Nov. 15, 1877] 



NATURE 



53 



decree of the President of the French Republic to accept a sum 

 of 8,000/., bequeathed by Madame Thuret, in order to establish 

 at Antibes, in the Department of Alpes Maritimes, an agricul- 

 tural station connected with the lectureship on Agriculture and 

 Botany of the Paris Museum of Natural History. 



Mr. Park Harrison has completed the exploration of 

 the galleries belonging to the "Cave Pit" at Cissbury — in 

 which rune-like characters were found, in 1875 — and found 

 that they communicate with galleries connected with other 

 shafts, at distances of from 20 to 30 feet, on the north, west, 

 and east sides. Mr, Harrison thinks there appears to be 

 sufficient evidence that they were used for purposes of shelter or 

 concealment long after they were originally excavated. One of 

 the shafts last cleared out, was found to have been left in an 

 incomplete state, as if the work had been for some reason inter- 

 rupted. On the south of the cave pit, and immediately adjoining 

 it, Mr. Harrison has discovered several small pits, the largest 

 being 5 feet in diameter, and 4 feet 6 inches deep. All con- 

 tained flint flakes, sling-stones, and a few bones. In some there 

 were small ornaments, pots of good quality, bone combs, terra- 

 cotta beads, and hard polishing-stones. In one pit there was an 

 iron hook. 



The following testimony from so competent and disinterested 

 an observer as Prof. Monier Williams to the necessity for syste- 

 matic meteorological observation in India is valuable, and we 

 hope will have weight with the proper authorities. In the last 

 of his series of articles on his second tour in India, in the Ti/nes 

 of November 7, Prof. Williams writes thus : — " One thing re- 

 quires instant attention. The connection between agriculture, 

 meteorology, and astronomy is now admitted on all hands, and 

 no country in the world would be benefited more than India by 

 systematic meteorological and astronomical observations carried 

 on under Government direction. Much is already being done in 

 this way. Yet I could only find one effective astronomical 

 observatory, and that not adequately supported by Government, 

 though I travelled from Cashmere to Cape Comorin. It is not 

 generally known that from his observations of the present con- 

 dition of the disc of the sun, in connection with various atmo- 

 spherical phenomena, the Madras astronomer, Mr. Pogson, pro- 

 phesied in 1876 a recurrence of the drought and famine in 

 1877." 



On Octohtxz^-weXea.tnkova.L'' Exploration, Signor D'Albertis 

 and Prof. Od. Beccari left Genoa in the steamer Australia for a 

 year's voyage round the world. They will first visit Egypt, and 

 thence to India, China, and Japan, returning to Europe by New 

 York. They intend to collect during their voyage birds, 

 mammals, and insects for the museums of Italy, principally for 

 that of Genoa. 



For several years past Major J. W. Powell, in charge of the 

 United States Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky 

 Mountain Region, has been paying particular attention in his 

 researches, to the ethnology and philology of the American 

 Indians ; and having received from the Smithsonian Institution 

 an immense mass of material on this subject, collected during a 

 period of many years, he has called to his assistance numerous 

 experts for the purpose of preparing a series of memoirs on these 

 topics. We have now a partial result of his labour in the first of 

 a series of quarto volumes, entitled "Contributions to North 

 American Ethnology," and published in most excellent style, 

 with numerous illustrations, at the Government Printing-office. 

 The present volume is occupied with the Indians of North-western 

 America, embracing several papers by Mr. Dall and others on 

 the tribes of Alaska and adjacent territories, and a number of 

 vocabularies, principally by the late Mr. George Gibbs. 



Our readers may remember that last spring Capt. Burton 

 made an expedition into the Land of. Midian, which lies to the 



south-east of the Gulf of Akaba, in the Red Sea. He was 

 accompanied by a mining engineer, M. Marie, and the two 

 explorers came upon traces of extensive mining operations, the 

 ruins of ancient towns, and many other evidences of a flourishing 

 mining district. They brought back specimens containing gold, 

 silver, copper, and other metals, and were most sanguine as to 

 their discovery. Capt. Burton is now again in Egypt, the Times' 

 Alexandria correspondent writes, preparing another expedition 

 to Midian. He is now determined to investigate thoroughly that 

 biblical country of which he only got a superficial idea in his 

 twenty-day visit last spring. His intention now is to penetrate 

 to the mountains in the interior, and thoroughly satisfy himself 

 as to their nature and capabilities. He estimates the distance 

 under twenty days' march. It is a curious fact that these mines 

 were known to the ancients so long ago as the time of Ramses 

 HI., whose cartouche is inscribed on the Needle which is on its 

 way to England. In the Harris Papyrus in the British Museum 

 is a passage referring to the copper mines of Akaba. 



At the last meeting of the Russian Geographical Society, the 

 Secretary gave some account as to this year's expeditions sent 

 out by the Society. The results of Prshevalsky's expedition are 

 a survey from Kuldja for 800 miles into the interior of the country, 

 seven determinations of latitudes and longitudes, many baro- 

 metrical measurements of heights along the route, a botanical 

 collection of about 300 species, a zoological collection, numbering 

 85 mammalia, 180 species (500 specimens) of birds, 50 speci- 

 mens of fishes, 150 reptiles, and 2,000 insects. The most im- 

 portant objects in the collection are four skins of wild camel?. 

 All the collections are now in Kuldja, and will be forwarded to 

 St. Petersburg during the winter. About the end of August M. 

 Pishevalsky' had started for Tibet. M. Potanin has returned 

 without having penetrated far into the interior of Mongolia. He 

 proposes now to go to the sources of the Yenissei. M. Mainoff 

 has returned from his travels among the Mordva population of 

 Eastern Russia with very valuable materials. He has obtained 

 anthropological measurements according to the 1 26 queries of the 

 programme, of 5 10 individuals, and he brings detailed answers on 

 the queries of the programme as to the ethnographical and 

 juridical customs of the Mordva, as well as numerous skulls, 

 photographs, tools, and dresses. 



A RAILWAY official in Berlin was lately fined by the district 

 courts for appending to his name the title of doctor juris 

 utriusque, on the strength of a diploma from the University of 

 Philadelphia. An appeal to a higher court resulted in a confir- 

 mation of the sentence. 



Wk notice a very useful Russian work, just published by the 

 St. Petersburg Committee of Primary Education, being a review 

 of all works that have appeared in Russia in the department of 

 primary instruction. The book, 640 pages, gives a complete 

 catalogue of such'works, with critical notices on each of any 

 importance, and it is sold at a very low price, for the use of 

 primary teachers. 



A YOUNG schoolmistress of TIemcen (Algeria) has successfully 

 passed her examinations before the Faculty of Aix for Bacca- 

 laureate in Letters, and has been warmly congratulated by the 

 Board. 



The statue of Lagrange, the celebrated mathematician, born 

 in Italy, but a naturalised Frenchman, was erected last week in 

 the hall of the Bureau des Longitudes. ;;; 



At a recent meeting of the Paris Academy of Sciences a 

 letter from M. Fabre to M. Dumas was read, referring to 

 an American vine which he had cultivated for a long 

 time in the very heart of phylloxeric centres, but which has 



