April 19, 1877] 



NATURE 



541 



pares the capabilities of Ceylon as a coffee-producing country 

 with that of Arabia, he says: "Ceylon being a damp climate 

 and the coffee fruit succulent it is gathered when at maturity, 

 otherwise like cherries, it would mould on the trees. It is then 

 placed in heaps for a day or two and the pulp allowed to ferment, 

 in which state it is removed by washing. The pulp go-washed 

 off is only fit for manure. On the other hand, the climate of 

 Arabia being dry the fruit is allowed to ripen and drop off of itself. 

 In this case the pulp and other coverings dry en the berry and 

 are often not removed for months after. It is from these husks 

 that the kishr is made, or, to speak more correctly, this husk is 

 the Hshr, a decoction of which is used generally as a beverage 

 throughout Arabia. The parchment and jilver skin of the coffee 

 amount to a mere nothing, but the dried husk of the Arabian 

 berry amounts on an average to twenty per cent. The Arabs 

 make their kishr coffee or a decoction of these husks by bruising 

 about a handful, which is put into hot water in an earthen pan, 

 and placed over a slow fire. A few bruised cardamoms and 

 a little dry cinnamon or ginger is added, the whole being allowed 

 to simmer for about half an hour, when it is ready for use, and 

 is described as a most agreeable beverage. A handful of husks 

 thus treated yields about ten Arab coffee cups, which are about 

 the s'ze of two of our ordinary tea cups. The price of the dried 

 coffee husk at Aden is about two shillings for twenty-eight 

 pounds. 



The Italian Gcvern'rent have granted the sum of 6,coo francs 

 for a special investigatirn cf the natural history of Calabria, 

 This part of Italy is only very imperfectly known ; in fact its 

 geognosy, its fauna and flora, both present and palseontological, 

 are a quasi terra ignota to scientific research. The task has 

 been confided to Messrs. Dr. Forsyth Mayor for the PaJseonto- 

 logy and Zoology of Vertebrata, Dr. Cavanna for Zoology of 

 Invertebrata, Dr. D. Stefani for Geology, and Dr. Arcangioli 

 for Botany — all very earnest and able workers. We may, there- 

 fore, look forward with confidence and interest to the results of 

 this expedition. 



The Russian Geographical Society has undertaken the publi- 

 cation of a m.ost important work, being a description of the 

 upper parts of the Oxus, of the Hindu- Kush, and Western Hima- 

 layas. The object of the publication is to collect all existing 

 information on the peoples inhabiting the above-named countries 

 — the cradle of the Aryan family. The information will be 

 collected from the works of Burns, Wood, Ferrier, Cunningham, 

 Shaw, Hayward, Abramof, Grebenkin, Kuhn, Sobolef, and 

 Fedchenko, and also that obtained from Chinese sources by 

 Klaprotb, Remusat, St. JuUien, Sakinf, Palladiz, &c. This 

 compendium will be accompanied by an ethnographical map 

 and vocabularies of local dialects, as well as by bibliographical 

 notices scattered in many papers, especially English, The Com- 

 mittee intrusted by the Society with the discussion of th's scheme 

 will add to the work a general geographical sketch of the 

 country. The work will be under the direction cf Prof, J. P. 

 Minayeff. 



The same Society is now preparing a scheme for the ethno- 

 graphical and anthropological exploration of the Finnish tribes 

 inhabiting the neighbourhoods of the Volga. 



At the last meetirg, March 14, of the Russian Geographical 

 Society, Lieut. Onatsevich gave an account of his geographical 

 work during 1874 to 1S76 in North-eastern Siberia and the Sea of 

 Okhotsk, The most interesting part of his account was that 

 devoted to the attempt he made in the clipper Vsadnik to reach 

 Wrangell Land through Behring Strait, Under lat. 67° th« 

 ship met, however, with a thick impenetrable barrier of ice, and 

 was compelled to take a w esterly course. In this direction, also, 

 she soon met with ice and was forced to return. Lieut. Onatse- 

 vich then cruised about in the open parts of the ocean, making 



a series of very valuable measurements of depths, temperature of 

 water, &c. He noticed thus the existence of a warm current 

 which, after running through Behring Strait, takes a westerly 

 direction, A great number of very valuable maps and of profiles 

 of the sea-bottom were exhibited during the rcadingcf the paper. 



We have received the Annual Report of the Goole Scientific 

 Society. Some very good papers have been read at the meetings 

 and an attempt has been made to systematicaUy wcrk ort the 

 natural history of the neighbourhood. 



The slab of sandstone, from Corncockle quarries, with the 

 impression of footprints, which lately came into the possession of 

 Mr. M'Meekan, Dumfries, has just been acquired by the Museum 

 cf Science and Art in Edinburgh, This s'ab is an unusually 

 interesting one, as it has the impressions of two distinct foot- 

 prints on it — Chelichnus ambiguus and Ilerpetichjtui sanrophsius 

 — ^Jardine {"Ichnology of Annandale"). On none of the slabs 

 in the collection of the late Sir William Jardine, which is noiv 

 in the Museum in Edinburgh, are to be found the footprints of 

 two different animals, although both the above-menlioned foot- 

 prints occur on separate slabs. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Bennett's Wallaby {Halmalurus bcnneiti) from 

 King's Island, presented by Miss E. Woollatt ; a Malabar Green 

 Bulbul {Phyllornis aurifroits) from India, presented by Mrs, Ara- 

 bin, F, Z. S. ; two Smooth Newts ( Triton tceniatus), European, pre- 

 sented by Master G. L. Sclatcr ; eighteen Red-crested Whistling 

 Ducks {Fuligula ritfina), four Spotted-billed Ducks (Anaspaicilo-- 

 rhyjtcha), a Ring-necked Parrakeet {raltxorris torquata) frona 

 India, a Green Monkey {CcrcopUhecus callitrichus) from Wtst 

 Africa, a Brown Capuchin {Cebus Jatuellus), two Scaly Doves 

 {Scardafella squamosa), a Great American Egret {.Ardea egretla) 

 from South America, a White-fronted Guan {^Penelope jacucaca), 

 a White eye-browed Guan {Penelope supcrciliaris) from South 

 East Brazil, deposited ; an Impeyan Pheasant {Lophophorus im- 

 piyanus) from the Himalayas, two Sismese Pheasants {Euplo- 

 cavius prcelatus) from Siam, purchased ; two Alpine Marmots 

 {Arctomys viarmotta), European, received in exchange ; a Chin- 

 chilla (Chinchilla lanigera) born in the Garden.". 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



American Journal of Science and A>ts, March. — In memo- 

 riam Finding Bradford Meek. — Notes on the age of the Rocky 

 Mountains in Colorado, by A. C, Peale.— On some points in 

 connection with vegetation, by S, H, Gilbert, — Apparatus for 

 quantitstive fat extraction ; composition of the sweet potato; 

 composition of maize fodder, by S, W, Johnson. — Meteoric 

 stone of Rochester, Fulton Co, Indiana, by C. U. Shepard.— 

 Examination of the Waconda meteoric stone, Bates County 

 meteoric iron, and Rockirgham County meteoric iron, by J. 

 Lawience Smith. — Certain features of the vallejs or water- 

 courses of Southern Long Island, by El'as Lewis. 



Poggcndorff^s Annahndir Physik und Chemie, No. i, 1877. — 

 Measurements of diamagneto electric induction currents, by MM. 

 Tiipler and Ettirgshar:sen. — On the absorption of radiant heat 

 by aqueous vapour, by M. Haga. — On the dei endence of gal- 

 vanic resistance on current-strength, and Edlund's theory of 

 diaphragm-currents, by M, Dorn, — On the intern ity of fluor- 

 escence-light, by M, Lommel, — Remarks on Maxwell's electro- 

 magmtic theory of light, by M. Frohlich. — New method of 

 determining exactly the Tusing-point of metals and of other matters 

 which are bad corductors of heat, by M. Himly.— On the elec- 

 tric resistance of liquids under high pressure, by M. Herwig. — A 

 perfectly air-tight barometer quickly, easily, and cheaply made 

 without boiling, by M. Bohn. — On diffusion, and the question 

 whether glass is impenetrable lor gases, by M. Quincke. — On 

 the polarised light cf the rairbow, by M. Dechant.— On arden- 

 nite, and a method for separation ol ranadic acid from argillaceous 

 earth and iron oxide, by M, Bettendorff. — On the composition of 

 pyrite of cobalt and allied minerals, by M. Rammelsbcrg. — On 

 the Torricellian vacuum, by M, Moser. — Experiments with the 



