240 



NA TURE 



IJuly 22, 1875 



NOTES 

 An attempt has been i.cently made to supply a great de- 

 sideratum for naturalists residing in or visiting London, in a 

 reading-room, in a central situation, where they may consult 

 recent publications and current periodical literature, English and 

 foreign. The Linnean Society has taken advantage of the ex- 

 cellent accommodation now afforded it in Burlington House, 

 Piccadilly, to utilise its council-room for this object when not 

 required for the purposes of the Society. The room is open 

 from ten to six (or four on Saturdays) to Fellows of the Society 

 and others properly introduced, and several tables are well 

 supplied with the newest literature in the two branches 

 of Biology, and others are furnished with accommodation 

 for writing, &c. It is also in immediate proximity to the 

 very fine library of standard works in natural history possessed 

 by the Society, where the librarian is always in attendance. If 

 we might make a suggestion to the Council of the Society for the 

 further development of this very useful movement, it would be 

 that means should be taken for a more prompt and regular sup- 

 ply of some of the leading foreign scientific journals, as, for 

 instance, the Comptes Rendus of the French Academy, in which 

 respect the reading-room of the Linnean Society still contrasts 

 unfavourably with that of the Royal College of Surgeons ; but 

 the longer hours are a great advantage. The room ought to 

 become the recognised rendezvous for naturalists in London. 



The Royal Horticultural Society has awarded Mr. Worthington 

 G. Smith its Gold Banksian Medal for his discovery in connection 

 with the potato disease which we recorded last week. We 

 refer our readers to an article by Mr. Smith on the subject in 

 this week's Nature. 



Dr. R. B, Walker, F.R.G.S., is on his way home from 

 Gaboon (where he has resided for the last ten years) with the 

 view of publishing his "Twenty-five years experience in Equa- 

 torial Africa." Extensively engaged in commerce and geo- 

 graphical research, and having visited all the principal colonies 

 and stations on the West Coast, his contributions to our knowledge 

 of the fauna and flora, anthropology, dialects, and natural pro- 

 ducts of commerce, ought to be valuable and certainly more 

 trustworthy than those of transient visitors. 



The International Geographical Exhibition at Paris, which 

 was opened on the 15th inst, promises to be a decided success. 

 An immense number of visitors have already passed through the 

 galleries, although several nations have not yet completed their 

 preparations, and the annexes on the Terrace du bord de I'eau 

 are far from being ready. The objects exhibited are classed 

 into seven groups. Group i has to do with geographical 

 mathematics, geodesy and topography, and the instruments 

 pertaining to them. Group 2 deals with hydrography and mari- 

 time geography. Group 3 embraces physical geography, gene- 

 ral meteorology, general geology, botanical and geological 

 geography, and general anthropology. Group 4 is rich in ancient 

 treatises, printed and in manuscript, on geographical subjects ; 

 fantastically-designed old maps, old instruments, ethnographic 

 collections, and geographical dictionaries. Group 5 is de- 

 voted to statistics and to social, political, and agricultural 

 economy. Group 6 has to deal with the teaching and 

 diffusion of geography ; and Group 7 with explorations, scien- 

 tific and commercial voyages, and tours in search of the pic- 

 turesque. The following are some of the objects which have 

 proved most attractive to the public: — In the Salle des 

 Etats, where the general meeting will be held, is the map 

 of France constructed by the staff. This map is about sixty 

 feet high by forty wide, and many people look at it with 

 telescopes from a distance in order to find the details which 



interest them. In the English section is a large map of the 

 polar regions, showing the route which the English expedition is 

 to follow ; also a large map of the Anglo-Indian Empire, the 

 collection of the proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society 

 and the magnificent instruments employed by the Indian Trigo- 

 nometrical Survey. The American section, in a remote part of 

 the building, is notable for the admirable collection of the maps 

 of the U.S. Signal Office, and the physical atlas constructed by 

 the venerable Prof. Henry. In the Russian department are 

 exhibited the jewels of the Khan of Khiva ; a large map of Asia 

 showing the itineraries of 150 Russian explorers who have tra- 

 velled in that part of the world during the last twenty years ; 

 specimens of the map of the frontier between Russia and China ; 

 specimens of the topographical maps drawn by officers during 

 the last Khivan expedition ; a map of the Oxus, showing the 

 old tract of the stream when it sent its waters into the Caspian 

 as well as into the Aral Sea ; a magnificent map of the Aral Sea, 

 and a collection of geodetical and meteorological instruments. 

 In the French section an attractive^object is the complete French 

 station used in observing the Transit of Venus at Saint Paul by 

 Mouchez, with several specimens of photographs of the transit. 

 There is expected from Sweden a meteorite so large that it will 

 have to be placed outside in the Terrace du bord de I'eau ; 

 also an artificial representation of the aurora borealis, which is 

 likely to prove of great interest. Dr. A. B. Meyer will exhibit 

 a manuscript map of his explorations in New Guinea. This will 

 doubtless be of great interest to geographers, as it is the first map 

 of that region which goes into detail. 



We learn from the Scotiman that a meeting of the General 

 Committee appointed in Glasgow^ to make the necessary arrange- 

 ments for the meeting of the British Association to be held at 

 Glasgow next year, was held on Wednesday week. A letter 

 from the assistant-secretary of the Association to Sir William 

 Thomson was read by Prof. Young, and in the course of it the 

 name of Prof. Sir R, Christison, of Edinburgh, was mentioned 

 as president-elect. 



The Paris Academy of Sciences on Monday last elected 

 Capt. Mouchez to fill the place in the Section of Astronomy 

 vacated by the death of the late M. Mathieu. The contest 

 was unusually severe, every member of the Academy having 

 taken part in the vote. Capt. Mouchez obtained 33 votes, and 

 M. Wolf 26 ; one vote was given to M. Tisserand,|the Director 

 or the Toulouse Observatory. 



General regret will be felt at the death, — which took place 

 on Sunday, — of Lady Franklin, at the age of 83 years. Jane 

 Griffin, for such was her maiden name, was married to the great 

 and unfortunate Arctic explorer on Nov. 5, 1828, and accom- 

 panied him almost constantly in the fulfilment of his duties until 

 his departure on his last Arctic voyage of discovery in 1845. 

 She has naturally ever since taken the deepest interest in Arctic 

 exploration, and has herself directly done much to forward it by 

 fitting out expeditions either entirely or partly at her own ex- 

 pense. It was she who sent out the i^i?a- which in 1857-9, under 

 Sir Leopold M'Chntock, did important service in Arctic explo- 

 ration and in the discovery of the records and relics of the unfor- 

 tunate Franklin expedition. That her interest in Arctic enter- 

 prise was strong to the very last is shown by the fact that she 

 helped to equip the Pandora which so recently left our shores to 

 attempt the N. W. passage under Captain Allen Young. For 

 her services in this direction she received on the return of the 

 Fox the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society ; she 

 was the first woman on whom it was conferred, the only other 

 one who obtained such a distinction being the late Mrs. 

 Somerville. Until within the last few years, when inca- 

 pacitated by old age and illness. Lady Franklin was herself an 

 almost constant traveller ; she had made a voyage round the 



