Sept. 13, 1888] 



NATURE 



487 



of visitors to particular departments for the purpose of study or 

 research it has increased from 146,891 in 1882 to 182 778 in 

 18S7 to the reading-room, from 1452 in 1885 (when the room 

 was opened) to 11,802 in 1887 to the newspaper-room, and from 

 from 2709 in 1882 to 14,238 in 1887 to the various departments 

 in the new building in Cromwell Road. The students who 

 frequent the reading-room will agree with the principal 

 librarian's remarks as to the inadequacy of the accommodation 

 of that room, and will hope that his recommendation to provide 

 a separate room for " the throng of readers for general in- 

 formation " may be speedily carried out. Amongst the more 

 important donations to the Museum during the past year were 

 the following : stone implements from Japan and Greenland, 

 ancient Peruvian pottery and masks, presented by the trustees of 

 the late Mr. Christy ; a collection of Andamanese objects from 

 the Colonial Exhibition, by M. V. Portman ; a valuable collection 

 of ethnological objects from the Nicobar Islands, by E. H. Man ; 

 a remarkable collection of objects of the Late Celtic period, 

 found in graves at Aylesford ; a large collection of stone imple- 

 ments from Japan, presented by Sir Alexander Cunningham. 

 The arrangement of many of the sections in the ethnographical 

 gallery has been altered in the past year. Thus several sections 

 of Asiatic islands have been revised to make room for the 

 two large series from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 

 Amongst the Oriental and ethnographical acquisitions during 

 the year were the following : a collection of Indian antiquities, 

 consisting of relic caskets of various kinds with various Buddhist 

 sculptures, &c, presented by General Sir Alexander Cunning- 

 ham ; a number of antiquities from Siam and Burma, presented 

 by E. M. Satow ; seventy-six specimens of Chinese porcelain with 

 armorial devices, presented by the Rev. F. Warre ; a number of 

 ethnographical specimens collected in the Pacific Islands by 

 H. J. Veitch ; and an extensive collection of specimens from 

 New Guinea, including models of houses, boats, &c, collected 

 by H. H. Romilly, and presented by the Queensland Com- 

 missioners of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition. 



With regard to the natural history collections great progress 

 has been made in the arrangement and description. Two cases 

 have been placed on the floor of the Great Hall, illustrating 

 general laws in natural history. The specimens in one case have 

 been presented by Mr. Henry Seebohm, and show that what are 

 regarded as two distinct species of crows (the Corvus comix and 

 the Corvus corone) may unite and produce offspring. The 

 second case illustrates the effect of domestication on pigeons. The 

 great collection of birds, which was formed chiefly by the late 

 Marquess of Tweeddale, has been given to the Museum under cer- 

 tain conditions by Mr. R. G. Wardlaw-Ramsay, together with 

 his large ornithological library. The collection comprises nearly 

 40,000 bird-skins, and is particularly valuable to the Museum, as 

 it is very rich in birds of the Philippine Islands, Andaman 

 Islands, &c, in which the Museum was very deficient. A col- 

 lection of butterflies, anthropological objects, skins of birds and 

 mammals, sent from Wadelai by Emin Pasha, has reached the 

 Museum. The Commissioners present at the Indian and Colonial 

 Exhibition gave some fine specimens of the flora of Australia and 

 New Zealand. The zoology department is now overcrowded, 

 270,000 specimens having been added in the space of four 

 years. 



The King of Italy, acting on the recommendation of the 

 Minister of Public Instruction, has issued a decree regulating the 

 manner in which Italy proposes to celebrate the fourth centennial 

 of the discovery of America by Columbus. This will consist 

 mainly in the publication of the collected works of the great 

 navigator, and of all the documents and charts which will throw 

 any light upon his life and voyages. This will be accompanied 

 by a biography of the works published in Italy upon Columbus 

 and the discovery of America from the earliest period down to 



the present time. The head of the Royal Commission charged 

 with the preparation of this edition is Cesare Correnti, President 

 of the Italian Historical Institute; and among its members are 

 Signors Amari, Cantu, and Desimoni, and the Marquis Doria. 

 An appropriation of 12,000 lire has been made to cover the 

 expenses of this work, which is now fairly undertaken for the 

 first time. Various editors have published portions of the 

 writings of Columbus, as Navarrete the 'account of his voyages, 

 and Major his letters ; but no one has yet collected all his 

 writings into a single edition, though an index to them was 

 published in 1864. 



The British Consul at Chicago in a recent report refers to 

 an interesting experiment in some of the Western States in 

 afforestation. He says that in the vast prairies of the western half 

 of Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, the eastern part of Colorado, 

 and in the plains of Dakota and Wyoming, there is an almost 

 total absence of trees, and hence the moisture is very deficient. In 

 the forest regions and amongst the mountains, lumber and firewood 

 have rapidly decreased from the reckless way in which old and 

 young trees have been cut. This waste has been restrained by 

 various Acts, principally by the Timber Culture Law, which 

 regulates the disposal of lands. In Nebraska, fifteen years ago, 

 a voluntary movement was started for the encouragement of 

 planting and forestry in general, and one day in the year, called 

 "Arbor Day," was set apart for that purpose. On that day 

 trees are planted by prominent persons, and by the local bodies. 

 This example has been followed by almost every other State 

 named above, and "Arbor Day" is now a public holiday in 

 those regions, the date being fixed by the Governor. So great has 

 been the progress that in Kansas alone there are now no less than 

 250,000 acres of artificial forest. The kind of trees planted 

 varies very much with the district and the taste of the planters. 

 White elm is said to be the best tree, being of rapid growth and 

 yet hardy. Oak, walnut, maple, elm, ash, catalpa, pine, tulip- 

 tree, linden, and others, have all been found lo flourish. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Squirrel Monkey {Chrysothrix sciurea) from 

 Guiana, presented by Mr. George Miles ; a Rhesus Monkey 

 {Macacus rhesus 9 ) from India, presented by Mr. J. Witham ; 

 a Kinkajou {Cercoleptes caudivolvulus) from Venezuela, presented 

 by Dr. A. Batchelor, F.R.C.S. ; a Black-backed Jackal {Canis 

 mesomelas ) from South Africa, presented by Lieut. Lionel de 

 Lautour Wells, R.N. ; a Roseate Cockatoo {Cacatua roseicapilla) 

 from Australia, presented by Mrs. J. de la Mare ; a Sulphur and 

 White-breasted Toucan {Ramphastos vitellinus) from Rio Negro, 

 presented by Dr. C. E. Lister; an Alligator {Alligator mississip- 

 piensis) from Florida, presented by Mr. Michael Millard ; two 

 Sharp-nosed Crocodiles {Crocodilus acuius) from Nicaragua, 

 presented by Mr. E. A. Williams ; a Common Viper ( Vipera 

 berus), British, presented by Colonel C. S. Sturt ; a Grey Lemur 

 ( Hapalcmur griseus) from Madagascar, received in exchange ; a 

 Barbary Wild Sheep {Ovis tragclafrhtts 9) from North Africa, 

 deposited ; a Brazilian Cariama (Cariama crislata) bred in the 

 Gardens. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1888 SEPTEMBER 16-22. 



/"L70R 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 16 

 Sun rises, 5h. 39m. ; souths, nh. 54m. 34'6s. ; sets, 18I1. 10m. : 



right asc. on meridian, nh. 38-0111.; decl. 2° 23' N. 



Sidereal Time at Sunset, I7h. 54m. 

 Moon (Full on September 20, 5I1.) rises, i6h. 57m. ; souths, 



2ih. 25m.; sets, 2h. om.*: right asc. on meridian, 2lh. io'2m.; 



decl. 1 7 45' S. 



