January 9, 1896] 



NATURE 



225 



cephalopods, all of them of enormous si?e. Amongst 

 this debris may be noticed the crown and tentacles of a 

 tephalopod, the body of which could not be found, 

 belonging probably to the genus Cucioteuthis, hitherto 

 known only by a few fragments. The muscular arms, 

 which, though much shrunk and contracted by the pre- 

 serving liquid, are as thick as those of a man, were 

 covered with great suckers, each armed with a sharp 

 claw, as powerful as those of the larger carnivora. More 

 than one hundred of these suckers remain adhering to 

 the arms. 



The bodies of the two great cephalopods constitute 

 one of the most interesting novelties of the scientific 

 cruise of H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco. Their structure 

 and their appearance are so different from all that is 

 known amongst these animals, that it is impossible to 

 place them in any species, genus, or family of this order. 

 I propose for them the name of Lepidotetithis Gritnaldti, 

 hoping that the discovery of complete specimens may 

 permit of their affinities being more perfectly defined. 

 One of these animals, half digested, is useless for 

 study ; the other, though headless, is much better pre- 

 served. It is a female, of which the body or visceral 

 sac, after prolonged immersion in formol and alcohol, 

 still measures 90 centimetres in length, from which it 

 may be concluded that the length of the complete animal 

 would exceed two metres. The surface of the sac is 

 covered with large, solid, rhomboidal scales, arranged 

 spirally like those of a pine cone. The fin {nageoire) is 

 very powerful, and forms one half of the length of the 

 body. It is not furnished with scales. 



The stomach of the cachalot contained, besides, another 

 cephalopod of large size, pro\ided with a large fin, the 

 skin of which enclosed certain photogenic organs. The 

 head is wanting, so that it is impossible to affirm with 

 certainty that it belongs to a new species, which is made 

 very probable by the form of the body. Finally, the 

 stomach of the cachalot contained a large number of 

 beaks and rays or plumes, the difficultly digestible residue 

 of former repasts. 



The cachalot which was killed by the w-halers of 

 Terceira, almost under the keel of the Princessc Alice, 

 seems as if it had been guided, in the pursuit of its food, 

 by a desire to devour nothing but animals which, up to 

 the present, are completely unknown, and in addition 

 are of the highest importance for the morphology of 

 the cephalopods. These cephalopods are all powerful 

 swimmers, and very muscular. They appear to belong 

 to the fauna of the deep intermediate waters, which is 

 almost completely unknown, at least as regards the 

 larger animals. They never come to the surface, nor do 

 they lie on the bottom of the sea. Their great agility 

 enables them to avoid every attempt to take them by 

 nets ; and it would appear that, for the present, the only 

 means of capturing these interesting and gigantic 

 animals is to commission a bigger giant to undertake 

 the task, and to kill him in his turn when he has per- 

 formed the service. 



Accordingly, it is his Highness's intention for next 

 season, either to add to the already very complete fittings 

 of the Prittcesse Alice those of a sperm whaler, or to 

 attach to her a special whaling tender. It need hardly 

 be added, that the further working up of the unique 

 material already collected is being pushed forward with 

 the greatest energy, and the results will be awaited with 

 interest and impatience. J. Y. BUCHAN.\N. 



NOTES. 



Men of science need no reminder that, however they may be 



■separated by political or racial differences, they are united in the 



promotion of natural knowledge. Scientific academies and 



societies in every part of the world delight to admit foreign 



NO. 1367, VOL. 53] 



investigators into fellowship, and to show publicly, by various 

 marks of appreciation, their regard for contributions to known 

 facts of nature, and for assistance in interpreting those already 

 garnered. But though these international amenities are common 

 enough in the world of science, it is but rarely that the Govern- 

 ment of one nation does honour to the distinguished men in 

 another. We therefore notice with keen satisfaction that the 

 French Government has just decorated a number of foreign 

 investigators, in connection with the recent centenary of the 

 Institute. Prof Max Midler has been appointed Commander 

 of the Legion of Honour, and Lord Rayleigh and Prof. Ramsay 

 have been created Ofificers. The broad feeling that prompted 

 these awards was the same as that which led the French Govern- 

 ment to strike special medals to commemorate the late Dr. 

 Hind's discovery of asteroids, and Janssen and Ix>ckyer's method 

 of observing solar prominences in full sunshine ; and, more 

 recently, it insjiired the Paris Municipal Council to make arrange- 

 ments for erecting a statue of Newton in Paris. In sharp 

 contrast to the delicate compliments which the French Govern- 

 ment and people pay to British science is the insularity which 

 regulates the distribution of those honours that the British 

 Government have at their disposal. So few and so belated, 

 indeed, are the honours conferred upon men of science in our 

 own country, that it is almost vain to think that her Majesty's 

 advisers will one day have the magnanimity to do honour to 

 investigators of other nations. We cherish the hope that the 

 New Year decorations just given to British men of science 

 by France will induce our own (government to return the 

 courtesy. 



M. Bertrand and M. Berthelot, Secretaires Perpetuels 

 of the Paris Academy of Sciences, have been made Grand 

 Officers of the Legion of Honour. M. Maspero, the distin- 

 guished Egyptologist, has been appointed Commander, while 

 Dr. Duclaux, Director of the Pasteur Institute, and MM. 

 Grimaux and Moissan, the eminent chemists, have been created 

 Officers of the same Order. Thus does France honour those 

 who have established their claim "rightly to be great." 



Prof. Mark W. Harrington, late Chief of the United 

 States Weather Bureau, and now President of the University of 

 Washington, proposes to establish in the University a depart- 

 ment of Terrestrial Physics and Geography, and he would be 

 glad if authors and publishers would send to the University 

 publications relating to these subjects. 



A SOCIETY was legally registered in Paris a few days ago, 

 having for its object the propagation of Pasteur's methods in 

 medical treatment. The Administrative Council consists of MM. 

 Duclaux, T- B. Pasteur, Roux, and Radot. The present capital 

 of the Society is ;^400, in one hundred shares of ;^4 each, all of 

 which have been taken up. 



While all interested in geology will rejoice at the recognition 

 of the services to science and the State rendered by Sir Joseph 

 Prestwich, they will regret to learn he is still in an extremely 

 weak state of health and confined to his bed. Although he has 

 regained a little strength, his convalescence must of necessity be 

 slow. 



Prok. Soi.I-AS, F. R. S. , will leave in March for Sydney, to take 

 charge of an expedition that is being despatched to make deep 

 borings in a coral atoll. The scheme, which is supported by a 

 strong scientific committee, has been financed by the Royal 

 Society to the extent of ;^8oo ; and the Government are placing 

 a gunboat at the disposal of the party, to convey them from 

 Sydney to Funifuti, in the Central Pacific, which has been 

 selected as the scene of operations. 



