Oct. 3, 1878] 



NATURE 



599 



According to the Italie, the waggons will be dragged by a rope. 

 The length of the way will be only 840 metres, and the altitude 

 reached 490 metres above the level of the sea. Each wa^on 

 will have only four seat?, and four waggons, carrying sixteen 

 passengers, will go up at the same time that four others loaded 

 with sixteen persons will come down. Each waggon will be 

 supplied with a patent brake for stopping instantly if the rope 

 breaks. 



The death is announced, at Milan, of Signer Giulio Curioni, 

 a distinguished chemist, metallurgist, and geologist, in his 82nd 

 year. 



Mr. Edison, the Polytechnic Review states, has made some 

 experiments with a view to accomplishing the reading of the 

 phonograph record by sight ; but although a fundamental form 

 exists for each articulated sound, he finds it very difficult to free 

 the record from what might be called accidental influences ; for 

 so sensitive are these markings that the same sound uttered by 

 different persons, or the manner in which it is spoken, the 

 distance of the mouth from the instrument, the force with which 

 it is spoken, or the speed with which the barrel is rotated, gives 

 a different form of indentation. Vowel sounds appear to be but 

 little affected by these variations as compared with consonants. 



About 14,000 telephones, we learn from the Polytechnic 

 Review, had been introduced into the United States up to the 

 close of the year 1877, and the manufacturers are receiving 

 orders at the rate of about a thousand a month. 



We learn from the Report of the British Association Com- 

 mittee on Erratic Blocks, presented by Rev. H. W. Crosskey, 

 that the Committee were supplied with notes on boulders near 

 Kendal by Mr. J, R. Dakyng. The most remarkable are those 

 of the granite of Wastdale Crag, near Shap Wells, the distribu- 

 tion of which seems to show that they must have travelled over 

 the high ground south of the granitic area, and not have fol- 

 lowed the course of the present drainage. The general due 

 south course of the boulders is shown by their distribution south 

 of Kendal. They have been traced as far south as Milnthrops 

 and occupy a narrow band of country whose long axis point, 

 directly to the granite of Shap Fells. The most westerly are 

 some near Hincaster, and a line drawn from the most westerly 

 outcrop of granite on Shap Fells to these boulders bears south 

 by west. The most easterly in this neighbourhood is in a field 

 near Windy Hill, about two miles south-east of Kendal railway 

 station, but one has been found high up on the side of Grayrigg 

 Fell. Boulders of the dark compact altered rock that surrounds the 

 granitic area are generally found along with the granite boulders. 

 When the localities where granite boulders occur are marked on 

 a map, the steady lineal north and south direction of their 

 course is very striking. Boulders of the ordinary volcanic rocks 

 of the Lake Mountains indicate other directions for the ice-flows_ 

 One of these may be seen two and a half miles out of Kendal, 

 and east of the line of granite boulders. As the granitic area 

 of Shap Fells is at the extreme east end of the volcanic rocks, 

 this boulder must have crossed the line of flow along which the 

 granite boulders travelled. Some new facts were reported by 

 Mr. Macintosh relative to the derivation of boulders already 

 recorded, the existence of several large boulders previously un- 

 noted, and by the extent to which Ireland has sent erratics into 

 England. The report further contained descriptions of the 

 position and character of many large boulders and groups of 

 boulders in Leicestershire and Staffordshire. 



It is announced that a second session of the International 

 Congress of Ethnographical Science which met under the 

 patronage of the French government in July last at the Palace 

 of the Trocadero, will be held on October 10 next at the Palace 

 of the Tuileries. This session is to be held in order that those 



who were unable to attend in Paris in July last may now have 

 an opportunity of being present at the congress. In the course 

 of a few days a programme will be published of the questions to 

 which special attention is to be called. The committee of the 

 Ethnographical Society of Paris which is organising the congress 

 are especially desirous that England should be well represented 

 on the occasion. 



In a recent issue of the Indian Tea Gazette we find some inte- 

 resting notes of an attempted journey towards China, overland 

 from Assam, extracted from the journal of Mr. C. H. Leppcr, 

 who, attracted to the subject, no doubt, by his previous residence 

 in China and Japan, has always kept in view, since his arrival 

 in Assam, the idea of taking advantage of the magnificent 

 Brahmapootra as a road to within about 200 miles of the frontier 

 of the province of Yiinnan. His residence being only sixteen 

 miles from Suddya, the furthest outpost on the north-east of 

 India, he has had constant opportunities of making inquiries 

 from the intervening peoples in regard to the distance, state of 

 the tribes, &c., between our frontier and China. These proved 

 so satisfactory in their results that early in 1876 he was induced 

 to make an attempt to advance as far as possible in the direction 

 of China with the object of obtaining more precise and practical 

 information. Before the party left Suddya, the meMa or fair 

 for the hill tribes had just been held, at which Chow Mang Ti, a 

 chief of the Kamptis, acts as interpreter for that tribe and the 

 Singfoos, who assemble there in considerable numbers. His 

 brother. Chow Kun, accompanied Mr. Lepper as head of the 

 Kampti guides, and in the course of conversation Chow Mang Ti 

 stated that there would be no difficulty in getting through the 

 intervening country to the Chinese border. Passing up the 

 Brahmapootra, the party entered the Tenga Pani River through 

 the Noa Dehing. They found the first three or four miles had 

 a sandy bottom, with great quantities of the silkworm-feeding 

 Soom tree on the banks, on which the forest soon became dense 

 and the scenery beautiful. Near the first rapid is a pretty islet, 

 named Shikar Mazeli, which, when seen from a point a little 

 further up the stream, Mr. Lepper describes as "perfectly 

 enchanting." After passing the village of Juna or Chuna, Mr. 

 Lepper says "we soon came to a bend, having a very high 

 forest facing us on a hill, containing banyan, valuable saul trees 

 in great quantities, also uriam and soom trees ; we noticed, too, 

 the Bazal bamboo appeared again, bamboos up to within a short 

 distance of this hill not having been seen on the river. The 

 ' surat,' a horrid leaf, which, if touched, causes intense pain, 

 for days, is prevalent, also a kind of wild chestnut. Plantains, 

 toku pat, tora pat, tree fern?, orchids, and other parasites, all 

 help together with graceful patches of cane to make the picture 

 perfect." Owing to numerous rapids progress was slow, and it 

 was late on the fourth day when the party reached Shangkam,. 

 where they were kindly received by the Kamptis. After they 

 had waited some time. Chow Mang Ti arrived from Suddya, 

 and to their great disappointment assured them that it would be 

 useless to attempt to proceed towards China at that time of the 

 year, as the rainy season had set in. He, however, gave some 

 information on points connected with the route to China.. 

 " It takes eight days," he said, " to reach Hobong, between, 

 which place and this you could get no supplies, and it would 

 take you about sixteen days to get there. Hobong is a large 

 town. Then it takes us eight days more to reach the Irrawaddy 

 River, and would take you at least sixteen or eighteen days. It 

 is between Hobong and the Irrawaddy that the ascent I told you 

 of has to be made. A little past Hobong are the two hills of 

 almost pure silver ; . . . there is a great quantity of gold there 

 too, which gives tliat little colony of ours the name of Kamp Thi, 

 meaning gold country, by which name you call all of us, who 

 are really Shans from Shan, a country lying nearer China^ 



