August 21, 1890] 



NATURE 



401 



He was born at Coldenbiittel, in Schleswig, on Sept. 19, 

 1813, and educated at the Gymnasium of Flensburg and 

 the University of Berlin, where he studied mathematics 

 and astronomy. Having taken his degree in 1836, he 

 tried to obtain an appointment at the Observatory of 

 Copenhagen, but his application was not successful. He 

 then went to Gottingen, to carry on his studies under 

 Gauss. Afterwards he was induced to undertake some 

 scientific investigations relating to Mount Etna. 



Having accomplished the task entrusted to him, he was 

 made Director of the Trigonometrical Survey of Sicily. 

 Of this appointment he was deprived in 1848, when he 

 gave great offence to the authorities by expressing sym- 

 pathy with the revolutionary party. He escaped on board 

 an English vessel to Malta, but soon returned to Sicily, and 

 joined the Sicilian army under Mieroslawski, acting first 

 as a captain, then as a major, in the engineering branch 

 of the service. It was under his direction that Catania 

 and Messina were fortified. When Palermo fell into the 

 hands of the Neapolitans, in May 1849, he fled to France, 

 but soon changed his residence to Constantinople, where 

 he proposed to devote himself in peace to scientific re- 

 search. Here he secured many friends, and it was in- 

 tended that a scientific expedition, under the guidance of 

 Peters, should be sent to Syria and Palestine. Various 

 obstacles, however, stood in the way ; and the scheme 

 had to be given up after the outbreak of the Crimean 

 War. 



He now turned his attention to the United States ; 

 and, with recommendations from Alexander von Hum- 

 boldt, he went in 1854 to Cambridge, Mass., and from 

 thence to Washington, where he obtained an appoint- 

 ment on the Coast Survey. After working for some time 

 in this position, and establishing an observatory at Utica, 

 he accepted, in 1858, the offices of Director of the ob- 

 servatory at Clinton, N.Y. (now known as the Litchfield 

 Observatory), and Professor of Astronomy at the Hamilton 

 College. The duties of these offices he continued to dis- 

 charge until his death, which took place on the morning 

 of July 19. He was found dead on the road between the 

 observatory and his house, and seems to have died of 

 heart-disease when returning from his work. 



In 1874 Peters acted as chief of the North-American 

 Expedition to New Zealand for the observation of the 

 transit of Venus. He discovered no fewer than 48 minor 

 planets and several comets, and much important work 

 was done at Hamilton College under his supervision, his 

 celestial charts and star catalogue being of considerable 

 value. Few astronomers leave a better record behind 

 them, and his death is much regretted. 



NOTES. 



The annual excursion of the Belgian Royal Malacological 

 Society took place under the guidance of MM. X. Stainier and 

 J. S. Gardner. The Eocenes from the Thanets to the Lower 

 Bagshots were examined at Heme Bay and Sheppey, where 

 Mr. Shrubsole assisted, and the Gault and Chalk at Dover and 

 Folkestone. The Eocenes seen were pronounced to be in all 

 respects identical with beds of corresponding age in Belgium. 

 The Society proposes to revisit England next year. 



Among the excursions which have been arranged by the Local 

 Committee of the British Association is one to Malham in 

 Craven. This is to take place on Thursday, September 11, under 

 the guidance of the officers of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union. 

 The district to be investigated is the plateau of Malham and the 

 escarpment which it forms along the South Craven fault. It 

 includes the only lake in the West Riding, and the remarkably 

 picturesque scenery of Malham and Yoredale. In addition 

 to these attractions, every branch of natural history can be 

 NO. 1086, VOL. 42I 



successfully pursued in this locality. This advantage arises 

 chiefly from the diversified character of the geological forma- 

 tions, which include Silurian rocks, mountain limestone, Yore- 

 dale shales, and millstone grits. We believe that this will 

 be a popular excursion among members of Field Naturalists' 

 Clubs, who will have an opportunity of observing the methods 

 of work adopted by the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, and it is 

 hoped that as this will be an essentially working excursion, 

 any field naturalists and geologists who may take part in the 

 Leeds meeting of the British Association will attend the Malham 



excursion. 



We learn that the French physicians who went to the Inter- 

 national Medical Congress at Berlin were much gratified by the 

 cordiality with which they were received. 



In a letter to the Times the other day, Mr. John Cordeaux 

 referred to a unique collection of migrating birds formed at 

 Heligoland by Herr Gatke as the result of work carried on 

 during 40 years. This collection, he added, was to be brought 

 to England, "having been secured to the nation by the muni- 

 ficence of a single individual." With reference to this state- 

 ment, Prof. W. H. Flower writes from the British Museum 

 (Natural History), Cromwell Road, to the Times as follows :— 

 " May I supplement the letter of Mr. Cordeaux by saying that 

 the individual by whose liberality Herr Galke's collection has 

 been secured for the nation is Mr. Henry Seebohm, and that 

 arrangements are being made by which, when the collection 

 arrives, it will be permanently exhibited in this Museum ? "' 



A WORK on " The Birds of the Japanese Empire," by Mr. 

 Henry Seebohm, is nearly ready for publication. It is illustrated 

 with numerous woodcuts. Mr. R. H. Porter is the publisher. 

 The same publisher has in the press "The Birds of Sussex," 

 by Mr. William Borrer. This work is supplied with a map of 

 Sussex, and with six coloured plates by J. G. Keulemans. 



Messrs. Macmillan and Co. announce for pubHcation this 

 week an English translation of Prof. Ostwald's " Grundriss der 

 allgemeinen Chemie " by Dr. J. Walker, of Edinburgh Univer- 

 sity. This work covers the same ground as the author's classical 

 "Lehrbuch," but the treatment throughout is elementary, and, 

 as far as possible, non-mathematical. The new modes of mole- 

 cular-weight determination, van 't Hoff's theory of osmotic 

 pressure, Arrhenius's hypothesis of electrolytic dissociation, and 

 the interesting applications of these to purely chemical problems 

 — all receive special attention at the hands of the author. The 

 appearance of the book is particularly well-timed, as we learn 

 that Profs. Ostwald, Raoult, van 't Hoff, and Dr. Arrhenius 

 have intimated their acceptance of the invitation issued to them 

 by the British Association, and will be present at the coming 

 meeting in Leeds. 



The first volume of a work by Prof. A. de Mortillet, on the 

 origin of hunting, fishing, and agricultural pursuits among 

 primitive races, has just been published. It contains many 

 interesting representations of prehistoric implements in the 

 Saint Germain Museum. 



Attention has been called in various quarters (England, 

 Belgium, France, and Germany) to the remarkably cold weather 

 prevailing of late years, since 1885, in Central and Western 

 Europe ; the yearly averages being constantly under the normal. 

 It now appears from an Algerian record, that these years have 

 been warmer than usual in Algeria. It is also shown that 

 there has been no change in the frequency of north and south 

 winds, while in Europe the north-east winds have been increasing 

 in frequency. 



In the new number of the Journal of the Anthropological 

 Institute the most elaborate paper is one on the Dieri and other 



