August 15, 1878] 



NATURE 



423 



authority? Should the smallest British teal be called Fhoca 

 hispida, fatida, or aunellata ? 



I might go on indefinitely multiplying instances which will be 

 answered differently by different naturalists, the arguments for 

 one or the other name being often nicely balanced. What is 

 wanted, therefore, is some l.ind of judicial authority for deciding 

 what should in future be used. If a committee of eminent 

 naturalists, selected from various nations and divided into several 

 sections according to the subjects with which each member is 

 most familiar, could be prevailed upon to take up the task of 

 revising the whole of our existing nomenclatiu-e upon the basis 

 of the laws issued by the Association in 1842, occasionally tem- 

 pering their strictly legal decisions with a little discretion and 

 common sense, and with a view, as much as possible, of avoiding 

 confusion, and promoting general convenience ; and if the 

 working zoologists of the world generally would agree to accept 

 the decisions of such a committee as final, we should dispose of 

 many of the difficulties with which we are now troubled. There 

 seems to me no more reason why the nomenclatm*e of such a 

 committee, if it were composed of men in whose judgment 

 their fellow-workers would have confidence, should not be as 

 universally accepted as is the nomenclature of the last edition of 

 the " Systema Naturae " of Linnaeus. We have agreed not to 

 look beyond that work for evidence of priority, and why should 

 we not agree in the same way to accept decisions which would 

 probably be arrived at with even fidler knowledge and greater 

 sense of responsibility ? 



Whether this suggestion will be received with favour or not it 

 appeared to me that it was one not inappropriate for the consi- 

 deration of this section which has already dealt \vith the question 

 in a manner so advantageous to science, and also for this year, 

 which has witnessed the hundredth anniversary of the death of 

 the great teacher of systematic zoology. 



Our knowledge of the living inhabitants of the earth has 

 indeed changed since that time. Our views of their relations to 

 the universe, to each other, and to ourselves, have undergone great 

 revolutions. The knowledge of Linnaeus far surpassed that of 

 any of his contemporaries ; but yet of what we now know he 

 knew but an infinitesimal amount. Much that he thought he 

 knew we now deem false. Nevertheless, some of the oldest 

 words to be found in all his writings contain sentiments which 

 still claim a response in the hearts of many. Although we are 

 less accustomed to see such words in works of science, that is no 

 proof that their significance has been impaired by the marvellous 

 progress of knowledge. With the words which Linnaeus 

 selected to place at the head of his great work I ^vill conclude — 



" O Jehova, 

 Quam ampla sunt tua opera ! 

 Quam sapienter ea fecisti ! 

 Quam plena est terra possessione tua ! " 



NOTES 



The International Congress of Meteorology, to be held in 

 Paris from August 24 to 28 next, at the Trocadero, will discuss 

 •a long series of questions having an important bearing on the 

 progress of meteorology, and especially on combined action on 

 the part of the meteorologists of various countries. Sixteen 

 subjects are down for discussion relating to the study of storms 

 in Europe and America, the means of carrying on and recording 

 meteorological investigations on a uniform plan, the origin and 

 propagation of cyclones, meteorology and aeronautics, terrestrial 

 magnetism, sim-spots and meteorology, influence of the confi- 

 giuration and nature of soil, and other physical conditions on 

 climate, earthquakes, the measures to be adopted in observa- 

 tories to hasten the progress of meteorology &c. This is 

 certainly a comprehensive programme, and we trust there will 

 be a good attendance of competent meteorologists of all nations, 

 and that some good practical Tesults will be the outcome of the 

 meeting. 



We notice that Prof. Fuller has resigned the professorship of 

 mathematics at Aberdeen, which he has held with so much dis- 

 tinction. All of the long list of Senior Wranglers who have 

 come from the University of Aberdeen within the last twenty- 

 iive years iave been his pupils. Prof. Fuller was tutor of 



Peterhouse before his appointment to Aberdeen. The chair will 

 probably be filled up in September by the University Court. 



The Journal Officid has published the dates of three new 

 congresses to be held at the Trocadero and Tuileries :-^Weight3 

 and Measures, September 2, 3, 4 ; Silk-culture, September 5, 

 6, 7, 9, II ; Legal Medicine, August 11, 13, 14. 



We are informed that a course of six lectures on meteoro- 

 logy will be given under the auspices of the council of the 

 Meteorological Society, commencing in October next. The 

 subjects of the lectures will be: — "The Nature and Physical 

 Properties of the Atmosphere;" "Air Temperature, its Dis- 

 tribution and Range;" "Atmospheric Pressure, Wind, and 

 Storms;" "Clouds and Weather Signs;" "Rain, Snow, 

 Hail, and Electricity ; " and " The Nature, Methods, and 

 General Objects of Meteorology." It is intended that these 

 lectures shall give a concise account of the present state of 

 knowledge on the above subjects. The lectiu-es will be open 

 to the public, admission being by ticket, to be obtained at 

 the office of the Society, 30, Great George Street, West- 

 minster, S.W. Further particulars, giving full information as 

 to the time, place, &c., will be duly announced. 



Scientific study does not yet appear to have attracted a 

 superfluity of women, to judge by the numbers of candidates at 

 the Cambridge Higher Local Examinations recently held. Only 

 about thirty out of 500 took the science subjects ; twenty-one 

 took botany, one failed, and three obtained distinction; 

 twenty-six geology and physical geography, of whom two 

 failed, and seven were distinguished ; seven geology, one 

 failed, three distinguished ; nine chemistry, three failed, none 

 distinguished. Ten of the science candidates sat at Cambridge, 

 and among them they gained ten out of fourteen of the distinc- 

 tions given. Miss E. M. Clarke, of Cambridge, was distin- 

 guished in geology, zoology, and botany, and passed in chemistry. 

 Mathematics got only twenty-three candidates, of whom four 

 failed ; only two, however, were placed in the first class (being 

 Cambridge students), and two in the second. We are glad to 

 learn that two new subjects are to be set in the science group 

 next year, namely, physics and physiology, the latter so much 

 needed in all girls' schools. Also, students will be allowed to 

 take this group without having to pass Group A (literatiure and 

 history) first, although it will be required for a full certificate. 



Sir Samuel Baker, in a letter to a contemporary, advo- 

 cates the establishment of a botanical garden in Cyprus, similar 

 to that in Ceylon, under the charge of a competent official, by 

 whom experiments will be made, and the trees most siutable for 

 the climate and varying altitudes of mountain ranges be 

 selected. 



A Peruvian newspaper, the Bolsa, we learn from the 

 Colonies, says that extraordinary phenomena have been observed 

 in connection with the "Corpuna" volcano in the province of 

 Castilla, which have caused great alarm among the population. 

 The immense banks of snow which have crowned its summit 

 from time immemorial have suddenly melted away with such 

 rapidity as to cause torrents to rush down the sides of the moun- 

 tain, washing out immense quantities of stones and earth. The 

 river below, being unable to contain the great body [of water 

 so suddenly added to it, overflowed its banks, causing great 

 damage and distress. A great chasm or lateral crater next 

 opened on one side, throwing out volumes of smoke and steam 

 as well as tongues of flame, Jwhich were distinctly visible at 

 night, accompanied with loud subterranean nunblings. It had 

 never been supposed that the Corpuna was or could be a volcano, 

 and there is no tradition that it was ever in a state of eruption. 

 Nor within the memory of man has its crown of snow ever been 

 absent. 



