302 



NATURE 



\yan. 30, 1879 



Various objects have been met with, arms and armour, vases, 

 ceramics, &c., and in one tomb, it is said, a warrior has 

 been discovered fully equipped, and in such preservation that 

 the beard was intact. M. Millet recalls the fact that in the 

 invasion of Gaul by Julius C.xsar, there was a camp of great 

 importance on the plateau above Gouvieux, some ten kilom. from 

 the place of excavation, and on the route from Chantilly to 

 Persan ; the place is still known as Caesar's Camp. Numerous 

 battles took place in the valley of the Oise, as is attested by the 

 medals, coins, &c., often found by farmers in that region. One 

 of these combats was so murderous that the place where it was 

 probably fought bears the name of Pres de tuerie ; it is at the foot 

 of Beaumont-sur-Oise. The 'excavations referred to are still in 

 progress, and will doubtless be watched with interest. 



The annual general meeting of the Manchester Field Natu- 

 ralists' and Archaeologists' Society was held on the 2ist inst., 

 Mr. John Angell, F.C.S., vice-president, in the chair. Mr. 

 Alfred Griffiths, secretary, read the report for the past year, 

 which stated that 1878 had been devoted to the aims of the 

 Society, with an average success. Mr. Angell gave an address 

 on the science of 1878, in which he reviewed, in an intelligent 

 and appreciative manner, some of the main scientific points of 

 interest dm-ing the past year. 



The Geological " Landesanstalt " and Mining 'Academy at 

 Berlin has recently been considerably enlarged. The institution 

 has moved into new buildings which have just been completed, 

 and which contain a rich collection of maps, minerals, rocks, 

 fossils, &c., besides a large library and laboratories for geological, 

 analytical, metallurgical, and technological work. 



The existence of a subterranean oak forest in the neighbour- 

 hood of Rotenburg, Prussia, was proved last summer by the 

 State geologist of that district. Dr. Moesta, of Marburg. The 

 investigations of this gentleman have shown that in the plain 

 of the Fulda valley an oak forest lies buried at a depth of 

 some two or three metres, the origin of which dates back to 

 the tertiary period perhaps, and of which the river Fulda 

 has laid bare many traces by erosion. The wood of the 

 oak trees thus brought to light has by the long action of the 

 water been stained quite black, but still retains considerable 

 firmness. The size of the trees is very considerable, and it 

 remains yet to be proved whether they belong to the same family 

 as the oaks now existing. 



A German paper states that a descendant of the great 

 Copernicus is living now at a small town of Posen, exercising 

 the calling of shoemaker. It is known that Copernicus was a 

 canon of the chapter of Frauenburg, and must bejupposed to 

 have died without leaving any issue. It has been said that his 

 true son was Kepler, and that in his turn Kepler was the scien- 

 tific father of Newton. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include an Entellus Monkey {Semnopithecus entellus) 

 from India, presented by Mr. J. Mills, R.H.A. ; two Prairie 

 Marmots {Cynomys hidovictanus) from North America, pre- 

 sented by Miss Agneta B. Dykes ; four Common Gulls {Larus 

 cand), a Common Widgeon {Mareca penelope), four Grey Plovers 

 (Squatareola helveticd), three Knots [Tringa canuius), a Dunlin 

 ( Tringa cinclus), European, presented by Mr. F. Cresswell ; a 

 Blue and Yellow Macaw (Ara araraund) from South America, 

 presented by F. G. J. Lillingston, Lieut. R.N. ; two Coypu 

 Rats (Myopotamus coypu), a Brown Coati {Nasua nasicd), a 

 Chilian Sea Eagle {Geranoactus melanoleucus), a Dinca Finch 

 (Dinca grised), two Saira Tanagers {Pyranga saird), two Dark 

 Green Maize Eaters (Psmdoleistes virescens), two Blue-bearded 

 Jays [Cyanocorax cyanopogon) from Buenos Ayres, two Garden's 

 Night Herons {Nycticorax gardtni), zn Ariel Toucan {Jiam- 



phastos ariel), a White-bellied Thrush (Turdus albivmtrL) from 

 Bahia, a Great Frigate Bird (Fregata aquild) from Pernambuco, 

 a Brazilian Blue Grosbeak (Guiraca cyaned) from Mexico, pur- 

 chased ; two C-avoing'?, OciodoxiS {Octodon cumingi) from Chili, 

 deposited. 



EARLY EXPERIMENTS ON THE CONDUC- 

 TION OF ELECTRICITY BY SUBMARINE 

 WIRES FOR ILLUMINATING DISTANT 

 PLACES AND PROPOSALS FOR THE DIVI- 

 SION OF THE LIGHT INTO SEPARATE 

 LIGHTS 



T DO not profess to be acquainted with the means which have 

 -*■ been recently employed for conveying electricity to illuminate 

 places at a distance or for sub-dividing the electric light, nor is 

 it with the slightest wish to derogate from the merit of recent 

 inventors that I now submit a few facts as to earlier labours in 

 the same field which may perhaps be interesting to the readers 

 of Nature. 



So far as I know, the first suggestion of communicating elec- 

 tricity for lighting purposes to distant places was in the fourth 

 volume of the Trans. Roy. Scott. Soc. of Arts, vol. iv., 1854. 

 In describing the apparent light on a sunken reef in the sea at 

 the entrance of Stornoway Loch, which was lighted in 185 1, I 

 stated that "it occurred to me that in some cases gas-pipes 

 might be laid or even submarine wires, so as to illuminate a 

 lantern placed on a beacon or buoy" I did not, however, con- 

 sider it safe, "at least in the present state of our knowledge," 

 to adopt either of these plans; but gave the preference to an 

 apparent light illuminated by a beam of rays projected from a 

 lens placed on the shore at a distance of 530 feet from the sunk 

 rock, which plan has been in use since 1851. 



In 1852, and therefore not long after the erection of the 

 Stornoway light, Admiral Sheringham used electricity for pro- 

 ducing heat for the purpose of igniting gas at a buoy. 



My friend, Mr. Alan Brebner, C.E., suggested, as referred to 

 in Messrs. Stevenson's Report on the electric light in 1865, that 

 the lighthouses of Scotland might be illuminated from one great 

 central station. 



In 1865 I made experiments for the Commissioners of Northern 

 Lighthouses with the sanction of the Board of Trade, on lighting 

 beacons by submarine wires, and on the suggestion of my friend, 

 Prof. Swan, increased the flashes by combining a Leyden jar 

 with an induction coil. On January 13, 1866, I communicated 

 to the Secretary of the Roy. Scott. Society of Arts that the 

 induction spark placed in the focus of lighthouse apparatus gave 

 in all respects satisfactory results at the distance of half a mile, 

 which, owing to intervening objects, was the greatest distance 

 from which it could be seen. The primary current was also 

 kept for a week passing continuously night and day, through 

 800 feet of wire without any sensible waste of the platinum 

 electrodes. I next attempted to pass the current through a cable 

 under the sea, tut without success, when Messrs. Stevenson 

 applied to Dr. Siemens for his assistance in the matter, and he 

 recommended an electro-magnet on the beacon with a contact 

 lever actuated by the armature of the electro-magnet in the 

 manner of a Neft's hammer. The luminous effect was increased 

 by the deflagration of mercury. This plan, as tried at Granton 

 Harbour, was quite successful ; but the products of combustion 

 were deposited on the optical apparatus, and some mechanical 

 difficulties interfered with its continuous working. 



Being thus thrown back on the old plan of the induction spark, 

 I was enabled to overcome the difficulties by the following expe- 

 dients : — Mr. Brebner suggested placing the induction coils with 

 condensers close to the optical apparatus on the beacon and the 

 battery and contact breaker on the shore, so as to pass only the 

 primary ciu-rent through the cable. Mr. Hart, electrician, also 

 designed an improved break for the purpose, and Prof. Tait 

 recommended the enlargement of the earth terminals. By these 

 arrangements the current was passed successfully under the sea. 

 The experiment was repeated at Granton, at the request of the 

 Trinity House of London, in presence of Captains Fenwick and 

 Nisbet, and Mr. Douglass, the engineer, accompanied by Mr. 

 Farrer and Mr. Shaw Lefevre of the Board of Trade.i The 

 distance between the battery and break on Granton Pier and the 

 induction coils and optical apparatus on Newhaven Pier is 



^ " Propcsak for the Illumination of Beacons and Buoys," by T. Steven- 

 sen, p. 14. (Edinburgh: A. and C. Black, 1870.) 



