Oct. 9, 1879] 



NATURE 



563^ 



.-iiid when the smoke had abated, they descended again, and 

 were as troublesome as before. 



The general meeting of German Archaeologists and Historians 

 took place at Landshut (Bavaria) on September 14 last, and was 

 w ell attended by members from all parts of Germany. Prof. 

 Ohlenschlager, of Munich, delivered the first lecture "On the 

 Survey made of the so-called Devil's Wall in Bavaria." Great 

 interest was evinced in a paper read by Prof. Rhiza, of Vienna, 

 " On the Marks made by Masons and Stone Workers at different 

 Periods and in Different Districts." 



Karl von Scherzer, Austrian Consul-General at Leipzig, 

 has been nominated honorary member of the Senkenberg 

 Natural History Society at Frankfort-on-the-Main. 



The " Oberlausitzische " Scientific Society at Gbrlitz (Silesia) 

 celebrated the centenary of its foundation on October 8. At the 

 same time the 153rd General Meeting of the Society took place. 



At the Baden-Baden meeting of the International Society for 

 the Prevention of the Pollution of Rivers, the Soil, and the 

 Atmosphere, which took place on September 16 last, the three 

 principal addresses were by Professors Reclam, of Leipzig, Vogt, 

 of Berne, and Ewich, of Cologne. Prof. Reclam spoke on 

 canalisation and the pollution of rivers in Germany and England ; 

 Dr. Vogt on the influence of the sun upon the walls of houses ; 

 and Dr. Ewich on the origin of springs and wells. 



It may interest our readers to know the elevations which at 

 present are reached by lines of railway in different parts of the 

 world. The Apennine Railway reaches its highest point at an 

 elevation of 617 metres above sea-level; the Black Forest 

 Railway ascends to 850 metres, the Semmering line to 890, the 

 Caucasus line to 975 metres. The St. Gothard tunnel is 1,154 

 metres above sea-level ; the railway across the Brenner reaches 

 1,367 metres; the Mont Cenis Railway ascends to 1,338 metres, 

 the North-Pacific line to 1,652, the Central-Pacific to 2,140, 

 and the Union-Pacific to 2,513 metres. The highest of all is 

 the line across the Andes, which reaches an elevation of 4,769 

 metre?. 



Dr. Brauns, of Halle, has been appointed Professor of 

 Mineralogy and Pala;ontology at the Japanese University of 

 Tokio. It is stated that some twenty-five amongst the teachers 

 at this University are Germans. 



At Carlsruhe a meeting of a large number of agricultural 

 chemists from all parts of Europe took place on September 16 

 and 17 last. 



We have a satisfactory report of the Queenwood Mutual Im- 

 provement Society for the end of the summer term 1879. A 

 good deal of practical natural history work seems to be done by 

 the members, and the report contains an interesting account of 

 three carrion crows that were tamed by some of the boys, remain- 

 ing about the premises, ".showing themselves as familiar and 

 companionable as the most faithful dogs." 



On Thursday last the Chester Society of Natural Science held 

 a very successful convtrsaziom . The Kingsley Memorial Medal, 

 established in memory of the Society's first president, was 

 awarded to Sir P. de M. Grey Egerton, for " having contributed 

 materially to the promotion and advancement of natural science," 

 and the Kingsley Memorial Prize to Mr. G. Shrubsole, jun., for 

 his collection of fossils illustrating the carboniferous limestone, 

 millstone grit, and coal measures. 



Mr. F. H. Brook, of Walworth, has sent us a useful Price 

 List of Electrical Apparatus, contaioing upwards of 450 items. 



The annual exhibition of the Photographic Society was 

 opened on Monday, at the Gallery, 5, Pall Mall, East. 



We very much regret to learn that the publishers of tht 

 American Chemist have been obliged to discontinue the publica- 

 tion of that valuable journal. 



A discovery calculated to throw some light on prehistoric 

 man has recently been made by the excavation on the banks of 

 Lake Ladoga of a human skeleton belonging to the stone period, 

 along with many well-preserved skulls and bones, remains of 

 plants and animals, and instruments of stone and bone. These 

 remains were found at a depth of from about 12 to 20 feet below 

 the surface of the lake. 



Two shocks of an earthquake were felt at Annecy, Savoy, at 

 4 A.M. on Saturday, both accompanied by a rumbling noise. 



Mr. Stanford has published a useful Section of British 

 Strata, showing the order of superposition and maximum thick- 

 ness of strata in the British Islands, by Mr. James B. Jordan. 

 The section was originally prepared as an Index of Colours to- 

 Stanford's Geological Map of the British Islands, edited by 

 Prof. A, C. Ramsay, by whom it has been revised and corrected. 



The Museum of the French Colonies at Paris, which, as we 

 stated, has received a sensible augmentation by the addition of 

 a large part of the Algerian collections, is undergoing a total 

 reorganisation. A new director and sub-director have been^ 

 appointed. 



The Peking correspondent of the North China Herald learn 

 that the engagement of the geologist and mining expert, Mr^ 

 Arnold Hague, by Li Hungchang, has terminated, owing to- 

 the obstructions constantly put forward by the Central Govern- 

 ment. A few metal-bearing localities have been examined, but 

 noting definite has been learned of the resources of the province 

 of Chihli. At the date of the letter referred to Mr. Hague was- 

 at Peking, on his way to Mongolia, where he intends to make 

 some excursions, partly with a view to scientific investigations. 

 He will afterwards return to the United States to take up an 

 official appointment in connection with certain new systematic 

 surveys which it has been determined to make there. 



The Government of Victoria have just appointed a board to- 

 ad vise them as to the best mode in which assistance can be given, 

 to further the development of the auriferous and mineral resources- 

 of the colony. 



No. 3 of " Dimmock's [Special Bibliography" (Cambridge; 

 U.S.) consists of a full list of the writings of Samuel Hubbard" 

 Scudder, which ought to be specially valuable to entomologists. 



We have on our table the following works : — " The Spiders, 

 of Dorset," Rev. O. Pickard Cambridge; "Chemical and 

 Geological Es.says," by T. Sterry Hunt (Triibner) ; " Deaths in 

 Childbed," Dr. /Eneas Munro (Smith, Elder, and Co.) ; " The 

 Silk Goods of America," W. C. Wyckoff ; " Structural Botany," 

 Dr. Asa Gray (Triibner) ; " Luxurious Bathing," A. W. Tuer 

 (Field and Tuer) ; " Phrenology Vindicated," A. L. Vago 

 (Simpkins) ; " On the Diffusion of Liquids," J. H. Long (H. 

 Laupp) ; " Reform Essays on Incentive Religion and Warfare ; "~ 

 " P'arming for Pleasure and Profit " (Poultry Keeping), Arthur 

 Roland (Chapman and Hall) ; " Manual of Practical Anatomy,'" 

 J. Cossar-Ewart (Smith, Elder, and Co.) ; " Rays from the 

 Realms of Nature," Rev. James Neill (Ca.ssell) ; "Jack's 

 Education ; or. How He Learnt Fanning," Prof. Henry Tannes 

 (Chapman and Hall); "Vocal Physiology and Hygiene," 

 Gordon Holmes (Churchill) ; " Fauna der Gaskohle und der 

 Kalksteine der Perm Formation Bbhmens," Dr. Ant. Fritsch. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the- 

 past week include a Vervet Monkey (Cercopithecus la/an Jii) {mm. 

 South Africa, presented by Sir Arthur Scott, Bart. ; a White- 



