Atdgiist 21, 18S7] 



NATURE 



399 



On Tuesday evening, in connexion with the vote to com- 

 !cte the sum of ;i^23,900 for learned Societies, &c., several 

 Scottish members complrined that science in Scotland receives 

 anything but generous treatment. Sir John Lubbock was able 

 to show that in some of their statements they did not take all 

 the facts into account ; but the demands made on behalf of the 

 Ben Nevis Observatory were certainly not unreasonable. If a 

 grant cannot be made to this institution, the Government might 

 at least give up its claim to the sum of ;^I30 paid annually to 

 the Post Office for the use of the telegraph. 



Messrs. Macmillan will publish shortly a work on the 

 nervous system and the mind, by Dr. Charles Mercier. It is 

 intended to serve as an introduction to the scientific study of 

 insanity. It will contain an exposition of the new neurology 

 as founded by Herbert Spencer and developed by Hughlings 

 Jackson ; an account of the constitution of mind from the 

 evolutionary standpoint, showing the ways in which it is liable 

 to be disordered ; and a statement of the connexion between 

 nervous fnnction and mental processes as thus regarded. 



Dr. Alfred R. Wallace arrived at Liverpool on Saturday 

 last by the steamship Vancouver from Quebec, after his ten 

 months' lecture tour in the United States and Canada, He saw 

 a good deal of the country, and spent two months in California 

 and the Rocky Mountains. During his stay at Boston and 

 Washington he made the acquaintance of most of the American 

 men of science. 



i 



A LETiER on Antarctic exploration has been addressed by 



pt. C. Pasco, R.N., to Admiral Sir E. Ommanney, Hon. 



;cretary to the Antarctic Committee of the Geographical Sec- 

 of the British Association. Capt. Pasco writes on behalf 



the Antarctic Committee appointed by the Royal Society of 

 Victoria and the Victorian branch of the Royal Geographical 

 Society of Australasia. Much of the information contained in 

 the letter has already appeared in Nature (June 30, p. 211, 

 and July 21, p. 277). Having dealt with the question of ways 

 and means, Capt. Pasco says the Victorian Societies feel war- 

 ranted in recommending the renewal of Antarctic research for 

 the following reasons: (i) that the configuration of the Ant- 

 arctic continent may be traced further, with the view to extend 

 our acquaintance with the geography of the globe ; (2) that a 

 further insight into the geology of these lands may be obtained ; 

 (3) that it is desirable to increase the extent of the determined 

 physiography of the world by ascertaining whether the recent 

 volcanic disturbances in New Zealand and in the Sunda Islands 

 — both situated on the line of weak earth crust which is believed 

 to carry the volcanoes of Victoria Land — have produced changes 

 of any kind in the Antarctic Circle ; (4) the examination of 

 Mount Erebus would appear to be practicable, as Ross reports 

 that the coast became lower as it trended towards its foot, and 

 the results of a visit to the locality should be of the highest 

 interest ; ^5) that the question whether any secular climatic 

 change is in progress may be investigated, and that the sea 

 temperatures may be ascertained by means of the most modern 

 appliances ; (6) that the magnetic survey of these parts may be 

 resumed, and that new data may be obtained for comparison 

 with the elements recorded by Ross ; (7) that the existence of 

 whales or seals, or the occurrence of any commercial products, 

 may be accurately observed. In concluding his letter, Capt. 

 Pasco expresses a hope that the efforts of the British Associa- 

 tion in favour of the renewal of Antarctic exploration may 

 speedily receive the reward which they deserve. " We sincerely 

 trust," he says, " the exploratory work in the Antarctic, com- 

 menced so well by the illustrious Cook, and continued by other 

 brave seamen, but stayed ever since the return of that success- 

 ful explorer and navigator Ross, may be resumed at once with 

 energy, intelligence, and ample appliances." 



Tnujahrbnck of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute for 

 1885 (the last published) shows the part which is taken by Nor- 

 way in the general system of meteorological organizations. The 

 work contains complete observations for twelve stations, and 

 summaries for sixty-eight others, among which are seven light- 

 house stations ; for the latter the observations of sea-temperature 

 are also published. Systematic observations were begun in 

 Chribtiania as early as 1837 by the professors of the University, 

 and were regularly published until the end of 1867. In the 

 meantime (i860) the Director of the Christiania Observatory 

 had commenced the publication of the observations taken at 

 five telegraphic stations on the coast, in addition to those of the 

 Observatory, and this series was continued until the end of 

 1886, at which time the Meteorological Institute was established 

 under the present Director, Prof. II. Mohn, so that the present 

 year-book forms really the nineteenth of the series. With the 

 year 1874 the work took its present shape, in order to bring it 

 more into conformity with the decisions of the Meteorological 

 Congress at Vienna (1873) ; yet we observe that the wind-force 

 is estimated according to the old land-scale 0-6, which is now 

 seldom used, while in this country the scale is 0-12, and in 

 other countries more usually o-io. This diversity of scales 

 leads to great confusion when dealing with wind-observations 

 generally. The Institute publishes somewhat less than several 

 other countries, but its staff is doing good work in connexion 

 with the Reports of the Norwegian North Atlantic Expedition 

 of 1876-78, and the Polar Expedition of 18S2-83. 



The Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg has 

 issued anew edition of its " In tractions for use at Meteorological 

 Stations " (St. Petersburg, 1887, 106 pp. 8vo, and 34 woodcuts) 

 by Dr. H. Wild, Director of the Central Physical Obser- 

 vatory. The first edition appeared in 1869, since which time the 

 number of meteorological stations of the second order in Russia 

 has increased from 33 to 255. The work is written in the 

 German language and is divided into three parts : (i) directions 

 for the erection of the instruments and for taking the obser- 

 vation«, (2) a descriptiDn of the instruments used at the stations 

 of the Russian system, and (3) a description of the instruments 

 required for observations not always taken] at ordinary stations. 

 But the work is not accompanied by the tables generally annexed 

 to such instructions. Siphon barometers are mostly employed 

 in Russia, but latterly portable cistern barometers have been 

 adopted for use at distant stations. Several of the instraments, 

 all of which are clearly illustrated, are not in use in this country. 

 Among them may be specially mentioned : — (l) A portablcequa- 

 torial sun-dial on Flechet's principle for places where no good 

 time-piece is available, showing the mean time within five 

 minutes. (2) A swinging-plate wind-gauge, which was generally 

 in use in Switzerland while Dr. Wild was at Berne, and now is 

 adopted in Russia. This instrument is described in the Report of 

 the Meteorological Congress held at Vienna in 1873 ; it consists 

 of a rectangular metal plate suspended like a sign-board, and 

 shows the force of the wind by its displacement from the vertical 

 position. (3) A rain-gauge on Prof. Nipher's principle, with 

 arrangements for protection against the influence of high winds 

 on the rainfall. (4) A nephoscope invented by Dr. Fineman, of 

 Upsala, a model of which was exhibited at the meeting of the 

 International Meteorological Committee at Paris in 1885. In the 

 Meteorologische Zeitschrift for August, Dr. Koppen points out a 

 discrepancy in the description of the somewhat rare phenomenon 

 of glazed frost ; but, as a whole, the treatise will ra'nk as one of 

 the best extant. 



The Report of the Meteorological Repoiter fc^r the Punjab 

 for the financial year 1886-87 states that the most important 

 feature in the meteorology during the year has been the failure 

 of the cold weather rains (December to March). In January 



