326 



NATURE 



\_Feb. 8, 1877 



exploring the Ogowe, a large stream to the north of the Congo. 

 News has been received by the Geographical Society of Paris 

 from these explorers, said to be important, and will be made 

 public at the next sitting. 



The recent discussion of the budget in the Belgian House of 

 Representatives brought out some interesting information as to 

 the state of primary instruction in the country. The general 

 yearly expenses of the State for educational purposes being, in 

 the average of many years, about 480,000/. (6 per cent, of the 

 whole of the budget), from two-fifths to one-half of this sum 

 was devoted to primary instruction. The ordinary allotments 

 of the State for this subject were, during the years 1872 to 1876, 

 from 188,000/. to 244,000/. ; but the part taken by the com- 

 munes in primary instruction is very limited. When compared 

 for instance, with Germany, the share of these expenses 

 which falls on the State, is as much as about 38 per cent, of the 

 whole of the expenses of the country. The number of normal 

 schools for primary instruction was thirty-nine, for a population 

 of 5,250,000 souls, i.e., one normal school for every 141,970 

 inhabitants. But the instruction, and yet more the inspection, 

 remain still mostly in the hands of the Catholic clergy, and the 

 general results of the efforts made by the State, though showing 

 some improvement during the last ten years, are by no means 

 satisfactory. Steps are being taken to introduce the teaching of 

 natural science into primary schools. Thus, M. Couvreur ably 

 advocated in the House the foundation of a central and some 

 local pedagogical museums, on the plan of that of St. Petersburg, 

 which museums would be permanent exhibitions of recent im- 

 provements made in Europe and America in the elementary 

 teaching of natural science ; he also recommended institutions 

 where the value of the various methods and apparatus could be 

 submitted to experiment and discussion. Such a museum is to 

 be opened before long by the city of Brussels. The Ministry 

 also recommends to teachers to give to their scholars some 

 elementary notions in natural science, applied to agriculture. 



The first number of Petermann's Mitthdlungen for 1877 con- 

 tains several papers of much value. There is the first instal- 

 ment of a paper on the ethnology of Russia, in which this 

 question is gone into with the usual thoroughness, accuracy, and 

 detail of this journal; it is accompanied by a carefully-con- 

 structed map, embracing the whole of Russia in Europe and 

 Asia, as well as some of the neighbouring territories. Dr. 

 Loesche describes the results of a journey by himself and Dr. 

 Falkenstein, in 1875, up the Killoo or Kuilu river, in Loango ; 

 he gives some important notes on the natural history of the 

 district. E. Tessier gives a resume of M, J. Dupuis' travels in 

 South China, and Dr. A. Miihry discusses the geographical con- 

 ditions of some European storms. In a short paper we are in- 

 formed that Clemens Denhardt has been making preparations 

 for some time for an exploring expedition into Central Africa, 

 the particular region which he intends to occupy being that 

 bounded by the Indian Ocean, the east and south of the 

 Abyssinian Mountains, the Nile and its tributaries, the great 

 lakes, Kilimanjaro and the River Dana — a region still almost 

 entirely unknown. A feature of great interest and the highest 

 importance has been commenced in this number, viz., a monthly 

 summary of geographical work in the various regions of the 

 globe, by Dr. Behm. The first instalment embraces the last 

 three months of 1876, and its regular continuance will make the 

 Mittheilungen almost all that could be desired as a geographical 

 journal. 



M. Foucjufi has been appointed professor to the College of 

 France, in room of the late M. Charles St. Claire-Deville, 

 whose pupil and assistant he was. 



At the next meeting of the Society of Telegraph Engineers, 

 to be held on the evening of Wednesday the 14th inst., Mr. 



W. H. Preece will read a paper on " Shunts and their Applica- 

 tions to Electi-ometric and Telegraphic Purposes." 



We have received the first number of a new monthly popular 

 Norwegian scientific journal named after our own, Natiween. 

 The editor is Hans H. Reusch, and among the list of contri- 

 butors is the well-known name of Prof. Sars. 



Prof, de Bary, of Strassburg, has declined the offer of the 

 Botanical Chair in Tubingen rendered vacant by the death of 

 Prof. Hofmeister. 



Dr. Henry Muirheau, of Cambuslang, has offered to the 

 University of Glasgow the sum of 2, 100/. as an endowment for a 

 Demonstrator of Physiology in connection with the Chair of the 

 Institutes of Medicine. The object of the endowment is the 

 promotion of medical science by the training of young men ol 

 suitable capacity to become teachers and investigators of physio- 

 logy, and as this training is best attained by actual work in the 

 laboratory and by practical experience in the art of teaching, the 

 demonstrator will be regarded as a teaching assistant to the pro- 

 fessor, while he will also be encouraged to pursue independent 

 original investigation, and will be aided by the use of all tha 

 laboratory appliances. 



The third edition of " L'Homme Fossile en Europe," by 

 the late H. Le Hon, being out of print, a fourth edition, just 

 appeared in Brussels, will be the more welcomed as it contains, 

 besides a short biography of the author, numerous additions by 

 M. Ed. Dupont, referring to the recent discoveries in this de- 

 partment, and bringing this most valuable work to the present 

 level of our knowledge as to the origin of man. 



We are glad to see that a second edition of Dr. Frank 

 Clowes's " Elementary Treatise on Practical Chemistry" (J. and 

 A. Churchill) has been published, with some useful additio;is. 

 We noticed the first edition in vol. xi. p. 107. 



In the South Australian Register, of November 28, 1876, is an 

 interesting lecture by the Rev. S . J. Whitmee, on the Ethnology 

 and Philology of Polynesia. He contends that over all Poly- 

 nesia there are two distinct types of people, a brown race 

 connected with the Malays, and a black, or negro race, con- 

 nected with the Papuans. There is also a third and very much 

 mixed race, to which Mr. Whitmee could not venture to give a 

 name or assign an origin. 



We have received a separate reprint from the Philosophical 

 Magazine, of Capt. Abney's paper "On the Alkaline Develop- 

 ment of the Photographic Image." 



Prof. Dieterici, of Berlin, sought to show in a public lec- 

 ture, delivered a few days since, that the theories of Darwin were 

 by no means novel, having been essentially published by learned 

 Arabs in the tenth century. 



We have received several numbers of the Bulletin of the 

 Torrey Botanical Club of New York, containing interesting 

 papers which relate chiefly to botanical subjeots of local interest. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Pig-tailed Monkey {Macacus nemestrinus) 

 from Java, presented by Dr. Broadbent ; a Brazilian Tree Por 

 cupine {Cercolabes prehensilis) from Trinidad, presented by Mr, 

 Eliot S. Currey ; three Amherst Pheasants ( Thaumalea am 

 hersticc) from China, presented by Dr. A. P. Reid ; a Yellow 

 fronted Amazon {Chrysotis ochrocephala) from U. S. Columbia, 

 presented by Mr. F. A. B. Geneste ; three Rhomb-marked 

 Snakes (Psatnmopkylax rhombeatus) from South Africa, presented 

 by the Rev. P. H. R. Fisk ; an Ocelot {Felis partialis) from 

 South America, three Andrean Geese {Bernicla melanoptera)ixo-a\. 

 Peru, purchased; two Double-striped Thicknees {(Edicneinus 

 bisti iatus) from Central America, purchased. 



