jiiu. 2;,. 



S701 



NA TURE 



279 



by the Ainos. The only knowledge obtained of them has been in- 

 geniously acquired by Mr. Morse by a careful study of ** shell- 

 faeaps" in all respects similar to those found along the shores of 

 Denmark, New England, and Florida. The deposit discovered by 

 Mr. Morse near Tokio contained potter)- and broken bones, many of 

 which were human. It is generally admitted by ethnologists that a 

 I«ople that has once acquired the art of pottery will always retain 

 it ; but as neither the Esquimaux, the Kamtchatdales, nor the 

 Ainos are essentially earthen -pot-makers, these remains natiurally 

 point to the former existence of a race in Japan who preceded 

 the Ainos. Again, both the human and the deer bones found in 

 this shell-heap were broken in a manner to facilitate the extrac- 

 tion of the marrow or to <:nable them to be placed in a cooking" 

 pot, a circumstance which points to the existence of cannibalism 

 among the people by whom the shell-heaps were made. On 

 consulting Japanese scholars and archaeologists Mr. Morse 

 learned that the Ainos were not only not cannibals, but were of 

 an especially gentle disposition. The existence of an ancient 

 race of cannibals in Japan, before the occupation of that 

 country by the Ainos, is therefore made very probable. We 

 hope to see another paper before long containing an account of 

 Prof. Morse's later researches. 



Prof. Humphry, F.R.S., of Cambridge, will deliver the 

 biennial oration in memory of John Hunter in the theatre of the 

 Ro>'al College of Surgeons on the 14th proximo. 



Mr. Thomas Sopwith, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., who died at 

 Westminster, on Thursday last, was born in 1803, at Newcastle- 

 on-Tyne. He was for nearly fifty years extensively engaged as 

 A civil engineer in mining, railway, and other works, both in 

 this country and on the Continent, and was the author of several 

 *vorks on architecture, isometrical drawing, and mining. In 

 1 838 he was appointed Commissioner for the Crown under the 

 Dean Forest Mining Act, and in the same year a communication 

 made by him to the British Association led to the establishment 

 of the Mining Record Office. He was a member of many of 

 the leading scientific societies, and one of the early members of 

 the Institution of Civil Engineers. 



In connection with our article last week on a proposed Scot- 

 tish observatory, it may be interesting to state that one day 

 last August Mr. Milne Home, chairman of the Meteorological 

 Society for Scotland, accompanied by Mr. Colin Livingston, 

 lieadmaster, Public School, Fort William ; Mr. Thompson, 

 .-tudent ; and Mr. David Doig, contractor, ascended Ben Nevis 

 and made several observations with the view of erecting a station 

 on the summit. They found the top enveloped in a mantle of 

 snow — a circumstance which rendered it an extremely difficult 

 task to select suitable spots for the erection of a dwelling-house 

 and observatory. After a careful survey Mr. Home came to the 

 conclusion that the plateau immediately beyond the spring aflfords 

 the best site. The recommendation this spot has is its contigmty 

 to the water-supply. But it might be questioned whether, as 

 accurate observation is the thing required, it would not be better 

 t * erect the observatory on the plateau on the very summit, as 

 there must, no doubt, be a difference between the temperature 

 of the two places, the first-mentioned plateau being 350 feet 

 lower. It is proposed to construct the buildings after the fol- 

 lowing plan : first, a wall of stone with an inside lining of wood 

 and an inner coating of felting, and the outside of the wall to be 

 covered with corrugated iron. An external wall of stone would 

 also be erected to serve as a protection from the blast. The 

 estimated cost of the structure is 500/. 



We learn from the Colonus and India that rich discoveries of 

 xiopper have been made at Howe Sound, a few miles from New 

 Westminster in British Columbia, and that the ore resembles that 

 of the famous Australian Burra Burra mme. 



The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Maoritius has 

 recently lost its secretar)', Mr. L. S. Bouton, the only surviving 

 founding member of ths Society. This society was founded on 

 August 24, 1829, under the name of Societe d'Histoire Naturelle 

 de ITle Maurice, by a few lovers of science ; its first secretary 

 was Julius Desjardins, who contributed many papers on the 

 fauna of Mauritius, and also formed a good collection of speci- 

 mens, which were afterwards given up to Government by his 

 heirs, and became the nucleus of the present museum. The 

 volumes published by the Societe during a period of ten or fifteen 

 years contain much interesting information on the natural history 

 of Mauritius. On Desjardins' death in 1840, Mr. Bouton was 

 appointed secretary, and kept up the post till his death ; during 

 that long period he chiefly applied himself to the investigation 

 of the flora of Mauritius, and though he never published any 

 complete works he contributed specimens and notes to Prof. 

 Decandolle for the Prodromus, and to Kew, for the Flora of 

 Mauritius by Baker. He wrote a paper on the medicinal plants of 

 Mauritius, and a very interesting paper on the forests of Mauritius, 

 besides a great quantity of notes in the Society's Transactions, 

 and in the newspapers of the colony. In 1846 the Society was 

 allowed by Government an annual subsidy of 200/., which has 

 been continued up to this day. Mr. Bouton was also curator of 

 the Museum, but he was, we believe, though completely devoted 

 to his duties of secretary, a rather bad curator. The Museum, 

 although containing some very interesting specimens of the 

 natural history of Madagascar, and of the extinct fauna o^ 

 Mauritius, was allow to decay rapidly. No exchanges were 

 carried on to increase the collections, and the space being too 

 limited, the existing specimens are so crowded as to be of no use 

 whatever to the public. The subject attracted the attention of the 

 late much-esteemed governor, Sir Arthur Phayre, and he applied 

 for a Report from the Council of the Society, and on its recom- 

 mendation the following decisions have been come to by the 

 Council of Government : — That a proper building be pro\ided 

 for the transfer of the Museum now heaped up in a room at the 

 Royal College ; that the funds allowed by Government each 

 year be applied to the formation of a local museum, fully illus- 

 trating the fauna and flora of the Mascarene Islands, Madagascar, 

 and the islands along the cast coast of Africa ; that a general 

 collection, of which the present museum should be the nucleus, 

 be gradually formed by means of exchanges to illustrate only the 

 principal genera in each branch of nattual history, and give to 

 the public a general view of the natural world ; that on vacancy 

 (which is now 'come) a competent curator be provided from* 

 home, who will be at the same time Professor of Natural History 

 at the Royal College, receiving a salary of Rs. 5,000 per annum; 

 that the staff of the Museum be composed of an assistant, who 

 will be also a collecting n" aralist, sent round every year to 

 Madagascar or some other place, receiving a salary of Rs. 2,000 

 and his travelling expenses, a taxidermist, a clerk, and servants ; 

 that, as a good taxidermist does not now exist in Mauritius, the 

 services of a proper person be secured from home for two years, 

 to instruct people in stuffing and set up the first collection, 

 receiving Rs. 2,000 and passage-money. We hope that these 

 changes will be insisted upon and that competent men will 

 apply for the vacant posts to the Government at home, and give 

 them a better opportunity of making a good choice. Mauritius 

 is an admirable place for studying the riches of the sea, and a 

 sort of zoolc^cal station, like the one at Naples would make 

 many interesting discoveries. Prof. Mobius, of Kiel, who spent 

 some months at Mauritius, said that several years would be 

 necessary for him and many assistants to work up the collections 

 from these seas. Evidently a good opportunity is presented for 

 the promotion of important departments of natural history, and 

 we trust all concerned will seek only to advance the interests o 

 science and the true interests of the colony. 



