352 



NATURE 



l^Feb. 9, 1888 



collections are extending so rapidly that the provision of addi. 

 tional and adequate space for their exhibition is becoming a 

 matter of pressing importance. In 1884 the number of specimens 

 was estimated at 1,471,000; the number is now increased by 

 more than a million. At the beginning of the present decade 

 there was only one curator with a few assistants ; now there are 

 thirty-one regularly organized departments and sections, under 

 the care of twenty-six curators and numerous assistants. The 

 work of the Ethnological Bureau in all its branches — mound 

 explorations, general field studies, and office work — appears to 

 proceed as vigorously as in previous years. The most important 

 forthcoming work of the Bureau appears to be a report by Mr. 

 E. W, Nelson, on the Eskimo of Northern Alaska. During 

 1886 the vocabularies of twelve Eskimo dialects were arranged 

 in the form of a dictionary, which will form one part of his 

 report ; the other will contain chapters on Eskimo life and 

 customs in Alaska, illustrated by photographs taken on the 

 spot. 



An elaborate review of the mineral industries of the United 

 States during the year 1886 has just been issued by the United 

 States Geological Survey. It is the fourth of a series of volumes 

 entitled "Mineral Resources of the United States." The first 

 three volumes contain the statistics from 1882 to December 31, 

 1885. 



The U.S. Bureau of Education has issued the first of what 

 promises to be a most interesting series of *' Circulars of Infor- 

 mation." The present Circular is by Dr. H. B. Adams, who 

 has chosen as his subject the College of William and Mary. 

 This College was founded in 1693 by Royal grant, and was long 

 supported by popular legislation in Virginia. The greater part 

 of its property was destroyed during the Civil War, and since 

 that time the institution has been allowed to decline almost to 

 ruin. Dr. Adams' aim, as explained in a prefatory letter, has 

 been to discover the historical beginnings of the higher educa- 

 tion in the South ; to trace the causes of the early prosperity of 

 William and Mary College ; to show its influence upon Virginia 

 statesmen and the Southern States, its relation to the University 

 ideas of Jefferson and Washington, and its significance to the 

 whole country ; to point out the causes of the decline of 

 William and Mary College ; to explain the rise of the University 

 of Virginia, and the necessity of popular support for the higher 

 education. 



Popular editions of the late Dr. Parkin's volumes—" Are 

 Epidemics Contagious?" and "The Volcanic Origin of Epide- 

 mics" (Sampson Low) — have been published. Dr. Parkin 

 died nearly two years ago at the age of eighty-five, and it is 

 explained in an editorial note that " his long and strenuous life 

 had been devoted to the study of cholera and similar epidemics. " 

 His attention was first specially directed to the subject of cholera 

 more than fifty years ago, when he was visiting India and China. 

 A prolonged series of observations and experiments satisfied 

 him that "the cause of the disease was atmospheric, and that 

 carbonic acid gas was its antidote." The editor of these volumes 

 admits that Dr. Parkin's theories have met with comparatively 

 limited acceptance in England. This fact he attributes in part 

 to the comparative mildness of cholera outbreaks in England, 

 in part to "an erroneous notion that the results of Dr. Parkin's 

 teaching were hostile to sanitation." 



Messrs. Longmans have just issued the ninth edition of Mr. 

 William Jago's "Inorganic Chemistry, Theoretical and Prac- 

 tical." In this edition the paragraphs are numbered, and have 

 side-headings. The more important statements and definitions 

 are printed in bolder type. A number of students and teachers 

 have pointed out to Mr. Jago that they have been using his boak 

 in preparing for the Matriculation Examination of the London 

 University, and have been inconvenienced by its not covering 



the whole syllabus of that examination. Chapters have now 

 been added to supply this want. 



At the last meeting of the Society of Science of Christiania 

 Prof. Schoyen exhibited and described four species of Lepi- 

 doptera new to the Norwegian fauna ; viz, Agrotis prcecox, L. , 

 found as larva in the Hval Islands, in the Christiania Fjord ; 

 Asopia glaucinalis, L., produced from larva at Christiania ; 

 Tortrix inopiana, Haw., from southern Aurdal ; and Cerestoma 

 nemorella from Christiansand. At the same meeting Prof. 

 Blytt read a paper on the alterations of the so-called 

 " Strandlinjer," or shore-lines, in Norway, maintaining that the 

 changes in the division of land and sea might have been caused 

 by an alteration in the length of day and night. 



A RESIDENT in the isolated little island of Bornholm, in the 

 Baltic, writes to a Danish journal that a curious Christmas 

 custom is observed in that island. When the so-called " Christ- 

 mas table" has been spread on Christmas Eve, a large long loaf 

 of rye bread is laid at the upper end of it. In this loaf, before it 

 is baked, two transverse grooves are made about 3 inches from 

 each end. On the top of the loaf a large cheese and various articles 

 of food are laid. This is the so-called ^'Julegalt." It remains 

 untouched throughout Christmas, and when the table is not in 

 use, the cloth is gathered from the other end and laid over the 

 ^^ gait." This curious custom is believed to have been handed 

 down from Pagan times, the gait (pig) having reference to 

 Frey's gait or pig " Gyldenborste " ("Gold bristle"). Frey 

 was the god of rain, sunshine, harvest, and general felicity. 



The acclimatization of the so-called " American " trout in 

 Norwegian waters has been very successful. Attempts are now 

 about to be made to acclimatize black bass obtained from 

 America. 



The Danish Government has decided upon forming an 

 oyster bank in the Limfjord, in Jutland, and has despatched the 

 inspector of the Danish fisheries to Norway to obtain all possible 

 information respecting the artificial banks formed in that country 

 during the last few years. 



The manner in which the spruce and pine forests of Norway 

 are being exterminated, is becoming so serious that the Govern- 

 ment is called upon to put a stop, by legislation, to the deforesta- 

 tion of the country. At present there is no law to prevent the 

 purchaser of a forest from felling everything, even down to the 

 tiniest saplings. It is urged by forest officials that trees under a 

 certain diameter should not be permitted to be cut, and that the 

 branches of the trees should not be left in the forest (as is now 

 nearly always done), because they stifle the growth of the young 

 trees. Apart from the wanton exhaustion of this commercial 

 wealth, it is maintained that wholesale felling has the effect of 

 changing the climate in the forest localities. 



The strict preservation of the eider fowl on the south-east 

 coast of Sweden during recent years has had the effect of greatly 

 augmenting the number of these valuable birds. The penalty 

 for killing one is very heavy, and informers receive a considerable 

 reward. 



During the present winter term, there are 26,945 German 

 students at the German Universities. Of this number 5791 study 

 theology, 5769 law, 6650 medicine, and 8735 belong to the 

 Philosophical Faculty. 1644 students are foi'eign. The Vienna 

 University has 238 theologians, 2569 law student?, 1565 medical 

 students, and 634 of the Philosophical Faculty. In Graz there 

 are 1305 students, and in Innsbruck 863. Prague has 3805 

 Cracow 1234, Lemberg 11 12, and Czernowitz 259. At Berne 

 University there are 637 students, 51 theologians, 158 law 

 students, 287 medical students, and 141 physical science students. 

 At Zurich there are 70 female student<;, 40 being medical. 



