682 



NATURE 



{Oct. 24, 1878 



Tetrodon — characteristically marine forms — are here recorded as 

 having been obtained in these districts 2,500 miles from the 

 mouth of the river — thus showing how far marine animals will 

 penetrate into, and become ultimately acclimatised in, fresh 

 waters. 



The existence of the true heath plant in North America was 

 for a long time considered very doubtful, and its detection in 

 New England some years ago is a matter of much interest. The 

 published localities hitherto are Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, 

 and Massachusetts, but, according to the Bulletin of the Torrey 

 Botanical Club, Dr. Hexamer, of Newcastle, has lately found a 

 few plants of it near Egg Harbour, New Jersey. 



Prof. Morse, since his return to Japan, has been diligently 

 engaged in prosecuting investigations into the natural history 

 and archaeology of the coast region. During his summer's stay at 

 Yezzo het brought together a large material of the most interesting 

 character, the transmission of a portion of which to American 

 museums, it is hoped, he will be able to bring about. 



The operations of the United States Fish Commission a 

 Gloucester, Massachusetts, were brought to a close, so far as 

 the deep-sea research was concerned, on September 26, on 

 which day the last trip of the United States steamer Speedwell 

 was made. This vessel, under the command of Capt. L. A. 

 Beardslee, of the navy, has been diligently occupied since the 

 middle of July in her work, and has made trips of greater or less 

 extent, varying from five to fifty miles, nearly every suitable 

 day during the summer. With an efficient corps of naturalists, 

 consisting of Prof. A. E. Verrill, Mr. Richard Rathbun, and 

 Prof. Sanderson Smith for the marine invertebrates. Dr. W. G. 

 Farlow for the algse. Prof. G. Brown Goode, Dr. T. H. Bean, 

 and Mr. Earll for the fishes, and Mr. Asaph Hall, Jun., in 

 charge of the temperature observations, very important results 

 have been secured, the location and extent of important fishing 

 banks have been ascertained, and existence established, of many 

 new and important fishes and invertebrates. A full account of 

 these will be published in the annual report of the commission. 

 The existence of species of shark, chimaeras, and other strange 

 fishes in the deep water off the coast, has been established by 

 numerous specimens, while the corals, gorgonians, star-fishes, 

 and other invertebrates brought in are of the most interesting 

 character. A portion of the commission has also been engaged 

 during the season in collecting numerous facts in regard to the 

 fisheries of Gloucester, especially those relating to the cod, 

 halibut, and mackerel, the report upon which, when published, 

 will doubtless be considered the first reliable statement of the 

 history of this great industry. 



It is desired to enlist the co-operation of botanists in general, 

 and more especially of bryologist;;, in a scheme set on foot by 

 the Botanical Locality Record Club for investigating the geo- 

 graphical distribution of mosses in the British Isles. The 

 Botanical Locality Record Club was founded in 1873 for the 

 purpose of working out the distribution of British plants, 

 records, accompanied by specimens as vouchers, being sent in 

 by the members and embodied by the recorder in an annual 

 report on the plan of "topographical botany." The club, 

 which commenced with fifty-four members, now contains nearly 

 100, including some of our most eminent botanists. A large 

 amount of work has been done by the club during the five years 

 that it has been in existence, the floras of several counties pre- 

 viously almost unexplored have been worked out, and a very 

 large number of additions iave been made to the flora of many 

 others. Up to the present time the reports have dealt only 

 with the flowering plants and vascular acrogens. In 1875, 

 however, a suggestion was made that the club should include 

 in its field the other orders of cryptogamia, and it is considered 

 desirable that, if possible, this should be carried into effect. It 



is proposed to start with the mosses, for which order Mr. C. P. 

 Hobkirk, F.L.S., and Mr. H. Boswell have consented to act 

 as recorders. A list of the mosses hitherto recorded in Great 

 Britain, entitled "The London Catalogue of British Mosses," 

 has been drawn up by Messrs. H. Boswell and C. P. Hobkirk, 

 as an aid to collectors, and to secure uniformity of nomencla- 

 ture. A number of specimens have already been sent in by 

 several members. At present, however, the funds in hand are 

 not sufficient to allow of the publication of a report on mosses 

 without seriously curtailing the report on the flowering plants, 

 which it is not considered desirable to do, especially seeing 

 that bryologists constitute but a comparatively small proportion 

 of the members of the club. If more botanists interested in 

 mosses (say thirty) could be induced to join the club, the 

 additional subscriptions (5^. each per annum) would suffice for 

 the publication of a report on mosses. Botanists wishing to 

 join the club are requested to send their names either to Dr. 

 H. F. Parsons, Goole, or C. P. Hobkirk, Huddersfield. 



We are glad to see that the Metropolitan Board of Works 

 have decided to give the electric light a fair trial by making a 

 large and continued experiment along the Victoria Embankment 

 and perhaps the recently freed Waterloo Bridge. The Com- 

 mission of Sewers have resolved to try similar experiments on 

 the Holbom Viaduct and in the open space in front of the 

 Royal Exchange and Mansion House. We trust proper dis- 

 crimination will be exercised in making arrangements, and if 

 the interests of the public are alone considered, we can hardly 

 doubt what will be the result. 



Engineering has been publishing an interesting series of 

 articles on physical science at the Paris Exhibition. In an 

 article in the last number on the Jablochkoff system of electric 

 lighting, some figures are given as to the total cost of the light 

 from sixteen Jablochkoff candles, which shows it to amount to 

 8j. (i\d. per hour. The light of the sixteen candles is estimated 

 by the Jablochkoff Company as equal to that of 1,600 gas- 

 burners, each consuming 3f cubic feet per hour, or about 6,000 

 cubic feet altogether. The price of gas in Paris being ds. lod. 

 per thousand cubic feet to the public and 3^. 5</. to the Adminis- 

 tration of the Ville de Paris, it follows that the cost of illu- 

 minating by gas, equal in power to that produced by the Ja- 

 blochkoff system for %s. 6|^., would be 2/. \s. to the public and 

 20J. dd. to the Ville de Paris, while in London, taking gas at! 

 3J. per thousand, its hourly cost would be i8j. 



Carrier pigeons, it would seem, are being turned to useful 

 account in a new direction in Germany, for Consul Ward writes 

 to the Foreign Office that the successful results attained by the 

 establishment of communication between the two Eider light- 

 ships and the port of Tonning, in Schleswig, by these means 

 has led to the organisation of a similar arrangement between 

 the light-vessel stationed off the Island of Borkum, at the mouth 

 of the Ems and the island itself, whence any news brought by 

 the pigeons can at once be forwarded by telegraph to the main- 

 land. 



Sergeant Jennings, of the Signal Corps of the United 

 States, has established a temporary station in the American 

 section of the International Exhibition, and is practising 

 weather-warning according to the rules of the service, as far as 

 it is possible with his limited knowledge of the peculiarities of 

 the Parisian climate and atmospheric conditions. This has 

 attracted the attention of the public and scientific authorities. 



Mr. a. Craig-Christie, of Edinburgh, writes to us to say 

 that it occurred to him some little time ago that our common grass, 

 Molinia ccrrulea, might form a good material for paper-making, 

 on account of its tenacity of fibre and the comparatively small 

 quantity of silica in its composition— two characters which dis- 



