284 



NATURE 



\yan. 25, 1877 



he has indefatigably pursued his researches in equatorial Africa, 

 having led, during this period, the three German exploring 

 expeditions into the Ogowe and Gaboon region. 



The Council of the Italian Geographical Society have agreed 

 to present Sir George Nares with its gold medal. 



At the last meeting of the Paris Geographical Society the 

 Abbe Durand gave an address, the object of which was to prove 

 that the Portuguese crossed Central Africa in the fifteenth and 

 sixteenth centuries, from the Congo to Mozambique. 



The Norwegian geologist, K. Pettersen, is planning a new 

 expedition to Spitzbergen during the coming summer, which 

 shall aim at a thorough geological survey of the island. A peti- 

 tion has been presented to the Norwegian Government requesting 

 a grant for the undertaking. 



At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on Mon- 

 day, Dr. Mullens read a paper on '* Later Explorations in 

 Madagascar," giving an account of five journeys of unusual 

 importance, and over entirely new ground, by English mission- 

 aries in Madagascar during the last two years. 



On January 13 the Sumatra Expedition of the Dutch Geo- 

 graphical Society embarked at Nieuwediep for the east. A 

 corps of leading scientific men have been gathered together for 

 this expedition, and interesting as well as valuable results are 

 expected from their researches. A great portion of their time will 

 be devoted to the exploration of the as yet unvisited Diambi 

 region, which is represented by the natives as abounding in use- 

 ful woods and minerals. The Dutch Government has displayed 

 a lively interest in the undertaking, and has placed at the service 

 of the expedition a steamer completely fitted out for a two years' 

 cruise. If favourable reports are brought back it is intended to 

 send colonies to the above-mentioned district. 



On January 10 the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences cele- 

 brated its 150th annual anniversary in an extraordinary gather- 

 ing, at which the Emperor and royal family were present. 

 Count Liitke, the president, reviewed the past activity of the 

 Academy in a short address. The great medals of merit were 

 assigned this year to Profs. Beilstein and von Bunge. The 

 Emperor of Germany and M, Lesseps were among the list of 

 those elected as honorary members. Among the fourteen 

 leading scientific men elected as corresponding members, were 

 Profs. Frankland, Newton, and Wright, England ; Prof. Kirch- 

 hoff, of Berlin; Prof. Fiorelli, of Naples; Profs. Berth elot, Egger, 

 and Decaisne, of Paris. 



On January 12, Prof. Wilhelm F. B. Ho^^meister, one of the 

 leading German botanists, died at the age of fifty-two. Although 

 a self-taught botanist, he attracted attention at an early age by 

 his publications on embryology and the physiology of plants, 

 and was elected member of several royal academies. In 1863 he 

 was called to the ordinary professorship of botany in Heidelberg, 

 and in 1873 accepted a call to Tubingen, where he was active 

 until the time of his death. But a short time since he received 

 from Holland the great medal of Boerhaave — worth 75/. — in 

 recognition of his botanical investigations. Among Prof. 

 Hofmeister's principal works are " Die Entwickelung des 

 Embryo der Phanerogamen. Eine Reihe mikroscopischer 

 Untersuchungen," ' * Vergleichen der Untersuchung der Kel- 

 mung, Entfaltung und Fruchtbildung hoheren Kryptogamen, 

 und der Samerbildung der Coniferen," and an extensive hand- 

 book of physiological botany, published in conjunction with de 

 Baty, Irmisch, and Sachs. 



We regret to record the death, on the nth inst., of Mr. 

 Alfred Smee, F.R.S., F.C.S,, F.R.C.S., F.L.S., &c. Mr, 

 Smee was bom June 18, 1818. He was educated at St. Paul's 

 School, and afterwards at King's College and St. Bartholomew's 



Hospital, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society at the early 

 age of twenty-one. As an eminent and well-qualified medical man 

 he held many offices, including that of Surgeon to the Bank of 

 England. To scientific men he is best known as the inventor of 

 the battery known as Smes's Battery, and which for certain pur- 

 poses is still more useful than any other form of battery. For 

 this he got the Gold Medal [of the Society of Arts in 1840, 

 He was author of numerous works, of which we note the fol- 

 lowing : — " Elements of Electro-Metallurgy," " Sources of Phy- 

 sical Science," "Elements of Electro-Biology," "On the Mono- 

 genesis of Physical Forces," " Lecture on Electro- Metallurgy," 

 " My Garden," "The Mind of Man." 



The French Officiel publishes the regulations for the appoint- 

 ment of professors of hydrography by the Government. There 

 are to be three classes of them. The third class is to be recruited 

 by competitive examination from officers of the national navy 

 and captains of the mercantile navy. They are to be appointed 

 by the President of the Republic, according to the award given 

 by the jury of admission. The jury is to be composed of an 

 admiral or vice-admiral president, two examiners from the 

 marine department, a hydrographical engineer, and a professor 

 of hydrography. 



The credit asked by the French Government for public in- 

 struction in 1878 is 52,000,000 francs. In 1877 it was 49,000,000, 

 and in 1876 only 39,000,000. 



The electric light is becoming common in Paris in connection 

 with works that have to be carried on during the night, A large 

 lamp fed by a six-horse power has been established in the Avenue 

 de rOpera, and others are employed in the Trocadero in connec- 

 tion with the building of the Exhibition Palace. The gramme 

 machine and screw regulator are employed. 



The first number is issued of an important publication. The 

 Wild Flowers 0/ Am erica, by Br. G. L, Goodale, Professor in Har- 

 vard University, with coloured illustrations bylsaac Sprague. The 

 present number consists of figures of five species, in four plates, 

 and the plates are accompanied by a botanical description to- 

 gether with some gossip about folk-lore, popular names, &c. 

 The paucity of figures of even the commoner American plants 

 will render the work very welcome to botanists. The name of 

 the artist is a sufficient guarantee of the faithfulness of the draw- 

 ing, and the colouring appears to us to be successful. 



Capt. H. W. Howgate, Acting Signal Officer, U.S.N., 

 suggests the following method of attaining the North Pole : — 

 To be able to take advantage of the occasional breaking-up of 

 the ice-barrier with the greatest certainty and with the least ex- 

 penditure of time, money, and human life, it is essential that 

 the exploring party be on the ground at the very time the ice 

 gives way and opens the gateway to the long-sought prize. This 

 can only be done by colonising a few hardy, resolute, and expe- 

 rienced men at some point near the borders of the Polar Sea, 

 and the most favourable one for the purpose appears to be that 

 where the Z^w^r^z'^ry wintered last year. Such a party should consist 

 of at least twenty men, and should be provided with provisions 

 and other necessary supplies for three years, at the end of which 

 period they should be visited, and, if still unsuccessful in ac- 

 complishing the object, revictualled and again left to their work. 

 It is stated that an effort will be made to induce the U.S. 

 Government to adopt this plan. 



Behm's last Geographischer yahresbericht shows a total of 

 thirty- six geographical societies in existence at present. 



During the middle of January the South of Norway hag 

 been visited with the severest snowstorm experienced since i8i8< 

 In some of the villages snow covers the roofs of the houses to 

 the depth of skteen feet, and dwellings have been unable to sup- 



