Jan. lo, 1878] 



NATURE 



21 1 



name is too familiar to ; our readers to necessitate any bio- 

 graphical remarks on our part. His countrymen will doubtless 

 commemorate the day in a fitting manner, and the sanctum at 

 Upsala University, Linne's room, which is still preserved in its 

 original state, will, we are sure, be visited by many a scientific 

 pilgrim. 



At the last general meeting of the Royal Academy of Sciences 

 of Brussels, the five years' prize for natural sciences was awarded 

 to Prof, van Beneder, of Liege, the son of the celebrated zoolo- 

 gist of Louvain., 



The Emperor of Austria has recently awarded the large 

 gold medal "for art and science" to the well-known African 

 traveller, Dr. Oscar Lenz. 



The African traveller, Herr Gerhard Rohlfs, is now organis- 

 ing an expedition for the investigation of the eastern part of the 

 Great Sahara, He will be accompanied by a number of scien- 

 tific men, amongst ethers by Prof. Zittel, of Munich. Tripoli 

 will be the head-quarters of the expedition, and its first efforts 

 will be the exploration of the mysterious oases, Wajanga and 

 Kufara, in the south of Anjila, which have never^ been visited 

 by any European travellers. 



At Frankfort-on-the-Main a new society has been formed with 

 the sole object of watching over the interests of chemical 

 industry. 



Amongst the'students of Strassburg University the idea has 

 ripened to erect a monument in memory of Goethe as the most 

 eminent representative of German culture, and as the ideal of a 

 German student. The monument is to stand in front of the new 

 University Building, and is to represent the poet as he appeared 

 at the time of his sojourn at Strassburg, in the prime of youth 

 and strength, and in the costume of that period. Most of the 

 professors of the University regard the idea favourably, and the 

 inhabitants of the city are confidently expected to do the same. 



ANOTHERPompeiihas been accidentallydiscovered in theneigh- 

 bourhood of Mount Gargano, near Manfredonia. There were found 

 an ancient temple of Diana, a magnificent portico about twenty 

 metres long, with an underground necropolis of great extent. A 

 large number of important inscriptions has already been for- 

 warded to, and exhibited by, the National Museum of Naples. 

 The discovered city is the ancient Sipuntum, near Arpinum, 

 mentioned by Strabo and Titus Livius. The houses are nearly 

 twenty feet beneath the cultivated soil. This town was at the 

 time ingulfed in consequence of a terrible earthquake. The 

 Italian Government has ordered researches to be made on a 

 large scale. 



We are glad to learn that a telegram received at Rome from 

 Cairo announces that the Marquess Antinorij had arrived at 

 Zeyla, from which he intended to start at once for Italy. It is 

 not known, however, as yet whether he isalone or accompanied 

 by other members of his expedition. 



M^. Stanley has left Alexandria for England by Biindisl. 

 He is expected to visit Rome, Marseilles, and Paris, on his way 

 home, and speak on his work to the geographical societies of 

 these cities. The Khedive invested Mr. Stanley with the order 

 of the Grand Cross of the Medjidie, ^accompanied by^another 

 order of the next grade, thus conferring upon Mr. Stanley the 

 title of Grand Officer of the Order of the Medjidie. 



M. Gauthier VlLLARS has published the new issue of the 

 Annuaire of the Bureau des Longitudes of France, which con- 

 tains a large number of geographical data. It is the first time 

 that such a quantity of interesting numerical data has been col- 

 lected in this small volume. In addition the volume contains 

 two eisays, one by Dr. Janssen on Solar Photography, and the 

 other on Cosmical Meteorology by M. Faye. The latter denies 

 any connection lo txibt between either ^solar spot?, magnetic 



disturbances, or the motions of Jupiter, and the 'positions of the 

 moon and variations of weather. 



The death is announced of General La Marmora, who alwayg 

 took a lively interest in the progress of science in Italy, and often 

 gave his substantial aid to the establishment of practical scien- 

 tific schools. 



SiGNOR Mengoni, 'one of the greatest architects of Italy, 

 builder of the well-known Vittorio-Emanuele Gallery at Milan, 

 has fallen from the great arch of that building, whilst giving direc- 

 tions for the completion of this his life-work j he died instantly. 



Messrs. Macmillan have in preparation the first part of a 

 " Course of Instruction in Zootomy," by Prof. Huxley, assisted 

 by Mr. T. J. Parker. This part will consist of directions for the 

 dissection of readily-obtainable examples selected from each of 

 the classes of the vertebrata, accompanied by full descriptions of 

 the parts displayed. 



We notice the appearance of a very interesting Russian work 

 by M. Nemirovich-Danchenko, entitled "The Land of Cold," 

 being a description of the author's travels in the White Sea to 

 the coast of Russian Laponia, to Kandalaksk Bay, Novaya 

 Zemlya, and Waigatz Island. The work has no pretensions to 

 be scientific, but it is full of interesting and useful information 

 on the inhabitants of the regions visited. The able descriptions 

 are chiefly devoted to the life of the walrus- and seal-hunters, 

 but it contains, besides lively pictures of such life, abundant 

 statistical data as to the state of those industries, and descriptions 

 of the varied manners in which they are carried on in different parts 

 of Northern Russia. An important part of the work is devoted 

 to descriptions of Samoyedes, Korels, Zyriaiis, Yuraks, Chuk- 

 chees, Kamchadalians, Lapps, and Ural Cossack^ based on the 

 author's own notes and other recent information. The work, 

 extending to 520 pages, is illustrated with twenty-five full-page 

 illustrations, and is written in the attractive style characteristic 

 of the author, who is well known in Russia. 



The anniversary meeting of the Vienna Geographical Society 

 was held on December 18. The Society now numbers seventy 

 honorary, 132 corresponding, and 641 ordinary members. The 

 Austrian Minister for ^ Public] Instruction 'has granted a yearly 

 subsidy of 1,000 florins to the Society for the period of three 

 years, and t'ais sum, as^[well as other donations it has received, 

 have enabled the council to enlarge the Society's library, which 

 during the past year was increased by 234 new works and nine- 

 teen geographical views, as well as to facilitate materially the 

 publication of scientific ; works, and to support geographical 

 exploration. The receipts of .the Society during 1877 were 

 7,332 florins, the expenses 7,110 florins. The President, in his 

 report, announced that the scientific investigations made in 

 Central Afirica by Dr. Oscar Lenz and Lieut. Lux, will soon be 

 published, and that the, Austrian traveller. Dr. Emil HoUub, 

 after a sojourn of nearly three years in South Africa, will shortly 

 return to Austria. 



Phylloxera, that pernicious enemy of the vine, which 

 hitherto j^had mainly restricted its devastations to the wine- 

 growing districts of France and Switzerland, seems lately to be 

 gaining ground In Germany as well. It is announced that it 

 has appeared in a vineyard at Rauschwitz, near _Glogau, as well 

 as in a viticultural establishment at Plantieres, near Metz. In 

 the former casQ the vines had been purchased last spring from 

 one of the numerous horticulturists of Erfurt. The necessary 

 measures are being taken to prevent the spreading of the plague. 

 In France phylloxera seems also on the increase ; at Saint Medard 

 and other places of the Gers Department the vines are covered 

 by such masses of the insect that the latter can easily be seen by 

 the naked eye, which is generally not an easy matter. 



A NEW weekly serial for horticulturists has been published 

 since January 1 at Berlin under the title Der deulsche Garten. 



