454 



NA TURE 



[Sept. 6, 1888 



ing up and letting down the cars containing fifty or sixty person?. 

 At the end of the journey, completed in about fifteen minutes, 

 at an ordinary walking speed, the car moves gently against a 

 spring buffer, and is locked by a lever, without noise and without 

 jolting the passengers. This interesting undertaking has been 

 carried out at a cost of ,£"25,000. 



Mr. E. T. Dumple, writing in the Geological Bulletin of 

 Texas, brings out a very interesting fact, and one which may 

 shed some light upon the question of who were the builders of 

 the shell-mounds of the coast regions of Texas. During the 

 great storm of 1886, which so nearly destroyed Sabine Pass, one 

 of these shell-mounds, which was near a certain house on the 

 river-bank, and the loeality of which was exactly known, was 

 destroyed or carried away by the violence of the waves, and 

 rebuilt nearly half a mile farther up stream than it formerly 

 stood. It is therefore possible that these so-called Indian shell- 

 mounds, which are composed almost entirely of shells, with 

 fragments of pottery, and sometimes a crumbling bone or two, 

 were not built, as has been supposed, by Indian tribes who lived 

 on shell-fish, but are entirely due to the action of the water ; and 

 the presence of the Indian relics may be easily accounted for by 

 remembering that these mounds are usually found in low ground, 

 and, being high and dry, would naturally be selected as 

 camping-places by the Indians in their hunting and fishing 

 expeditions. 



The Vienna Correspondent of the Times records a curious 

 relic of mediaeval superstition in Austria. The Burgomaster of 

 Zuraki, in Galicia, has just instituted a prosecution before the 

 Criminal Court of Solotwina against a man named Jean 

 Kowale-ink for having, "by his malicious sorceries and incanta- 

 tions, caused a hailstorm to devastate the fields of Zuraki on July 

 28." The damages occasioned by Kowalesink's uncanny power 

 over the elements are laid at 6000 florins. 



We are glad to report that the Central Meteorological Ob- 

 servatory of Mexico has recommenced the publication of its 

 Boletin Menstial, and in a more convenient form than before. 

 This publication had been discontinued since December 18S5 ' 

 It contains only a summary of the observations made at twenty 

 or thirty stations, but the hope is expressed that the publication 

 of the observations made at certain hours will be soon under- 

 taken, and that the arrears will also be taken up, as the 

 observations have been regularly made. The Bulletins for the 

 first five months of this year have been received. 



The Report of the Meteorological Commission of the Cape 

 of Good Hope, for the year 1887, states that " the whole service 

 has assumed a satisfactory character." Monthly and yearly 

 summaries are given for twenty-nine stations, and for a large 

 number of rainfall stations. As an inducement to observers, 

 they are presented with the instruments with which they have 

 made a series of satisfactory observations for a continuous period 

 of five years. Summarized reports are sent daily to each coast 

 port, and are there entered on a sketch-map for the benefit of 

 the seafaring community. We observe, however, that in count- 

 ing the number of wet days, a rainy day is taken as one upon 

 which o 03 inch is recorded, whereas a quantity of o'oi inch is 

 the standard generally adopted in this country. The Commission 

 express the hope that in time they may be able to issue storm 

 warnings. 



In June last an interesting archaeological discovery was made 

 at Sdnderby, on the west coast of Jutland. It consisted of 

 about thirty urns of clay found in a moss at a depth of 

 3 feet. They occupied an area 4 feet wide and 10 feet long. 

 Formerly there was a shallow lake here. Most of the vessels 

 rested upon rough stones, but there was no trace of stone walls 

 or roof ; they varied from 2 to 8 inches in height. In most of 



them layadies and remnants of calcined bones, whilst the bottom 

 was lined with some reed-like kind of grass. Some of the urns 

 had lids, but others appear to have been placed in the earth open. 

 Most of them were very simple in form, with smooth sides, but 

 on some of the larger there were three knobs at the sides, and 

 attempts at rough ornamentation. No metal or stone implement 

 was found. In the same moss some huge oak trunks were also 

 dug out. 



A Kiel schoolmaster, Herr Spiedt, has excavated a so called 

 "Viking mound" in the south of Jutland, close to the old 

 frontier between Denmark and Prussia. In the eastern edge 

 remains of a skeleton were found, and in the centre an oaken 

 coffin, nailed with iron nails, containing the skeleton of a tall 

 powerful man was found ; but no ornaments, weapons, or objects 

 of any kind. The head pointed to the north-west. It was close 

 to this mcund that a Runic stone was found some years ago with 

 the following inscription in runes: "King Svein set (raised) 

 stone after (on the death of) Skarde, his homestead companion 

 (probably meaning boy companion), who travelled west, and 

 died in Hedeby." King Svein is the famous King Svein with 

 the Double Beard, who ascended the thrones of England and 

 Denmark on the death of his brother, King Canute, and his 

 friend was one Skarde, who fought for him in this country. 

 Hedeby was the ancient name for the town of Schleswig. It is 

 believed that the skeleton is that of Skarde. 



The "Class-book of Elementary Chemistry," which Mr. W. 

 W. Fisher, Aldrichian Demonstrator of Chemistry at Oxford, is 

 preparing for the Clarendon Press Series, is nearly ready, and 

 will be published in a few days. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Small Hill Mynah (Gracula religiose) from 

 India, presented by Mr. Alexander Robertson ; a Common 

 Sheldrake (Tadorna vulpanser), British, presented by the Rev. 

 H. H. Slater ; an Avocet {Recurvirostra avocetta) from Holland, 

 presented by Mr. J. Hoogerduyn ; two Common Chameleons 

 {Chamceleon vulgaris) from North Africa, presented by Mr. J. 

 Alfred Lockwood ; a Sea Anemone {Bolvara eques), a British 

 Coral (Caiyophyllaca, sp. inc.) from British Seas, presented by 

 the Marine Biological Station, Plymouth, per Mr. G. C. 

 Bourne ; a Brown Bear {Ursus arctos 6 ), European, a White- 

 backed Piping Crow (Gymnorhina leuconotd) from Australia, 

 twelve Mandarin Ducks (/Ex galcriculata, 6 S ,6 9 ) from China, 

 deposited ; two White-headed Parrots (Pionus senilis) from 

 Mexico, four Oyster-catchers (Himantopus ostralrgus) from 

 Holland, purchased. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1888 SEPTEMBER 9-15. 



/"C*OR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 

 ^ Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 



is here employed.) 



At Greenwich on September 9 

 Sun rises, 5h. 28m. ; souths, nh. 57m. i'8s. ; sets, i8h. 26m. : 



right asc. on meridian, nh. i2 - 9m. ; deck 5 4' N. 



Sidereal Time at Sunset, I7h. 43m. 

 Moon (at First Quarter September 12, 22h.) rises, 9h. 19m.; 



souths, 14I1. 55m. ; sets, 2oh. 19m. : right asc. on meridian, 



I4h. ii'im. ; deck 7° 48' S. 



Right asc. and declination 

 Planet. Rises. Souths. Sets. on meridian. 



h. m. h. m. h. m. h. m. o / 



Mercury.. 6 45 ... 12 49 ... 18 53 ... 12 47 ... o 2 N. 

 Venus ... 6 57 ... 12 59 ... 19 1 ... 12 14-9 ... o 23 S. 

 Mars ... 12 25 ... 16 30 ... 20 35 ... 15 467 ... 21 30 S. 

 Jupiter ... 12 16 ... 16 34 ... 20 52 ... 15 51-0 ... 19 31 S. 

 Saturn ... 2 21 ... 9 55 ... 17 29 ... 9 IO-2 ... 17 5 N. 

 Uranus... 8 8 ... 13 43 ... 19 18 ... 12 58-9 ... 5 3 8 S ; 

 Neptune.. 21 1*... 4 48 ... 12 35 ... 4 2-4 ... 18 59 N. 

 * Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding evening. 



