2IO 



NATURE 



[yiine 30, 1887 



history put before him,— as a general rule, nothing more than 

 the elements would be required ; (2) that this should be done so 

 as to make it as interesting to him as possible, so that he may 

 look forward to his natural history lesson ; (3) that if he 

 " takes " to any particular subject, means should be at hand to 

 ena ble him to go on with it ; (4) that he should be encouraged 

 to work out of school. Mr. Preston is of opinion that the 

 appointment of "science masters" is not necessary for the 

 attainment of these end=. ' " Among any body of masters now," 

 he says, " there are sure to be some who are fond of some branch 

 of natural history, and who can teach the elements of their sub- 

 ject (as far as is necessary for boys in general), and do it in a 

 pleasing and interesting manner. At the end of a long after- 

 noon's work at regular school subjects, the master shoiild occupy 

 the last half-hour or so (if the other lessons have been well said) 

 with a discussion upon his special branch, showing specimens, 

 encouraging questions, and making this part of his work as 

 different as possible from the ordinary work. Boys' will look 

 forward to this time, and will work all the harder at their other 

 work to get this * talk, ' if a good lesson is required before the 

 natural history one. By the end of a term, with a little system, 

 the elements of the subject may easily be learnt. The next 

 term, masters should change forms for this half-hour, and the 

 boys thus have some new subject put before them. In a few 

 terms, therefore, a very fair general knowledge of natural history 

 may be secured. If a boy showed any aptitude in any one 

 branch, there would be a master at hand ready to help him and 

 get him on." 



Mr. C. S. Wilkinson, the New South Wales Government 

 Geologist, reporting upon the seams of coal pierced in the 

 diamond-drill bore at Holt-Sutherland, near Sydney, says that in 

 this bore a depth of 2307 feet from the surface, or 2175 feet 

 below sea-level, has been attained. This is the deepest diamond- 

 drill bore in Australia. The diameter of the bore to a depth of 

 500 feet is 3^ inches, and below that depth it is 3 inches. The 

 strata passed through consist of Hawkesbury sandstones, 653 feet 

 6 inches ; shales, sandstone, and conglomerates (the upper 314 

 feet consisting chiefly of chocolate-coloured shales), 1573 feet 

 3 inches ; upper seam of coal, 4 feet 2 inches ; shales, sandstone, 

 and conglomerate, 65 feet ; lower seam of coal, 5 feet 3 inches ; 

 black shaly sandstone, 5 feet li inches. 



A HEAVY snowstorm is reported to have occurred on the 

 Scheekoppe on June li. On the Kapellenberg, between 

 Hirschberg and Schonau, it snowed severely, and in the night 

 the thermometer sank to 3°. 



A TELEGRAM from Omsk to St. Petersburg of the 2 1st inst. 

 states that there were several slight oscillations of the ground at 

 Vernoe on that day. To the west of Karakoul the earthquake 

 had been more violent than at the latter place ; a lake in the 

 neighbourhood had sunk 3 feet. Almost all the Government 

 buildings at Vernoe are said to be destroyed. 



Two beaver colonies have just been discovered at Amlid, 

 near Christiansand, Norway. On the bank of a river the beavers 

 have made lodges of branches of trees, which are held together 

 with clayey mud, the whole resting on logs of wood. The entra.ice, 

 a hole, faces the river, but is below the surface of the water. Round 

 the entrance there are numbers of aspen and birch trees, the 

 bark of which has served as food for the animals. The beaver 

 gnaws the tree about 2 feet from the root, and if it finds the 

 bark to its taste, cuts the tree up in pieces from 2 to 3 feet 

 in length, which the animal then drags or carries down to 

 its house — proceedings which are fully demonstrated by the 

 many '* log-runs " in the woods along the river bank. Observers 

 have also noticed another remarkable habit of this interesting 

 animal, viz. that on arriving by the water-side with such a log of 

 wood it will poise the piece on the back of its neck and swim 

 with it right into the lodge, where the bark is gnawed off and 



stored away for winter use. This accomplished, it will shoot the 

 log into the river'. The largest trees the animals have dealt with 

 in this manner are 11 inches in diameter. The colonies are 

 situated far from human dwellings, where people only come in 

 winter, during the timber-felling season. 



At the Ladies' Soiree at the Royal , Society on June 8, much 

 attention was attracted by the fine exhibit sent from the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew. Great credit is due to the officials at Kew for 

 the care with which the objects were selected and displayed. 

 The following is a list of the flowering plants : — Myrniecodia 

 Beccari, Myrniecodia sp. New Guinea, Leea amabilis, Impatiens 

 Ha'Mkeri, Primula Eeidii and coi-tusoides, Piper porphyrophyl- 

 Iwn, Streptocarpus Dunnii and polyanthus, Coffea liberica, 

 Tillandsia splendens and usneoides, Caraguata Zahnii, Cypri- 

 pedium Stoneii, Dendrobium Dalhousieanum and transparens, 

 Epidendrtim vitellinum, Odontoglosstim Hallii, Miltonia vexit 

 laria, Sarracenia Patersoni, Palumbina Candida, Areca mono- 

 stachya, Licuala grandis, Verschaffeltia splendida, Caryota 

 Blancoi, Cycas undulata, Hemitelia S?>iithii, Adiantum 

 aniabile, Acrostichuni crinitum, Brainea insignis, Saccolabium 

 curvifolium. There were cut flowers of Hcsmanthus niagnificiis, 

 Randia Sianleyana, Hexacentris mysorensis, Setiecio macro- 

 glossa, Iris Susiana, Chamcedorea elegantissima, Bougainvillea 

 spectabilis, Napoleona imperialis, Cochliostema Jacobianum, 

 Pandanus odoratissimus (cone), Musa coccinea. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Moustache Monkey {Cercopithecus cephus^ ) 

 from West Africa, presented by Mr. Bernard Lawson ; a Green 

 Monkey {Cercopithecus callitrichus) from West Africa, presented 

 by Mr. G. Choutte ; two Lions {Felis leo S 9 ) from Kitty war, 

 Guzerat, India, presented by Major J. Humphrey ; two Striped 

 Hyaenas {Hytsna striata) from India, presented by the Bombay 

 Natural History Society ; a Suricate (Suricata tetraductyla) from 

 South Africa, presented by Mrs. H. A. Warwood ; an Aus- 

 tralian Crane [Grus australasiana) from Australia, presented by 

 Mrs. M. S. Richman ; a Ring-necked Parrakeet {Palceornis tor- 

 quattts) from India, presented by Mrs. Crabtree ; two Edible 

 Frogs (Rana esculenta), European, presented by Mr. H. A. 

 Crossfield ; three Green Turtle {Chelone viridis) from Ascension, 

 presented by Capt. C. Theobald, R.N. ; a European Pond Tor- 

 toise {Emys europcea) from Venice, presented by Mr. Alban 

 Doran ; an Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) from Florida, 

 presented by Mr. Hugh Bellas ; a Green Monkey {Cercopithecus 

 callitrichus S ) from West Africa, five Common Dormice {Mus- 

 cardinus avellanarizis') British, deposited ; a Little Egret {Ardea 

 garzettd), a Buff-backed Egret {Ardea riissata), European, a 

 Horrid Rattlesnake {Crotalus horridus) from Brazil, purchased ; 

 a Yak {Poephagus gruiiniens), born in the Gardens, 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1887 JULY 3-9. 



/■pOR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing a< 

 \ ■*• Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 

 is here employed.) 



At Greenwich on July 3. 

 Sun rises, 3h. 50m. ; souths, I2h. 3m. 53 "os. ; sets, 20h. I7nv ; 

 decl. on meridian, 22° 59' N, : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 

 I5h. 3m. 

 Moon (Full on July 5) rises, i8h. 22m. ; souths, 22h. 48H1. ; 

 sets, 3h. iim.* ; decl. on meridian, 19° 4' S. 



South?. Set?. Decl. on meridian, 



h. m. h. m. 



13 52 ... 21 33 



15 II ... 22 27 



ID 49 ... 19 8 

 18 53 ... o II* 

 12 59 ... 21 I 



Planet. 



Mercury 

 Venus ... 

 Mars . . . 

 Jupiter... 

 Saturn... 



Rise?. 

 h. m. 



6 II 



7 55 

 2 30 



13 35 



4 57 



18 12 N. 



13 54 N. 



23 46 N. 



8 56 S-. 



21 25 N. 



Indicates that the setting is that of the fol'owing mornin?. 



