June 25, 1891] 



NATURE 



185 



and this work is now on the brink of accomp'ishment. Seven 

 complete determinations, including that of & Aurigfe, have been 

 made in the year, and but six other stars, the measures of which 

 are complete, await discussion. Prof. Pritchard concludes his 

 Report as usual, by acknowledging the aid he has received from 

 his two assistants, and we are glad to see speaks hopefully of 

 his restoration to complete health. 



The President of the French Republic inspected the meteoro- 

 logical instruments at the summit of the Eiffel Tower on June 

 13, and afterwards visiled the Central Meteorological Office, 

 where he witnessed M. Weyer's experiments on the formation 

 of tornadoes, and also inspected the instruments which there 

 register the indications of the meteorological phenomena at the 

 top of the Eiffel Tower. 



The French Minister of Public Instruction has appointed 

 Dr. Henry de Varigny, assistant in the Museum of Natural 

 History, to report on the University Extension movement, and 

 lias commissioned him to study the question in Edinburgh, 

 London, and Oxford. 



The proposed law on Universities is exciting a good deal of 

 discussion in France. Many local jealousies have l)een aroused 

 in connection with the question. Every town thn boasts the 

 possession of a tenth-rate medical school, or of an inadequate 

 scientific faculty, wishes to have a University ; and its political 

 representatives have, of course, to do what they can to press its 

 claims. On the other hand, the Government, which would 

 willingly establish five or at most six large Universities, desijes 

 if possible, to do away with smill and useless institutions. 



A SCIENTIFIC expedition which has been organized in Maine 

 is about to spend some time in Labrador. The principal object 

 of the party will be to collect ethnological specimens. They will 

 take with them a phonograph, with which they hope to obtain 

 some materials for the ^'aidy of the language and songs of the 

 Eskimo. 



In drawing up schemes for the appropriation of the funds 

 placed at their disposal under the Local Taxation Act, 1890, for 

 the promotion of technical instruction, the County Councils 

 certainly ought not to overlook the claims of girls' education. 

 With a view of aiding County Councils in this department of 

 their work, the Committee of the National Association for the 

 Promotion of Technical and Secondary Education has submitted 

 to them a careful outline of subjects which are adapted for girls, 

 and included within the scope of the Technical Instruction Acts. 

 It is suggested that in each county a committee of ladies should 

 be appointed to devise and carry out a scheme for the technical 

 education of girls. 



The Sussex Daily News of June 18 records the birth of a 

 sea lion at the Brighton Aquarium. 



On June 18, sixty distinct shocks of earthquake occurred at 

 Serajgunge and Domar, in the Bengal Presidency. Many build- 

 ings were slightly dam.aged. At Serajgunge continuous earth- 

 quake shocks had been felt from noon on the preceding day. 



According to a telegram from Rome, dated June 22, a strong 

 shock of earthquake was felt that morning at Avigliano and at 

 Aquila. 



In his report on the Royal Botanic Garden";, Ceylon, for 1890, 

 Dr. Trimen refers to the kinds of cacao in cuUivation there. 

 There is no reason to suppose, he says, that they have under 

 cultivation more than one species of Theobroma, but every 

 probability that all the varieties trace their origin to a common 

 wild parent. It would be interesting to know which of the two 

 fairly well-marked races recognized in Ceylon is the nearer to 

 this original type, and the facts could probably be ascertained 

 in Central America. The names "Criollo" and " Forastero " 

 applied to them simply mean " wild and foreign," and seem to 

 have had their origin in Trinidad, but it is doubtful if the former 

 NO. T 130. VOL. 44] 



was ever really a native plant there. It was, however, the 

 sort at one time exclusively grown in that island, where, having 

 died out, its place was supplied by the " foreign" sort, no doubt 

 obtained from the mainland. As seen in Ceylon, the " Criollo '" 

 (called also there "Caracas" and "Old Ceylon Red Cacao") 

 presents very little variety, but the "Forastero" shows a re- 

 markable range in form, size, and colour of pod and seed. No 

 doubt crossing goes on freely in plantations even between the 

 two main races, and it is well known in Ceylon that seed from a 

 single tree gives a very varied progeny ; but a curious remark 

 was recently made to Dr. Trimen by a large grower, who 

 has great opportunities for observation, that the " Forastero " 

 varieties, which he chiefly cultivates, appear to be gradually 

 changing their characters and becoming more like the "Old 

 Ceylon Red," the seeds losing their dark colour on section, and 

 becoming pale or nearly white. 



In Himmel umi Erde ioT ]\ixit, Prof. G. Ilellmann, of Berlin, 

 begins a series of articles entitled " Meteorologische Volks- 

 biicher," being an inquiry into popular and typical meteoro- 

 logical works from the earliest tin>es, and into the nature of 

 their contents. The works to l)e discussed are more parti- 

 cularly those of Germany, although foreign literature will also 

 find subsidiary consideration. Two works': are referred to in 

 the present article: — (i) "The Book of Nature," by Konrad 

 von Megenberg, which is the oldest natural history in the 

 German language, and was written about the year 1350 — nearly 

 a century before the invention of printing. It was first printed 

 in 1475, and went through many su'rsequent editions. Much 

 attention and original thought was given to meteorological 

 subjects, and the author divided the wind-rose into 12 points ; 

 but the work is to some extent based upon a still unpublished 

 Latin manuscript by Thomas Cantimpratensis, " Liber de natura 

 rerum," which was written before the middle of the I3lh century. 

 (2) " Elucidarius." The author of this work is not known with 

 certainty, but is supposed to be Jakob Kobel. This remarkable 

 work was first published in German, in the year 1470, and was 

 much sought for in most European countries in the 15th and 

 i6th centuries. It deals with a variety of subjects, including 

 meteorology and geography, and many editions were published 

 in various countries. Dr. Hellmann gives copious extracts from 

 the works ; and historical research being a subject in which he 

 carries great authority, his treatment of it will be found both 

 interesting and instructive. 



Messrs. Vieweg and Son, of Brunswick, intend publishing 

 a German translation of Mr. Denning's new book, " Telescopic 

 Work for Starlight Evenings." 



A WORK entitled "Synopsis der Hoheren Mathematik," by 

 J. G. Hagen, Director of the Georgetown College Observatory, 

 Washington, D.C., is to be published by Felix L. Dames, 

 Berlin. The work is the result of labour carried on continuously 

 during twenty years, and is intended to present a general view 

 of the higher mathematics. It will consist of four volumes, the 

 first of which will be issued early in August. 



A VALUABLE paper on gum-trees, by Mr. D. McAlpine and 

 Mr. J. R. Remfry, has been reprinted from the Transactions of 

 the Royal Society of Victoria for 1890. There are several illus- 

 trative plates, the drawings being principally reproductions of 

 photographs taken by Mr. Remfry. These drawings show that 

 the transverse section of the leaf-stalk of a Eucalypt may reveal 

 a pattern useful in the determination of species. 



Messrs. George Philip and Son have issued the first 

 number of the Blue Peter, a monthly sailing list and review. It 

 is intended that the new journal shall provide ample information 

 for persons who are about to set out by any one of the principal 

 ocean routes. There will also be articles which may serve to 

 remind ships' officers that "there is substantial profit to be 

 derived from a scientific training." 



