NATURE 



\l^ov. 1, 1877 



continent, where Dumont Durville is made to land. It is a 

 masterly panorama of a number of climes and countries, enlivened 

 by a well-constructed plot. 



Dr. Hoek, of Leyden, sends us the following additions to the 

 list of dealers in zoological specimens given by Prof. Ray 

 Lankester in a recent number of Nature :— i. Hilmar Liihrs, 

 Fischer f. Zoologen und Aquarien, Helgoland (Unterland), for 

 fish and invertebrates (alive and in spirits, specimens of all 

 classes). 2. The Zoological Station of Dr. Anton Dohrn, 

 Naples, for fash and invertebrates (spirit specimens). 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include three Tigers {Felis iigris), born in the 

 Gardens, but did not survive; a Common Genet {Genetta vul- 

 garis) from North Africa, presented by Mr. P. V. Carletti ; two 

 Hyacinthine Porphyrios [Porphyria hyacinthinus) from West 

 Asia, presented by Mrs. Henry Cobb ; two All-Green Parakeets 

 (Brotogerys tiriacula) from South America, presented by Miss 

 Rowe ; two Yellow-bellied Liothrix {Liothrix licteus) from 

 India, presented by Gen. Breton ; two common Marmosets 

 {Bapale jacchus) from South-east Brazil, presented by Mrs. 

 Clayton ; three Darwin's Pucras {Pticrasia darwini), a Chinese 

 Blue Magpie {Urocissa sinensis) from China, a Sun Bittern 

 (Eurypyga Julias) from South America, deposited ; a Moose 

 [Akes machlis) from North America, purchased. 



AMERICAN SCIENCE 



pROF. HENRY'S portion of the report of the Smithsonian 

 *■ Institution for the year 1876 has been printed in separate 

 pamphlet form, in advance of the entire volume, and gives the 

 usual record of operations for the period. It draws attention 

 to the fact that it is the thirtieth of the annual series made by 

 him, and that the policy advised at the first meeting of the board 

 has been carried out with scarcely any modification. The 

 original fund of 541,379 dols. has been increased to 714,000 

 dols., although a building costing nearly 500,000 dols. has been 

 erected. There is a library of 70,000 volumes of the most 

 valuable class of books, namely, the serial scientific publications 

 of learned societies. The museum has grown until it now ranks 

 among the best in existence. This embraces copious collections 

 illustrating the ethnology and natural history of the world. The 

 institution has published twenty-one quarto and forty -two octavo 

 volumes of transactions and reports. It has carried on 

 successfully a great system of meteorological observations (only 

 intermitted on the successful operations of the Signal Service), 

 the results of which have been issued by a number of stately 

 volumes. It is now prosecuting a great system of international 

 exchanges, for the benefit of the whole world. Its correspon- 

 dence, both at home and abroad, requires a large number of 

 clerks and specialists ; and the name of Smithson is universally 

 known in consequence. 



Details have been recently published {Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 

 Philadelphia, 1877, p. 255) of the exploration of a specially 

 interesting mound at Coup's Creek, Macoupin County, Illinois. 

 Four skeletons sat within it, considerably enveloped in a peculiar 

 granulated but exceedingly tenacious earth. They were placed 

 two and two, their arms crossed, the knees of one pair pressing 

 sharply against the backs of the other, and the faces of all turned 

 directly toward the east. Though the greatest care was taken, 

 only one skull was removed comparatively perfect. The whole 

 grave measured but six feet in length by three in width, and it 

 contained in addition to the skeletons four large marine shells of 

 Pyrula {Busycon) perversa (Luin.), each similarly placed in rela- 

 tion to the bodies. The smaller end of one shell was placed in 

 the right hand of each individual, while the larger portion rested 

 in the hollow above the left hip. But, still more remarkable, 

 within each shell had been packed what appeared to be the 

 bones of a child ; the skull, crushed before burial, protruded 

 beyond the aperture. The suggestion is made that these infants 

 were sacrificial offerings in honour of the dead. The graves in 

 these mounds are constructed of stone slabs from the locality, and 

 hence they are known as stone graves. The builders give evidence 

 of decided constructive ability, and of having been careful culti- 

 vators of the soil. The grave-mounds are found upon ridges, 



while others on which dwellings were supported are near streams. 

 A systematic series of mounds of similar origin extends from the 

 foot of Lake Michigan to the mouth of the Illinois river, a 

 distance of two hundred and fifty miles. Unfortunately the 

 remains are scarcely ever capable of being preserved, or even of 

 being examined satisfactorily on exhumation. 



The following are notes of papers in the October num- 

 ber of the American Journal of Science and Arts : — The 

 nickel plates now largely used as anodes for nickel plating 

 are prepared by fusing commercial nickel, generally with 

 addition of charcoal, and casting in suitable form. From an 

 analysis of several specimens of cast nickel by Mr. Gard, it 

 appears that silica may be reduced and retained as silicon, 

 and that a considerable amount of caibon may be present {e.g., 

 I '9 and I "8 per cent.). One experiment made with a view to 

 asceriain how much carbon nickel may take up under conditions 

 to which it is more or less exposed in the processes of manu- 

 facture and casting, was to pack half-a-pound of granular com- 

 mercial nickel in layers with charcoal in a Hessian crucible, in 

 which it was exposed to a full red-heat twelve hours. No fusion 

 took place. The temperature was then raised till there was com- 

 plete fusion. The resulting metal was strongly magnetic, quite 

 soft, and to a considerable extent malleable. Its specific gravity 

 was 8 04, and it had a fracture like that of fine-grained pig-iron, 

 scales of graphite being plainly visible. It was found to contain 

 of total carbon 2-105, 2-130; graphitic carbon, 2,030, 1-990; 

 silicon, -360. Mr. Gard also made some experiments on the 

 deportment of nickel and cobalt towards hydrocarbon at a high 

 temperature, the substances being placed in a platinum trough 

 within a porcelain tube and treated with a slow current of pure 

 dry marsh-gas at a full red heat. In one case thin plates of 

 pure electroplate nickel ('8597 gr.) were found at the close to 

 have gained 10-649 per cent. ; in another 1-2697 gr. of cobalt 

 gained 12-758 per cent. 



Among other chemical contributions we note one on the 

 iodates of cobalt and nickel, by Mr. Fallarton, who finds that 

 the true normal iodates contain really six molecules of water of 

 crystallisation, and that they are essentially different from the 

 salts obtained by Rammelsberg. Several specific-gravity deter- 

 minations follow (by students of Cincinnati University), including 

 those of a series of chromates, by Miss Abbot. Pettersson has 

 lately shown that selenates have molecular volumes exceeding 

 those of the corresponding sulphates by six for each molecule of 

 the acid radicle. On comparing the chromates with Pettersson's 

 selenates, it is found that the two series of salts have approximately 

 equal molecular volumes ; the difference, if any exists, being very 

 slightly plus for the selenates. If regularities of this kind can be 

 thoroughly established, it will be easy (Prof. Clark suggests), 

 having the density of a chromate, to calculate that of the corre- 

 sponding sulphate or selenate, or vice versa. 



A preliminary catalogue of the reptiles, fishes, and Lepto- 

 cardians of the Bermudas is furnished by Mr. Brown Goode, 

 comprising 148 out of 163 known specie?. The Bermudan fauna 

 shares with the West Indies 116 species (or 79 per cent.), of 

 which 58 (or 40 per cent.) are peculiar to the West Indies, while 

 many others have their centres of distribution in that region. 

 With the Eastern United States Bermuda shares 47 species, and 

 with the waters of the Pacific and Indian Ocean 32 species. 

 Mr. Goode also gives a description of four species of fishes 

 believed to be new. 



Prof. Dana draws some lithological and orographic conclu- 

 sions in his (continued) paper on the relations of the geology of 

 Vermont to that of Berkshire, and the /ournal . sX%o contains 

 some information on the Archaean of Canada and the geology of 

 New Hampshire, &c. 



THE EARTHWORM IN RELATION TO THE 

 FERTILITY OF THE GROUND 



FROM observations extending over a number of years, M. Hensen 

 is led to the conclusion that infertile undersoil is rendered 

 valuable by the action of worms in two ways, viz., by the opening 

 of passages for the roots into the deeper parts, and by the lining 

 of these passages with humus. This will be more fully under- 

 stood from the following facts regarding the life-habits of the 

 worm {Lumbricus terresiris) given in M. Hensen's paper in the 

 Zeitschrift fiir zvissenschaftliche Zoologie. 



It is known that the adult animals in wet weather come up to 

 the surface by night, and, with their hinder end in their tube, 



