'f7ov. 23, 1876] 



NATURE 



89 



jng, and llius ignite the contents of the magazine ; but by the 

 jidoption of Mr. Sturgeon's plan an accident of this kind could 

 lot occur. 



Her Majesty has commanded that instructions be given to the 

 hfas'er of the Mint to prepare a die and cast a sufficient number 

 |)f medals commemorative of the Arctic Expedition. These ar« 

 jo be distributed amongst the officers and crews of the Alert, 

 Ihe Discovery, and the Pandora. The Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas 

 \Vhite, is to give a dinner to the crews of the Aleri and Discovery 

 JiX. the Mansion House, on the evening of December 5. The 

 Lord Mayor intends to invite the officers of the expedition to a 

 lanquet a few days later, probably December 8. The inhabitants 

 )f Portsmoutli intend to entertain the crews of the Alert, Dis- 

 ■(wery, and Pandora at a dinner on the 30th inst. 



Mr. R. J. Friswell has resigned the honorary secretaryship 

 )f the Photographic Society. 



The Ethnographical Museum of Berlin has lately received 



leveral valuuble additions, viz., the objects acquired by Dr. Lenz 



luring the German-African Expedition. They represent tribes 



Irrom the West Coast of Africa hitherto little known, and consist of 



various wooden weapons, domestic implements and musical instru- 



i. Very shortly the excellent collections of the celebrated 



m traveller, Dr. NachLigal, are also to be exhibited at the 



am. Some of these come from tribes which Dr. Nachtigal 



_o the fnvt European to see. Much inconvenience is felt at the 



Jknuseum thrcugh want of space, and particularly so with refer- 



lon^p t,^ ir,,,,^ Ameiican curiosities sent for exlibition by Prof 



. John's College, Cambridge, offers for competition an 

 , iition of 50/. per annum, for proficiency in Natural Science. 



She examirjation will commence on Saturday, April 7, and will 

 e in chemistry, including practical work in the laboratory ; 

 ics, viz.. Electricity, Heat, and Light ; and in Physiology 

 iidates will also have the option of being examined in 

 Geology, Comparative Anatomy, and Botany, provided they give 

 notice of the subjects in which they desire to be examined four 

 weeks prior to the examination. No candidate will be examined 

 in more than three of these six subjects, whereof one at least must 

 be chosen from the former group. It is the wish of the master 

 and seniors that excellence in some one department should be 

 specially regarded by the candidates. Names should be sent to 



■ef the tutors at least fourteen days before the examination. 

 fCHAiR of Physical Astronomy has been created in the 

 ilty of Sciences at Lyons. 



How rapidly an interest in prehistoric researches is spreading 

 among the educated classes in Germany is seen in the progress 

 of the Anthropological Society of Munich. It was constituted 

 in 1S70 as a branch of the German Anthropological Society, 

 founded only three weeks before it. It began with thirty- five 

 members and now numbers 300. 



The present effjrts of the German Anthropological Society 

 are directed towards the preliminary preparations for an Anthro- 

 pological and Primitive History of Germany ; by means of a terri- 

 torial division of labour, extremely important data have already 

 been obtained. Contributions on particular points are appearing 

 in the Comspondeuzblatt of the German Anthropological Society, 

 the Archiv fiir Afithropolo^ie, and the Berlin Zalschrift jiit 

 Ethno^raphie. Meantime, at the Anthropological Meeting held 

 in Munich last year, a plan was formed by a num.ber of Anthro- 

 pologists, in reference to the astonishing richness of the pre- 

 historic discoveries in Bavaria, for the advancement of German 

 Anthropology, by the establishment of an organ for the publi- 

 cation of the complete results which have been obtained in refer- 

 ence to Bavaria. The accomplishment of this scheme has now 

 commenced with the publication of a part of the Beitrdge zur 



Anthrofologie und Urgcschichte Bayerns, an organ of the Munich 

 Society of Anthropology. This part contains a monograph ott 

 the " Lake Dwellings in the Wiirm See," by S. v. Schab, who 

 ha? thoroughly explained this prehistoric dwelling-place, and 

 collected and arranged the rich find.";. The most important of 

 the latter are shown in seventeen lithographic plates, partly 

 coloured, with maps, plans, &c. 



Unv. Daily News Alexandria correspondent sends to that paper, 

 November 21, some particulars of the life and work of an African 

 explorer who has been quietly doing good service for many years. 

 This is Signor Piaggia, who went to Tunis first in 185 1 as a 

 gardener, and there and in Alexandria saved money for years, 

 v.'ith which he went up to Khartoum. From then until now he 

 has made, several important journeys ; to the country of the 

 "Kieks," the territory of the Niam-Niams, where he became a 

 great favourite, and stayed more than two years, the Bogos teni- 

 tory on the borders of Abyssinia with the Marquis Antinori, into 

 Cerada, southeast of Lake Tzana, which he explored minutely. 

 Latterly, after accompanying Gessi for some distance, he has 

 been in the districts of Mrooli and Mtesa, and made a thorough 

 exploration of the Lake Capecbii. From all his journeys he has 

 brought back large collections of objects of all kinds, which, it 

 is believed, are now for sale. 



The Moniteur de I'Algerie states that from November 8 a 

 violent sirocco, or wind from the desert, was felt in Algeria for 

 several days. This accounts for the unusual elevation of tem- 

 perature in Algeria. 



The exhibition of fossils, paintings, plants, and other objects 

 illustrative of the mountain limestone in the Manchester Aqua- 

 rium, was closed on Monday, having been open to the public a 

 little more than a week. The exhibition has been in every way 

 successful. 



Further details received regarding the cyclone of October 

 31 prove it to have been one of the most terrible calamities on 

 record. Estimates based on official returns from each police 

 section put the loss of life in the districts of Backergunge, Noak- 

 holly, and Chittagong at not less than 215,000. Three large 

 islands — Dakhin Shahabazpore, Hattiah, and Sundeep — and 

 numerous small islands were entirely submerged by the storm 

 wave, and also the mainland for some five or six miles inland. 

 These ishnds are all situated in or near the estuary of the 

 Meghna, a river formed by the confluence of the Ganges and 

 Brahmapootra rivers. Up to 1 1 P.M. on the night of the catas- 

 trophe there were no signs of danger, but before midnight the 

 storm wave swept over the islands to a depth in places of 20 feet, 

 surprising the people in their beds. The country is perfectly 

 flat, and, therefore, trees were the only secure range. Almost 

 every one perished who failed in reaching trees. A strange fact 

 about the disaster is that in Dakhin Shahabazpore and Hattiah 

 most of the damage was done by the storm wave from the north 

 svi eeping down the Meghna, Several theories, the Times Cal- 

 cutta correspondent state.?, have been started to account for this. 

 One is that the cyclone, forming in the bay, struck the shore 

 firi-t near Chittagong, and went north for some distance, and 

 then turned southward again. Another is that the wind blew 

 bsck the waters of the Meghna, which rebounded with terrific 

 force when the pressure relaxed. A third supposition is that 

 there were two parallel storms with a centre of calm between 

 them. The first or third theory seems most probable, as in 

 Sundeep and Chittagong the destruction came from the south. 



Mr. Henry Meiggs, the well-known American railroad con- 

 tractor and engineer, whose efforts in connection with the 

 establishment of railroads in Peru are so well known and 

 appreciated, has recently furnished the means to M, Bur, a 



