great deal of useful and well- 

 arranged information. 



The Madras Mail states that great progress is being made in 

 the culti\-ation of chinchona in the Wynaad, and that nearly a 

 million plants h^ve been taken there this year from the Neddi- 

 wuttum estates, and this is in addition to what is obtained from 

 the extensive chinchona nurseries on all the coffee estates. All 

 the poorer parts of these are being planted with chinchona 

 which is found to thrive well where coffee will not grow. 



A letter from Peking states that the Viceroy Li Hungchang 

 has entered into a contract with Mr. Arnold Hague, of New 

 York, an able geologist and mining expert, for the piurpose of 

 prospecting the gold, silver, and other mines in the north of 

 China. Mr. Hague is expected to start shortly from Tientsin 

 for the mining regions. The just published Consular Report 

 from Canton also states that General Fang, a well-known 

 military officer, has been instructed to arrange for an immediate 

 supply of European machinery to be used in local mines. It 

 appears to be thought that there is great likelihood of the early 

 working of coal and other mines in the provinces of Chihli, 

 Kiangsi, Kiangsu, and Szechuen. 



For some time past there has been so little water in portions 

 of the Grand Canal of China, that it has only been navigable by 



