Jan. II, 1877] 



NATURE 



247 



cannibals, but indulge in the custo-.n in order to show their com- 

 plete mastery over their enemies, and not from a preference for 

 human flesh. New Britain was coasted entirely and crossed 

 several times. The interior is hilly, the loftiest point being 

 2,500 feet high. It is well populated, and the natives expressed 

 the usual surprise at seeing white men for the first time. The 

 tribe at Blanclii Bay informed the travellers of another tribe at 

 some distance from the coast, who were provided with caudal 

 appendages of an exceedingly remarkable character, and pro- 

 mised to obtain a specimen before the next visit of the brig. 

 At another place, the wealthier families among the natives were 

 accustomed to confine their daughters for several yeais before 

 the attainment of puberty in tabooed houses, not allowing them 

 to put foot upon the ground during the whole period. A 

 superior tribe was encountered at Spacious Bay, with lighter 

 complexions and straighter hair than their neighbours. Both 

 sexes wore partial clothing. Large collections were brought 

 back illustrating most fully the geology, the fauna, and the 

 rich tropical flora of the islands. 



M. Clement Ganneau, who has recently been i/i London to 

 study the Semitic monumeiits in the British Museum, writes to 

 the Times animadverting on the complete want of system in their 

 arrangement. The Semitic remains are scattered among other 

 collections in such a way as to make their examination a work 

 of the greatest difficulty, whereas were they properly classified 

 and arranged by themselves they would form a Semitic Room 

 •without a rival. 



The Geographical Society of St. Petersburg has received a 

 telegram from Prjevalsky announcing that he has crossed the 

 Thian Shan, and, on October 14, was fifty versts from Karashar. 

 The country he was then in is a desert. 



M. Waddington, French Minister of Public Instruction, is 

 busy fitting up a large pedagogical museum, which will be 

 located in the hotel of the Ministry, and be open to the inspec- 

 tion of any scientific men interested in the progress of pedagogy. 



The first portion of the German Jahresbericht iiber die Fort- 

 schritte der Chemie, for 1875, containing 480 pages, about one- 

 third of the complete work, has just been issued. General and 

 physical chemistry receives 150 pages, inorganic chemistry, 

 80 pages, while the remainder of the number is devoted to 

 organic chemistry, which will also occupy the greater portion of 

 the second number. Prof. Fittica, of Marburg, assumes, with 

 the volume for 1875, the chief editorial supervision, and is 

 assisted by the following able corps : — K. Birnbaum, C. Bot- 

 tinger, C. Hell, H. Klinger, A. Lauberheimer, E. Ludwig, A. 

 Michaelis, A. Naumann, F. Nies, H. Solkowski, Z. H. Skraup, 

 and K. Zoppritz. Complete sets of the Jahresba-icht are difficult 

 to obtain now as seven years' numbers are out of print. A perfect 

 set from 1847 to the present date, with the two registers, costs 

 from 500 to 600 marks in Germany. The editor requests from 

 the authors of chemical articles separate copies of their com- 

 munications in order to lighten the labour of classification and 

 compilation. 



We have received vol. i. of the Proceedings of the Davenport 

 (Iowa, U.S.) Academy of Natural Sciences. This Academy 

 had a very small beginning in 1867, but is now in a flourishing 

 condition. The volume contains the proceedings from 1867 to 

 1876, and includes some papers of real value, especially on 

 mound exploration. The number of scientific societies in the 

 U.S. issuing publications containing papers of genuine scientific 

 importance is now large, and constantly increasing. 



The artificial lighting of rooms affects the human system, on 

 the one hand, through the change produced in the composition 

 of the air by gases of combustion, and on the other through rise 

 of temperature. These influences have lately been examined by 

 M. Erismann [Zeitschri/t Jiir Biologie). In a part of the labo- 

 ratory 10 cubic metres' capacity, inclosed by wooden and glass 



v.nl's, various materials were burnt eight hours, viz., stearine 

 candles (six at a time), rape oil, petroleum, and ordinary gas, 

 and the air was drawTi off at different heights and analysed. 

 The results do not pretend to absolute exactness, but a com- 

 parison of ihem is interesting. The tables first show that under 

 all circumstances, and with all sorts of artifical lighting, the air 

 of an inclosed space contains more carbonic acid and organic 

 carbon-containing substances than in absence of such illumina- 

 tion ; still, in these experiments the carbonic acid was never 

 greater than o*6 or 07 per 1,000, while the proportion of other 

 carbon compounds was very variable, so that the amount of car- 

 bonic acid gives no exact criterion for the vitiation of the air. 

 The CO2 actually found in the air was only a very small fr.iclion 

 of that produced by the combustion ; by far the greatest part 

 must have been carried away by the natural ventilation. In 

 comparing the four materials, the proportion of COj and other 

 carbon compounds was reduced to a light strength of six normal 

 candles. It appeared that the petroleum, with lamp of good 

 construction, communicates to the atmosphere, not only kssCOg, 

 but (what is much more important) fewer products of imperfect 

 combustion than the other lighting materials ; and, further, that 

 stearine candles, with the same light-strength, vitiate the air 

 most. As to temperature, that of the lower layers of air, up to 

 a height of I •$ metres, rose very little during the eight hours, 

 about 2° to 3° on an average, while the upper layers increased 

 considerably in temperature, especially just under the ceiling ; 

 this increase, in the case of ordinary gas, rape oil, and petro- 

 leum, was 10-5° to io-8°, in that of candles only 4°. If, 

 however, we take into account the photometric light-effect of 

 the flames during the experiment, it is found tliat, with equal 

 light-strength, rape oil and gas raise the temperature consider- 

 ably more than petroleum, and the action of the latter, indeed, 

 came to about that of the candles. 



The additions to the Zoological Gardens during the past week 

 include an American Black Bear ( Ursus mnericanus) from North 

 America, presented by Mr, W. Stead ; a Common Partridge 

 {Perdix cinerca), European, presented by Mr. H. Laver; a 

 Razorbill (Alca tordd), European, presented by Mr, W. 

 Thompson; two Common Swans {Cygnus olor), a Common 

 Cross-bill {Loxia curvirostra), European, purchased, 



SOCIETJES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 



Zoological Society, January 2. — Prof. Newton, F.R.S., 

 vice-president, in the chair. — Prof. Newton exhibited and made 

 remarks on a specimen of a variety of the guillemot (Alca troile) 

 with yellow bill and legs, which had been lately shot by Mr. 

 J. M. Pike on the south coast of England. — Prof. Garrod, 

 F.R.S,, read a paper on the osteology and visceral anatomy of 

 the Ruminantia, in which many facts concerning the anatomy of 

 the Cervidse and the Cavicornia were brought forward, especially 

 with reference to the shape of the liver and the structure of the 

 generative organs in these animals. Among the most important 

 of these was the observation that the uterine mucous membrane 

 of the musk-deer {Moschus moschiferus) presents no indications of 

 the presence of cotyledons, the contrary being the case in all other 

 ruminants. Prof, Garrod likewise made a suggestion as to a 

 proposed method of expressing the relations of species by means 

 of formulae, — A paper by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin was read 

 containing the descriptions of eight new species of South American 

 birds, namely (i), Euphonia finschi ; (2), Pheuticus aissalis ; 

 (3), Odhccca leuconietopa ; (4), Octhccca arinacea ; {<^), C/tloromrpes 

 dignus ; (6), Celeus stibflavus ; (7), Chamapelia buckleyi ; (8), 

 Crax erythrognatha. — Mr, R, Bowdler Sharpe read a paper on 

 some new species of warblers from Madagascar, which had been 

 recently added to the collection in the British Museum, and were 

 proposed to be called. Apalis ccrvinivefitris, Bccocerca Jlaviventris, 

 and Dromceocercus brunmus, the last-named being a new genus, 

 from Madagascar. — A communication was read from Mr. G. S. 

 Brady, containing notes on fresh-water mites which had been 

 obtained from lakes and ponds in England and Ireland, 



Royal Microscopical Society, January 3. — Charles Brooke, 

 F.R.S,, vice-president, in the chair. — Dr. Wallich read a paper 



