90 



NATURE 



\Nov. 29, 1877 



During the past week the Emperor of Germany received a 

 deputation of the members of the German Expedition for 

 observing the transit of Venus, v^ho presented him with a 

 handsomely-mounted album containing copies of all the photo- 

 graphs taken during the transit. 



Bern celebrates on December 12 the looth anniversary of the 

 death of its famous citizen, Albert Haller, who was equally 

 renowned as physiologist, botanist, and poet. 



The New York Nation informs us that news has been received 

 of the death of the Rev. James Orton, professor of natural 

 history at Vassar College, and well known as the author of 

 " Comparative Zoology" and "The Andes and the Amazons.'' 

 Prof. Orton made his first expedition to South America in 1867, 

 crossing the Andes eastward froai Peru, and descending the 

 Napo to the MaraKon. His second expedition in 1873 was the 

 reverse of the former one, beginnhig with the ascent of the 

 Amazon. He was on his way home from a third expedition 

 when he died, September 25, on board a small schooner on 

 Lake Titicaca. He was greatly esteemed by all who knew him. 



The New York Tribune states that Mr, Edison, the inventor 

 of many improvements in telegraphy, is hard at work in the 

 endeavour to make the telephone record the sounds it transmits. 

 His apparatus at present consists chiefly of a steel point attached 

 to the disk of a telephone and pressing lightly on a strip of paper 

 passed beneath the point at a uniform rate. The vibrations of 

 the disk are thus recorded, and can be translated. Mr. Edison 

 has already achieved some success in this attempt, but as yet 

 finds difficulty A'ith the more delicate vibrations. The invention 

 suggests an ultimate possibility of recording a speech at a 

 distance, verbatim, without the need of shorthand. 



Not one of the designs sent in in competition for the monu- 

 ment to Spinoza at the Hague has satisfied the judges. A new 

 term for receiving designs will therefore be fixed. 



Another letter from Mr. Stanley appears in the Telegraph 

 of Thursday last, in which he gives many interesting details of 

 his journey down the Lualaba- Congo, but does not add 

 essentially to what we already know from previous letters. It 

 will be well at present to rest satisfied with the fact that he has 

 solved a great geographical problem ; discussion will be appro, 

 priate and to some purpose when we are in possession of the 

 full details. In the December number of Petermann's Mittheil- 

 ungen that keen geographer discusses the bearings of Stanley's 

 discovery, and on the basis of the earlier letters identifies the 

 Lualaba- Congo with the discoveries of Browne, Barth, Nachti- 

 gal, and Schweinfurth ; but on the map which accompanies i\\i 

 paper he carries the great river north to about 4° N. lat. In a 

 postscript on Stanley's own map Dr. Petermann seems to think 

 that his identifications may require modification. Dr. Petermann 

 cannot find terms strong enough in which to speak of the merit 

 of Stanley's work. He calls him " the Bismarck of African 

 exploration," who has united the disjecta membra of previous 

 explorations as Bismarck has made one great empire out of a 

 number of isolated states. He is evidently inclined to place 

 Stanley alongside of Columbus. 



The December number of Petermann's Mittheilungen contains 

 a long paper on the Iquique earthquake of May 9 last, in which 

 much valuable data are given on the earthquake and on the wave 

 which was simultaneous with it over so wide a stretch of the 

 Pacific Ocean. 



The Daily News correspondent at Rome writes that no news 

 has arrived there as to the death of the African explorer, the 

 Marquess Antinori, the inference being that he is still alive. A 

 long letter has been received by the Italian Geographical So- 

 ciety from Signor Matteucci who, with Signor Gessi, is bound 

 for Inner Africa ; the two expect to be in Khartoum in the 



beginning of December. They were splendidly equipped before 

 leaving Italy. 



Dr. Schweinfurth, the celebrated African traveller, who 

 has been staying at Berlin since the beginning of August, will 

 shortly return to Africa, as he finds that the European climate 

 no longer agrees with his health . At present he has left Berlin 

 for Weimar. 



At the Geographical Society, on Monday night. Commander 

 Musters, R.N., read a paper on Bolivia, in which he gave much 

 valuable information abaut a country, its products and its people, 

 about which we are extremely ignorant. Commander Musters 

 lived in the country for a considerable time. Mr. Clements R. 

 Markham read a paper on the still unexplored parts of South 

 America. The facts is we are almost as ignorant of Central 

 South America as, until recently, we were of Central Africa, and 

 there is here a practically virgin field for a second Stanley, if not 

 indeed for Stanley himself. 



In a recent number we referred to the preparations v/hich are 

 being made for Prof. Nordenskjold's expedition to the Arctic 

 regions next summer. The Ilandels och Sjofarts Tidning of Gothen- 

 burg publishes further details, giving the plan of the expedition as 

 presented to the King of Sweden by Prof. Nordenskjold. We 

 now learn that the steamer Vega is being fitted up at the royal 

 wharves of Carlskrona, and will take provisions for two years. 

 The Professor intends to leave at the beginning of July next, and 

 his staff will consist of four scientific men besides himself, four 

 Norwegian sailors who are well acquainted with the Arctic Sea, 

 a ship's officer, eighteen marines, and a ship's doctor. The 

 first halt will be made at the mouth of the Yenisei River ; then 

 the expedition will proceed to Cape Tscheljuskin, and try to 

 penetrate as far as possible in a north-easterly direction. 



Mr. G. J. HiNDE, of Toronto, Canada, writes us that 

 a shock of earthquake, unusually severe for that part of the 

 world, occurred along the valleys of the St. Lawrence and 

 Ottawa Rivers, Lakes Champlain and St. George, and through 

 New Hampshire, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts, at or 

 near 2 A M. of Sunday, the 4th instant. The limits along which 

 it has been noticed are Pembroke on the Upper Ottawa to the 

 north-west, Montreal on the east, Boston and Providence to the 

 south-east, and Toronto to the west. The shock appears to have 

 been most severe on the line of the Ottowa valley between Pem- 

 broke and Montreal, and between Ottawa city and Cape Vincent 

 on the St, Lawrence, following in a general direction the out- 

 crops of the Laurentian range. It was but very slightly felt at 

 Toronto, but at Montreal the shocks are stated to have lasted 

 twenty seconds, and to have shaken movable articles about the 

 rooms. 



The following grants in aid of researches have been made this 

 year by the Committee of Council on the report of the Scientific 

 Grants' Committee of the British Medical Association :— Mr. 

 Gaskell, in aid of a research on the reflex action of the vascular 

 system and muscles and reflex vasomotor action generally, 30/. ; 

 Mr. Langley, in aid of a research on the changes produced in 

 the salivary glands by nerve influence,' 25/. ; Dr. Rutherford, 

 F.R.S., for a continued research on the action of Cholagogues, 

 50/. ; Drs. Braidwood and Vacher, for engravings for illustrating 

 the third report on the life history of contagium, 40/. ; Mr. Pye 

 in aid of a continued research for the investigation of the rela- 

 tion that the retinal circulation bears to that of the brain, 8/. 

 15^. ; Mr. Bruce Clarke, in aid of a continued research on syn- 

 cope and shock, 10/. ; Mr. A. S. Lee, Heidelberg, in aid of a 

 research on the quantitative determination of digestive products 

 obtained by the action of pancreatic ferment upon the various 

 albumens, 25/. ; Dr. McKendrick, Glasgow, in aid of a con- 

 tinued research into the antagonism of drugs, 30/. ; Dr. McKen- 

 drick, Glasgow, in aid of an investigation into the dialysis of 



