568 



NATURE 



[April 12, 1888 



which moved across the great lakes on the 25th. One of these, 

 seen on January 28, in lat, 39° 30' N., long. 57° 20' W., is esti- 

 mated to have been a mile in diameter. On February 1 1 the 

 ship Reindeer was completely dismasted by a spout in lat. 

 32° 4' N., long. 76° 6' W. The weather was clear at the time, 

 and the whole affair was over in a few minutes. Generally 

 speaking, the rotation was, as in the case of tornadoes, in the 

 opposite direction to that of the hands of a watch, but, in some 

 cases, in the same direction. It is suggested that if instan- 

 taneous photographs were taken of some of these remarkable 

 phenomena they would be of great value to the science of 

 meteorology. 



At the meeting of the French Meteorological Society, on 

 March 6, M. Renou stated that the observations at Pare St. 

 Maur showed that the month of February last was colder than 

 it had been since 1855. The temperature of 5° F., observed 

 on February 2, was the lowest on record in that month. On 

 March i the minimum, 16° "2, was the lowest recorded in March 

 since 1847. The Society is encouraging the registration of 

 regular observations at the seminary at Port-au-Prince (Hayti). 

 The thermometers, which are now better exposed, show that the 

 temperatures are lower than formerly reported. Very few 

 observations from this district have been published, so that a 

 regular bulletin such as is hinted at by M. Renou would be very 

 welcome. M. Hauvel read a communication on the " Tides of 

 the Photosphere," due to planetary action. In classifying the 

 planets according to their influence on the photosphere, he 

 places Mercury first and Jupiter second, and he argues that at 

 certain positions Mercury causes storms in the photosphere, giving 

 rise to abnormal variations of temperature in our atmosphere, 

 according to the relative position of the earth. 



The German Meteorological Office has published the results 

 of its meteorological observations for the year 1886 (Berlin, 1888, 

 Ivi. + 223 pp.). The stations of the second and third orders now 

 number 256, several new ones having been recently established. 

 A regular system of thunderstorm observations has been com- 

 menced, and much attention is paid to rainfall ; it is proposed 

 eventually to increase these stations to 2000. In addition to the 

 usual data, the maximum falls in twenty-four hours are given for 

 all stations. The system includes several mountain stations, the 

 highest being the Schneekoppe (nearly 5250 feet). The difficulties 

 experienced in mountain meteorology may be judged of from the 

 fact that in the winter the anemometer on the Schneekoppe has 

 to be abandoned, owing to the accumulation of snow, and in the 

 summer the earth thermometer has to be removed, owing to 

 repeated interference by tourists. The history and outfit of the 

 stations are given in many instances, and will be continued in 

 subsequent reports. 



The Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, lately 

 issued a full and useful bibliography of the Eskimo language, 

 by Mr, J. Constantine Pilling. Now it has published an 

 equally good bibliography of the Siouan languages, by the same 

 scholar. The material for both of these catalogues has been 

 gathered during personal visits to the more prominent public 

 and private libraries of the United States, Canada, and France, 

 and by correspondence with missionaries, Indian agents, 

 publishers, and printers of Indian books, and owners of 

 Americana. 



An interesting paper on the use of gold and other metals 

 among the ancient inhabitants of Chiriqui, Isthmus of Darien, 

 by Mr. William H. Holmes, has just been issued by the Bureau 

 of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution. The objects described 

 by Mr. Holmes were obtained from ancient graves, of which no 

 record or trustworthy tradition is preserved. They are all 

 ornaments, no coin, weapon, tool, or utensil having come to 

 Mr. Holmes's notice. The great majority of the objects were 



formed by casting in moulds. The work exhibits close analogies 

 with that of the mainland of South America, but these analogies 

 are found in material, treatment, and scope of employment rather 

 than in the subject-matter of the conceptions. The sum of the 

 art achievements of these peoples seems to Mr. Holmes to 

 indicate a lower degree of culture than that attained by the 

 Mexicans and the Peruvians, the ceramic art alone " challenging 

 the world in respect to refinement of form and simplicity and 

 delicacy of treatment." 



The Report, for the year 1886-87, of the Colonial Museum 

 and Laboratory of New Zealand has been issued. It is the 

 twenty-second annual report of these institutions. The attend- 

 ance of visitors at the Museum was very large, being consider- 

 ably above the average of former years, especially on Sunday 

 afternoons, when the very limited passage-room often caused 

 inconvenient crowding. The total number of additions to the 

 collections during the year was 10,708. Among these additions 

 were eleven photographs of the wonderful stone carvings and 

 inscriptions found on Easter Island. In the Colonial Labora- 

 tory 345 analyses were performed during the year. These are 

 classified as follows : coals and oils, 22 ; rocks and minerals, 

 117 ; metals and ores, 43 ; examinations for gold and silver, 81 ; 

 waters, 36 ; miscellaneous, 46. In the report all the results of 

 these analyses which have a general or special interest are 

 rendered in full. 



A SERIES of papers, entitled " Studies in Biology for New 

 Zealand Students," is being issued by the Colonial Museum and 

 Geological Survey Department of New Zealand. We have 

 received the third paper of the series. It is by Mr. Alexander 

 Purdie, Science Master at the Wellington Training College, 

 who has chosen as his subject the anatomy of the common 

 mussels {Mytilus latus, edulis, and magellanicus). Mr. Purdie 

 points out that, as a subject for study, the mussel has the ad- 

 vantages of being readily procurable at most points of the New 

 Zealand coast, and also of not being so small as to embarrass the 

 tyro in the art of dissection. 



We have received the Report of the Marlborough College 

 Natural History Society for the year ending Christmas 1887. 

 During the year the numbers of the Society largely increased ; 

 its meetings were well supported ; and the work of the Sections 

 was in most cases considerable. Among the contents of the 

 volume are interesting papers on Aristotle on birds, by Mr. W. 

 Warde Fowler ; the migration of birds, by Mr. A. H. Mac- 

 pherson ; and spiders and their allies, by the Rev. O. Pickard- 

 Cambridge, F. R.S. 



The second number of the Internationales Archiv fiir 

 Ethnographie contains the first instalment of a paper, in Ger- 

 man, by J. BUttikofer, on the natives of Liberia. This contri- 

 bution is accompanied by two finely coloured plates representing 

 implements and weapons. Dr. B. Langkavel has an interesting 

 article on the uses to which horses are put by races at an early 

 stage of development. 



A LITTLE controversy is going on in the Internationales 

 Archiv about the northern limit of the regions within which the 

 boomerang is used in Australia. Prof. Gerland, of Strasburg, 

 in his map of the races of Oceania, has drawn the line about 

 15° 30' S. lat. In the first number of the Archiv, Prof. Ratzel 

 expressed his belief that the line ought not to be drawn so far 

 north, and that it really extends only to about 18° 30'. In the 

 second number, Prof. Gerland maintains his position, pointing 

 out that Leichardt found the boomerang near the Macarthur 

 River, while Edward Palmer, one of the highest authorities on 

 all subjects relating to the North Australians, found it to the 

 north of Mitchell River. The tribes of these northern districts 

 have independent names for the weapon, which they use more 

 frequently in the chase than in war. 



