Dec. 6, 1877] 



NATURE 



109 



has been tried for the purpose of lighting and extinguishing 220 

 street lamps in Providence, R. I,, scattered over a district nine 

 miles long. One man attends to the whole business and does 

 it in fifteen seconds. The method has now been on trial for 

 some months, and a saving of ten dollars per lamp per year is 

 reported. 



As might have been expected, Mr. Stanley has been received 

 with unbounded enthusiasm at the Cape, and his followers 

 petted and loaded with presents to such an extent that they 

 must feel amply rewarded for all their labours. Mr. Stanley 

 in his lecture at Cape Town, reported in the Times zxA Telegraph, 

 went over all his journey again, and defended himself stoutly 

 against the criticisms which have been made on his con- 

 duct. He is expected in England about Christmas. The 

 United States House of Representatives are to pass a vote 

 of thanks to Mr. Stanley, and the King of Italy is to present 

 him with a gold medal. Would it not be just to recognise, in 

 some public manner, the great service rendered to geography by 

 the organisers of the expedition, the proprietors of the Tdegraph 

 and Herald ? 



Col. W. H. Reynolds has concluded a contract with the 

 English Government by which the Post Office Department has 

 adopted the Bell telephone as a part of its telegraphic system. 

 In a recent telephonic experiment in connection with the cable 

 21 1 miles long, between Dover and Calais, there was not the 

 slightest failure during a period of two hours. Though three 

 other wires were busy at the same time, every word was 

 heard through the telephone, and individual voices were dis- 

 t inguished. This important experiment was conducted by Mr. 

 J. Bourdeaux, of the Submarine Telegraph Company. Some 

 very successful experiments were made with the telephone 

 on Saturday night between Aberdeen and Inverness, a dis- 

 tance of 108 miles. Songs and choruses were distinctly trans- 

 mitted, and conversation was carried on at times with marvellous 

 distinctness, notwithstanding the weather was unfavourable. 

 The experiments were made with Prof. Bell's instruments. The 

 Berlin correspondent of the Daily News states that a Berlin 

 house is making a number of telephones for experimental use in 

 the Russian army. The result is awaited with great curiosity in 

 military curcles. The Cologne Gazetti denies that any telephone 

 is in existence between Varzin and Bismarck's office at Berlin. 

 Our contemporary says that the distance, 363 kilometres, is too 

 brge for using a telephone with any advantage. 



On Dec. i the council of the Paris Observatory held its second 

 meeting for deliberating upon the improvements to be suggested 

 to the Government. The existing regulations had been printed 

 and distributed among members, who discussed them article, by 

 article, in order to better^ understand their bearing. M, Faye, 

 the present Minister of Public Instruction and one of the coun- 

 cillors, did not resign his office. He merely intimated to his col- 

 'eagues that he should not take part in the discussions so long as 

 he should be obliged to remain a minister for the welfare of the 

 commonwealth. Consequently it may be considered as certain 

 that the Assembly will come to no conclusion so long as the 

 political crisis does not permit the learned astronomer to resume 

 his usual labours. M. Faye, whose voice will have great weight, 

 is a strong supporter of the existing connection between astro- 

 nomy and meteorology. 



The Society of Apothecaries have decided to offisr two prizes 

 for competition by young women under twenty years of age, in 

 the science of botany. The prizes will consist of a gold and a 

 silver medal and books, to be awarded to the first and second 

 candidates respectively in order of merit. The Rev. M. J. 

 Berkeley (the examiner for the prizes given by the Society to 

 medical students) will conduct the examinations. The date of 

 the examination and the conditions of competition will be pub- 

 lished shortly. 



A PRIZE of 1,000 Italian lire has been offered by the Com- 

 mittee of the Italian Alpine Club for the best description of any 

 Italian mountain group. 



The Horseshoe at Niagara, the New York Tribune states, is 

 now a right-angle rather than a curve. The rocks in the centre 

 have been eaten away from year to year, and now the side walls 

 are crumbling. On November 17 a large section of rock toward 

 the Canada shore fell with a tremendous crash, and during the 

 night a still larger area went down. The falls now wear a new 

 face, and visitors will undoubtedly be charged twenty-five cents 

 extra next season. 



The Russian Government has issued an ukase according to 

 which Novaya Zemlya is to be colonised. The Norwegian journal 

 Trcmsoeposten now reports that on August 28 last six Russian 

 sailing vessels arrived at Tromsoe, carrying the necessary building 

 materials such as timber, bricks, and lime for the construction of 

 six houses upon Novaya Zemlya. These houses were to be con- 

 structed during the course of the present autumn and are to be 

 inhabited by six Samojede families, who will form the first 

 colonial residents upon the island. The Russian Government 

 hopes by the colonisation of Novaya Zemlya to be able to 

 establish successfully a permanent commercial communication 

 with the mouths of the Yenisei and Obi Rivers, while at the same 

 time the new colony may form a convenient place of exile for 

 political criminals. 



The deepest artesian well in the world is being bored at 

 Pesth, and has reached already a depth of 951 metres. The 

 well at Paris, which measures 547 metres has hitherto been 

 the first. The work is undertaken by the brothers Zsigmondy, 

 partially at the expense of the city, which has granted 40,000/. 

 for the purpose, with the intention of obtaining an unlimited 

 supply of warm water for the municipal establishments and 

 public baths. A temperature of l6i° F. is shown by the water 

 at present issuing from the well, and the work will be prose- 

 cuted until water of 178° is obtained. About 175,000 gallons of 

 warm water stream out daily, rising to a height of 35 feet. This 

 amount will not only supply all the wants of the city, but 

 convert the surrounding region into a tropical garden. Since 

 last June the boring has penetrated through 200 feet of dolomite. 

 The preceding strata have supplied a number of interesting 

 facts to the geologist, which have been recorded from time to 

 time in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Among some of 

 the ingenious engineering devices invented during the course of 

 the boring are especially noteworthy the arrangements for driving 

 in nails at the enormous depth mentioned above, for pulling them 

 out (with magnets), for cutting off and pulling up broken tubes, 

 and above all, a valuable mechanical apparatus by means of 

 which the water rising from the well is used as a motive power, 

 driving the drills at a rate of speed double that previously 

 imparted from the mouth of the well. 



The preliminary works for boring the British Channel Tunnel 

 are being prosecuted with very great activity at Sangate. A 

 shaft has been sunk to a depth of 100 metres, and the experi- 

 mental gallery has been commenced. It is to be continued for a 

 kilometre under the sea. If no obstacle is met with the work 

 will be continued without any further delay. Two powerful 

 pumps have been established for elevating the water which, of 

 course, filters in in large quantity. 



In the French estimates for 1878 a supplementary credit of 

 5,000/. is asked for the learned societies m connection with the 

 exhibition of 1878. 



An international exhibition is to be held at Milan in 1879. 



An excellent measure was decided on by M. Brunei, the late 

 French Minister of Public Instruction. Special maps on the 



