Pits Sunk in Nile Valley 129 



been found some years ago in excellent preservation. 

 This, however, had been unfortunately lost in a lake, with 

 the exception of a tibia, which was now in the Haslar 

 Museum. 



Mr. Grove, at the y6th meeting (May 24th), spoke of 

 some observations of Saturn's rings published in the Atti della 

 Reale Accademia del Lincei, made with a telescope of 14 feet 

 focal length and a g-inch object glass, which showed the 

 dark portions of both the main rings to be, not shadows, but 

 interspaces between successively lighter rings. 1 



Mr. Huxley mentioned some observations by Professor 

 Kolliker in regard to the action of solutions on spermatozoa 

 and cilia. When these were weak their movements were 

 stopped, but not killed, for they recommenced when the 

 solution was strengthened. They were stopped by water, 

 but renewed by the addition of sugar, gum, and neutral 

 salts. They were prolonged by caustic alkalies, but killed 

 by acids. 



Colonel Sykes had received letters from the Schlagint- 

 weits, announcing their return to Calcutta and the safety 

 of their instruments. 



Mr. Homer stated that seventy-two pits had been sunk 

 across the Nile valley, through desert sand, to a depth of 

 7 feet above the level of the Mediterranean. In the excava- 

 tion near the statue of Rameses at Memphis, pieces of brick, 

 tile, and pottery had been found 48 feet below the surface, 

 and thus 40 feet below the pedestal of the statue, which 

 is 78 feet above the Mediterranean, and was erected, 

 according to Lepsius, about 3200 years ago. 2 



At the 78th meeting of the Club (Oct. 25th) Prof. Faraday 

 was reported to have announced at the Royal Institution 

 that nickel, when heated, gained in magnetic power. 



Dr. Hofmann stated that experiments undertaken by 



1 This must refer to the two outer rings, though the third the faint 

 inmost one was discovered in 1850. 



2 The first set of pits was in the latitude of Heliopolis, where the valley 

 is 1 6 miles wide. The other is one of a set across the valley, where its 

 width is 5 miles (Lyell, Antiq. Man, ch. iii.). 



P.C. 1 



