March 28, 1878] 



NA TURE 



437 



A I'AKis correspondent sends us the following : — On March 

 15 a parricide was guillotined at Evreux (Euro), and a frater- 

 nity for burying the dead existing in the place, the body was 

 not, as usual, thrown into a large basket and sent hurriedly to its 

 grave. An ordinary coffin was prepared, and as soon as the exe- 

 cution was completed the corpse was laid in it. To the horror 

 of the spectators the body was seen to be agitated by spasms 

 so powerful that it almost jumped twice out of the coffin, and it 

 was necessary to use force in order to control its motions. These 

 contractions were, of course, unaccompanied by consciousness. 



In connection with the lamentable catastrophe to the Eurydue 

 Sir George Airy sends to the Daily News some valuable infor- 

 mation as to the meteorological condition on Sunday : — On 

 Sunday, March 24, between ih. 3001. and 3h. om., the wind, 

 which had previously been almost imperceptible, had four limes 

 risen to a pressure of i^ lb. per square foot ; but from 3I1. om. 

 to about 3h. 55m. it was nearly calm, the pressure scarcely ex- 

 ceeding \ lb. per square foot. During the former of these two 

 periods the direction of the wind had been fluctuating on both 

 sides of west, but during the latter it was for the most part west- 

 south-west. At 3h. 56m. nearly the direction changed very 

 suddenly to north-north-west, and the force changed with most 

 unusual suddenness to 4 lb., from which it rose at 4h. 3m. to 

 91b. per square foot. It declined for a time, but rose at 

 4h. 40m. to 10 lb. It fell and rose once more, and finally sank 

 at 5h. 30m. to almost perfect calm. The fluctuations of the 

 barometer were very inconsiderable. At 2h. 30m. it stood at 

 29'35 inches ; at 3h. 56m. it was 29-28 ; and at sh. 30m. was 

 again 29 "33. The temperature about 2h. om. had been as high 

 as 49°, diminishing with fluctuations (probably produced by 

 clouds) to 45° just before the squall. With the squall it sank 

 most r apidly to 38°, and continued to fall, till at 5h. om. it was 

 about 32°." 



From an inquiry on the electromotive force and internal 

 resistance of some thermopiles, those of Noe, and of Clamond, 

 modified by Koch, M. Beetz concludes {Ann. der Phys., No. i) 

 that the latter, from its great solidity, is preferable for technical 

 purposes. Tliat it requires to be heated long before use is of 

 little consequence, and once in action, it works on with great 

 constancy, both as regards electromotive force and resistance. 

 Though, with an equal number of elements, the electromotive 

 force is under that of the Noe pile, its utility is not less, as the 

 elements can be easily increased. Only the burner must be 

 improved in construction. On the other hand, the Noe pile 

 offers the great advantage for laboratory purposes, that (by 

 coupling several cylindrical piles) a productive current-source is 

 readily obtained, with very constant electromotive force ; 

 the duration has been considerably improved in the new 

 construction. 



According to La Nature \h.fi telephone is finding great favour 

 in Spain ; a goodly number are being produced in Barcelona, 

 and numerous applications made of them. Telephonic chambers 

 are being constructed designed to isolate the hearer from external 

 noises and render communication more easy and sure. These 

 chambers are of small size and have glass windows for light • 

 the doors are closed with pads of caoutchouc. Telephony was 

 lately tried between Barcelona, and Saragossa, which are about 

 364 kilometres apart. The communication was satisfactory at 

 the former place (notwithstanding bad weather) ; at Saragossa it 

 was somewhat imperfect, which is accounted for by the tele- 

 phonic chamber having been used at one place but not at the 

 other. 



As the latest instance of collections of personal contributions 

 to scientific literature, we notice the appearance in Paris of 

 a handsome volume containing Prof. Kuhlmann's various 



researches during the past half-centuiy. The work affords not 

 only an interesting glimpse into the lines of investigation fol- 

 lowed out by a single mind, but also into the general progress 

 of applied chemistry since 1830 ; for there is probably no 

 chemist alive who has done more for the practical application of 

 his science than this Lille professor. The present volume con- 

 tains detailed accounts of the baryta industry, which he created, 

 of the general introduction of crystallisation into technical 

 operations, of the phenomena accompanying the use of cements 

 and the formation of stone, as well as the minute studies on the 

 formation of nitrates and artificial manures, on the crystallisation 

 of insoluble bodies, on the madder dyes, as well as a great 

 variety of other technical and purely scientific subjects. Prof. 

 Kuhlmann is now in his seventy-fifth year, but is still able to 

 contribute occasionally the results of new investigations. 



Under the editorship of Heinrich and Gerhard Rohlfs 

 assisted by a numerous staff, Hirschfeld, of Leipzig, is publish- 

 ing a new quarterly journal under the title Deutches Archiv fiir 

 Geschichte der Medizin und medizinische Geographie. 



The French Academy has published the seventh edition of its 

 " Dictionnaire de la Langue Fran9ai3e." Scientific terms have 

 not been admitted into the general vocabulary except such as 

 are now in common use and cannot be ignored even by 

 unscientific persons. 



Mr. Stab, corresponding member of the Society of Arts, at 

 Smyrna, reports that the plague of field-mice, or rats, has again 

 broken loose, and that they are wasting the fields far and wide, 

 digging up the seed-corn, and devouring all they can. This is 

 the plague from which Homer records that Apollo Smynthius 

 delivered the Greeks. As the Smynthian Apollo no longer has 

 believers, Mr. Stab wishes to know what remedy can be recom- 

 mended. The western states of America suffer much from this 

 pest. 



Dr. a. B. Meyer, of the Royal Zoological Museum, 

 Dresden, writes, in answer to Mr. Boulger's inquiry (vol. xviL 

 p. 392), that the reason why Mr. \V. W. Wood did not send 

 specimens of Navicula (Nature, vol. xii. p. 514) is, that he died 

 a short time after he wrote that letter. Dr. Meyer heard this 

 from a Manila friend. 



A Botanical Exchange Society has been established at 

 Buda-Pesth for the purpose of exchanging specimens of the 

 native plants of Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia, Sclavonia, 

 and, as far as possible, of Turkey and Russia, for those of other 

 parts of the world. During the last two years upwards of 300 

 botanists have joined the Association, and more than 120,000 

 specimens have been, distributed. All communications and 

 applications for further information should be addressed to Herr 

 Richter Lajos, Erzherzogin Marie Valerie Gasse, Nro. i, Buda- 

 Pesth, Hungary, accompanied by a subscription of 4 marks, or 

 5 francs, for which sum an exchange of xoo specimens will be 

 effected. 



A lecture will be delivered in the Theatre of the Royal 

 Engineer Institute, Chatham, at five p.m., en April 3, by Prof. 

 Huxley, F.R.S., on "The Geographical Distribution of Animals]; 

 and on Collecting and Observing in Aid of the Investigation of 

 the Problems connected therewith." 



Electric lights are becoming very common in Paris. The 

 Lontain system is now working daily at the Lyons railway 

 terminus at the expense of the Company. M. Jamin has pub- 

 lished an elaborate article on the subject in the last number of 

 the Revue des Deux Mondes. 



The telephonic signal invented by MM. Henry Brothers was 

 exhibited at a lecture delivered at Montrouge under the auspices 

 of the Paris municipal authorities. One apparatus was placed 

 at the Mansion House and another at the Public School, at a 

 distance of 500 metres. When each apparatus was used as a 



