l82 



NATURE 



IJune 19, 1879 



The Annalen der Hydrographie, Heft v., contains an 

 important article on the Movement of Water in Rivers, 

 based on river observations at various depths of water, 

 made at the lightship station on the Genius Bank, in the 

 Jade, from October 17 to December lo, 1878. 



M. GUSTAVE MOYNIER, as Director, and M. Ch. Faure, 

 as Editor, announce the publication of a new geographi- 

 cal journal^ — L'Afrique — entirely devoted to Africa. It is 

 proposed to embrace in it the gist of all that is important 

 published anywhere relating to the continent with which 

 the journal deals. It will be published monthly by M. 

 Jules Sandoz, Geneva, the size being sixteen pages octavo. 



An Anmiaire des SocUtcs de Geographic will shortly be 

 published in Paris. 



We learn from Vanity Fair that a party, of which 

 Lady Florence Dixie was the only lady, has just returned 

 from South America, where they " crossed many hundreds 

 of miles of the wild and unexplored pampas of Patagonia, 

 penetrating amidst the Cordilleras into splendid scenes 

 hitherto unexplored and unseen by man." 



The Bulletins of a number of foreign societies are to 

 hand The new number of the Bulletiti of the Lyons Geo- 

 graphical Society contains, besides the annual report, the 

 conclusion of M. Luciano Cordeiro's chapters on the first 

 explorations of Central Africa and the Portuguese doctrine 

 of African hydrography in the fifteenth century, and the 

 first part of an essay on Central Asia, by Col. Debize. 

 In this number he deals with Eastern Turkestan, illus- 

 trating his remarks with a sketch map of North- Western 

 China and Kashgaria. — The last number of the Bulletin 

 of the Socidtd de Gdographie Commerciale of Bordeaux 

 contains a second paper on the subject of the commercial 

 exploration of Ferlo, an almost wholly unknown region of 

 Senegambia. — The May number of the Bolletino of the 

 Italian Geographical Society contains a learned and able 

 lecture by Prof. Marinelli, on Scientific Geography, in 

 which he traces the progress of this department, and 

 shows how comprehensive and important it is. — The last 

 number of the Bulletin of the American Geographical 

 Society (No. 2 of 1879) contains a paper by Major A. G. 

 Constable on Afghanistan. Major Constable served in 

 the English army in the former Afghan war. — The May 

 number of the Bulletin of the Paris Geographical Society 

 contains a full report of the proceedings at the recent Cook 

 Centenary in Paris, including a descriptive catalogue, by 

 Dr. Hamy, of the articles exhibited during the cele- 

 bration, and the cartography and bibliography of Cook's 

 voyages, by Mr. James Jackson. An accompanying map 

 shows the routes followed by the English navigator in his 

 various voyages. 



NOTES 



For the fine plate of tubes in this week's number, illustrating 

 the paper by Messrs. De La Rue and Muller, as well as for the 

 numerous woodcuts, we are indebted to the liberality of Dr. De 

 La Rue. 



It is gratifying to find foreign governments and societies so 

 ready to show their appreciation of our eminent scientific 

 workers. Last week we announced the election of Prof. Huxley 

 as a Corresponding Member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, 

 and now we have to chronicle a double honour jnst received by 

 Prof. Stokes of Cambridge : the Emperor of Germany has 

 conferred upon him the Order " Pour le Merite," and the Paris 

 Academy have elected him a Corresponding Member id the 

 section of Physics in place of the late Prof. Angstrom. 



Dr. Donders has been elected in the section of Medicine and 

 Surgery in the same Academy, to succeed the late Prof. 

 Ehrmann. 



The candidates whose names we have already given were 

 elected Fellows at last Thursday's meeting of the Royal Society. 



Prof. Sir C. Wyville Thomson was last week compelled, 

 from sudden indisposition, to relinquish his course of lectures at 

 the University of Edinburgh. We are glad to be able to an- 

 nounce that he is now completely recovered. His medical 

 attendants, however, deem it prudent that he should abstain 

 from lecturing again this session. His large class of between 

 400 and 500 students has accordingly been entrusted to Prof. 

 AUeyne Nicholson, of St. Andrews, who will conduct it during 

 the remainder of the session. Though dissuaded frcm under- 

 taking the heavy duties of his college work. Sir Wyville, we 

 hope, will find strength to resume his labours amid the Challenger 

 materials, so that this great work, for which the world is very 

 patiently waiting, may suffer no serious delay. 



Prof. Wurtz, the eminent French chemist, has been ap- 

 pointed a Member of the Council of the Legion of Honour. 



The arrangements for the annual meetings of the principal 

 foreign associations are announced. The German Anthropo- 

 logical Society holds its yearly meeting at Strassburg on August 

 II, 12, and 13, and the fifty-second meeting of the German 

 Association of Naturalists and Physicians will be held at Baden- 

 Baden from September 18 to 24. The French Association for 

 the Advancement of Science will hold its eighth session at 

 Montpellier, commencing on August 28. The president is M. 

 Bardoux, late Minister of Public Instruction. Applications 

 are to be addressed to 76, Rue de Rennes,Paris. The American 

 Association meets this year at Saratoga, on August 27, the 

 President being Mr. George F. Barker, of Philadelphia. 



Earthquakes would seem to be plentiful and wide-spread at 

 present. A Renter's telegram, of date Messina, June 17, states 

 that continual shocks of earthquake, attributed to the volcanic 

 action of Mount Etna, have occurred in the neighbourhood of 

 Santa Venere and Guardia, causing serious damage and confider- 

 able loss of life. Vesuvius is stated to be showing signs of 

 activity. A distinct shock of earthquake is reported to have 

 been felt on Monday at Tobermory, and other places in Mull, in 

 the Hebrides. The shock passed from north-east to south-west. 

 On the 7th inst. an earthquake of short duration was observed 

 at Versailles at 10^55 p.m. There was a severe shock of earth- 

 quake in Costa Rica on the night of May 29. The cathedral 

 and many ot the principal buildings of San Jose were shattered, 

 and much damage was done in other parts of the republic. 



Dr. J. C. Draper is at present in this country. He has been 

 extending his researches on oxygen in the sun (see Nature, 

 vol. xix. p. 352), and has read papers on the subject at the As- 

 tronomical and Physical Societies. 



We regret to announce the death of Dr. Karl Neubauer, 

 the eminent German chemist. Dr. Neubauer died on the night 

 of June 1-2 at Wiesbaden, where for many years he had been 

 working in the laboratory of Dr. Fresenius. The death is also 

 announced of Dr. Justus Ulrich, Professor of Mathematics 

 at Gottingen University, who died on May 30. 



The Committee on Electric Lighting, recently appointed by 

 the House of Commons, have finished hearing evidence, and 

 issued their Report, which is in substance as follows : — "That 

 sufficient progress has been made with electricity as a means of 

 lighting to encour.age the belief that it has an important future 

 before it, and not only for illuminating purposes, but as a 

 source of power which may be wifely distributed and applied to 

 mechanical purposes. The committee are of opinion that the 

 electric light, even in its present state of development, can be 

 advantageously used in large areas, open or inclosed, such as 

 large halls, squares, or railw ay stations ; but they do not think 

 it has been so far matured as to be able to compete with gas for 



