Feb, 8, 187^] 



NATURE 



325 



From a circular recently issued by the general committee 

 intrusted with the duty of collecting subscriptions for the erec- 

 tion of a statue to Liebig, it appears that the sum total con- 

 tributed up to January i, 1877, amounts to over 7,000/., after 

 the deduction of necessary expenses Russia contributed over 

 one-half of the receipts acknowledged in this third and last 

 report. Since the decision to provide Giessen as well as Munich 

 with a statue, the authorities of the former place have selected 

 a fitting locality for the memorial, and laid it out in a tasteful 

 manner. 



We greatly regret to hear of the death of Capt. J. E. Davis, 

 in his sixty-first year, Capl. Davis had only recently retired 

 from the Ilydrographical Department, to which he had rendered 

 important services. He was also well known as an authority on 

 polar matters, having himself seen service in the Antarctic 

 regions. Capt. Davis had much to do in connection with the 

 fitting out of the Challenger Expedition, and had himself made 

 important contributions to hydrography. 



Letters from Athens report the death of Prof. J. Papadakis, 

 the Rector of the University, after a long period of suffering. 

 He occupied the chair of mathematics and astronomy during a 

 long series of years, and was a leading spirit not only in scien- 

 tific circles, but also in the general society of Athens. 



The question of the erection of a great polytechnic school in 

 Berlin is to be brought before the German Parliament. The 

 estimated cost is eleven million marks. 



The philosophical faculty of .Zurich University has conferred 

 the degree of Doctor in Philosophy on a lady. 



In our notice last week of "Two Challenger Books," it was 

 inadvertently implied that Lord George Campbell's " Log 

 Letters from the Challenger^'' did not contain a map. That work 

 has a map and an excellent one, taken, in fact, from the Pro- 

 ceedi7tgs of the Royal Society. Not only does it show the course 

 of the ship, but the depths and dates of the various soundings, 

 and by means of different colours, the varied deposits found on 

 the ocean bed. The map adds greatly to the scientific value of 

 the work. 



M. Becquerel will take for the subject ot his lectures at the 

 Paris Museum, Light and its Effects. The course of lectures 

 will begin after Easter, and include the subject of the radiometer. 

 Neither of the two Becquerels, for M. Leon Becquerel is his 

 father's assistant, has ever given his opinion on the radiometer, 

 and their joint verdict is expected with not a little curiosity. 



Nine Lectures on the Osteology of Birds will be delivered 

 in the theatre of the Royal College of Surgeons, on Mondays, 

 Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 4 p.m., commencing on Friday, 

 February 16, 1877, by Prof. W. K. Parker, F.R.S. 



A NEW mercury rheostat, which Jacob! devised shortly before 

 his death, is described by M. Chwolson [Bull. Ac. de St. Pettrsb., 

 vol. xxii. p. 409), and its advantages and disadvantages are tho- 

 roughly discussed and illustrated by the results of some measure- 

 ments. Owing to the very great precision of the new instrument, 

 it appears to be especially useful for the measurement of very 

 small resistances. The author concludes that this rheostat leaves 

 far behind all former ones, and that the instrument itself, or at 

 least its principles, will probably play an important part in 

 future galvanometric researches. 



The Smith's prizes, Cambridge, have been adjudged as fol. 

 lows : — First prize, Donald MacAlister, B.A., St. John's Col- 

 lege ; second prize divided between Richard Charles Rowe, 

 B.A., of Trinity, and James Parker Smith, B.A., of Trinity. 

 Mr. MacAlister was senior wrangler, and Mr. Rowe and Mr. J, P. 

 Smith third and fourth wranglers in this year's tripos. 



At a meeting of the Council of the Yorkshire College of 

 Science, held February 2, it was resolved, " That the question of 

 an extension of the curriculum in the direction of literature is 

 now ripe for action on the part of the College," and a committee 

 was appointed to confer with a delegation from the University 

 Extension Committee, in order that a scheme might be brought 

 before the Board of Governors. This is a step in the right 

 direction. 



The United States Government have awarded Capt. Allen 

 800 dollars, and Capts. Adams, Soutar, and Walker, 300 dol- 

 lars, for their kindness to the crew of the Arctic ship Polaris. 



The jfournal of the Anthropological Institute will in future 

 appear on the ist of February, May, August, and November. 



There will be an examination at King's College, Cambridge, 

 on April 4 and following days, for an exhibition in natural 

 science. The exhibition is worth about 90/. a year, tenable for 

 three years, but not with any other exhibition or any scholarship 

 of the college. Candidates must be under twenty years of age, 

 unless already members of the college. The examination will 

 be in physics, chemistry, and either comparative anatomy or 

 botany, in addition to elementary classical and mathematical 

 papers. Candidates must give a fortnight's notice of their inten 

 tion to compete, sending in to the tutor certificates of character, 

 and naming the particular subjects in which they wish to be 

 examined. 



The following College Lectures in the Natural Sciences will 

 be given at Cambridge during Lent Term : — Gonville and Caius 

 College : " On the Physiology of Digestion, Absorption, and 

 Sanguification," by Dr. Bradbury ; " On Non-metallic Ele 

 ments," by Mr. Apjohn. Christ's College: "On Vegetable 

 Histology," by Mr. Vines. St. John's College : "On Chemis- 

 try," by Mr. Main ; instruction in Practical Chemistry will also 

 be given; "On Physical Geology," by Mr. Bonney ; "On 

 Palaeontology," by Mr. Bonney ; in the course of the term 

 some demonstrations in Microscopic Lithology will be given ; 

 elementary course in Geology postponed to next term. Trinity 

 College: "On Electricity," by Mr. Trotter; "Elementary 

 Physics," by Mr. Trotter ; "An Elementary Course of Practical 

 Morphology," by Mr. Balfour ; " Practical Physiology and His- 

 tology," by the Trinity Prselector in Physiology (Dr. Michael 

 Foster), at the New Museums. Sidney Sussex College : " On 

 Vegetable Histology and Physiology," by Mr. Hicks. Downing 

 College: "On Chemistry," by Mr. Lewis; "On Comparative 

 Anatomy and Physiology," by Mr. Saunders. 



The Bessemer Medal of the Iron and Steel Institute has been 

 awarded to Dr. Percy, F.R.S. 



The King of Greece has conferred upon Mr. Edward Stanford 

 the knighthood of the Royal Order of the Saviour for the services 

 rendered by him to geographical science. 



A Bill has been proposed to the U.S. Congress for the equip- 

 ment of several Arctic expeditions. 



The sad news has been received from the African West Coast, 

 that Baron Barth committed suicide, under an attack of fever, 

 at Loanda, on December 7, 1876, and Dr. Mohr died at Malange 

 on November 26, 1876, where he had only recently arrived. 

 Baron Barth was making a botanical and geological survey of 

 Portuguese Africa on account of the Portuguese government. 

 Dr. Mohr will be known to our readers as the author of an in- 

 teresting narrative of his journey to the Victoria Falls of the 

 Zambesi ; he was sent out by the German African Society to 

 carry on the work of exploration from the Portuguese colony 

 from which so many German explorers have had to return. 



A French expedition under MM. Brazza and Marche is 



