May io, 1883] 



NA TURE 



43 



(Nature, vol. xxvii. p. 558), it is stated that "Charles Darwin 

 lies buried in Westminster Abbey among his peers, Newton and 

 Faraday," whereas Faraday lies buried in the unconsecrated 

 ground at Highgate, and not in Westminster Abbey. 



According to information received from the United States, 

 some wonderful telephonic feats are being performed by the new 

 Hopkins arrangement. It seems that two operators — one at 

 New York and the other at Chicago, 1100 miles apart — had no 

 difficulty, not only in talking to each other, but in listening to 

 music, and fulfilling other tests. Even the noise produced by 

 changing the diaphragm at New York was distinctly heard at 

 Chicago. 



The Institute of Agriculture at South Kensington completed 

 the work of its first session on Monday, the 7th inst. The Earl 

 of Aberdeen, Chairman of the Council, presided, and distributed 

 Certificates of Merit to 103 students. Notice was given of 

 largely increased opportunities for study during the next session, 

 which commences on October I. 



The National Eisteddfod of Wales is not without an apprecia- 

 tion for science ; in its list of prizes three are offered in natural 

 history, one of 10/. \os. t open to all comers, being for the best 

 model of a skeleton of Plesiosaurus. Length of model not to be 

 less than 4 feel, each bone to be separately modelled and re- 

 movable except those of the cranium and phalanges. Com- 

 petitors may obtain information and aid on application to Prof. 

 Sollas, University College, Bristol. 



The statue of Leibnitz, intended for Leipzig, has recently been 

 cast by Herr Lenz of Nuremberg, after the model of Prof. Hahnel, 

 and the casting was a complete success. Herr von Miller of 

 Munich has received an order for a colossal statue of Columbus, 

 destined for the city of Cincinnati. 



We hear of a curious incident occurring on Siemens' electric 

 railway at Portrush. Owing to the fact that as yet only 

 part of the line is furnished vt ith electric conductors, a steam- 

 engine is still used as well as the electric locomotive. A few 

 days ago the steam-engine while drawing its load along the line 

 came to a stand through the accident of bursting a boiler-tube. 

 News of the disaster having been sent to the terminus, the 

 stationary dynamo-electric machine which supplies the current 

 was set into action and the electric locomotive despatched to the 

 rescue. It returned an hour later bringing the disabled steam- 

 engine behind it. 



M. Foussereau has lately measured the electric resistance 

 of glass by charging a condenser froai a known battery through 

 a given thickness of the glass, and observing the time required 

 to raise the potential of the condenser to a given degree. 

 Bohemian glass was found to be from 5 to 20 times as good a 

 conductor as ordinary glas=, whilst flint glass was from 1000 to 

 1500 times as good an isolator. M. Foussereau found also that 

 annealing the glass increased its resistance in some cases eleven- 

 fold. 



At a special general meeting of the Entomological Society of 

 London, held on May 2, Prof. J. O. Westwood, M.A., F.L.S., 

 was elected titular life-president of the Society by acclamation, 

 the occasion being the fiftieth anniversary of the meeting at 

 «hich steps were taken to establish the Society. 



Our readers will remember the accounts given last autumn of 

 the electric launch which was successfully tried upon the Thames 

 last autumn. This little craft has been running at intervals all 

 the winter and is still in good trim. We learn that the Electrical 

 Power Storage Company have three other electric boats on 

 hand ; one of them for the British Government. 



A strong earthquake shock, with an undulating motion, was 

 felt on the morning of the 8th, at Biancavilla, Sicily. 



Repeated shocks of earthquake were observed in various 

 places in the Spanish province of Valencia on April 14 and 16. 

 Some were of 2 to 3 seconds' duration. 



Literary piracy would appear to be one of the institutions of 

 the West to which young Japan has takenrather kindly. According 

 tothey<7/<2» Gazette, the practice of pirating patents, stamps, 

 and labels, in order to palm off spurious imitations for the 

 genuine article, has been carried on for years, and the evil is ex- 

 tending in every direction. Recently a native company called 

 the "Tokio Bookselling Company" was established in the 

 capital, and its chief business appears to be the pirating of 

 English and American schoolbooks. Todhunter's well known 

 Elementary Algebra, Euclid, and other mathematical books 

 have already been reproduced, as w ell as several American 

 books, Mill's " Liberty," and other volumes. These are pub- 

 lished as much like the originals in size, covers, &c, as possible. 

 The Company affixes its imprint to the titlepages, but offers no 

 explanation as to the publication in Japan, and indeed they have 

 no hesitation in reprinting ( probably through ignorance) the 

 foreign publishers' notices, such as "Entered according to the 

 Act of Congress in the year, &c, &c." An examination of the 

 reprint of Todhunter's Algebra shows letters upside down, 

 wrong fount letters, letters misplaced, and words improperly 

 spelt, testifying to the slovenly way in which the books have 

 been primed. There is said to be scarcely a page in the book 

 which does not contain one or more errors in orthography, and 

 the mathematical formula?, which always require such care at the 

 printers' hands, must be in a bad state when ordinary words are 

 so neglected. The direct damage to foreign authors, patentees, 

 and manufacturers by these petty thefts cannot be very great ; 

 the real injury is to the Japanese people themselves. Among 

 well-known English labels, that of Bass and Co. has for many 

 years been the subject of innumerable depredations. The striking 

 red diamond on white ground lends itself easily to imitation, 

 while to people who cannot read English letters at all, any 

 strange marks below the diamond are sufficient to represent the 

 names of the eminent brewers. Large quantities of some decoc- 

 tion brewed in Tokio are thus passed off in the interior as Burton 

 ale. A patent law is wanted in Japan, not to much for the pro- 

 tection of foreign inventors (the Japanese Government is far too 

 advanced to think of such a minor consideration as this) as for 

 the protection of the pockets and stomachs of the Japanese 

 themselves. 



We are pleased to observe that the Chrysanthemum magazine 

 of Yokohama has commenced its third year with a more am- 

 bitious flight. The size is considerably enlarged, as is also the 

 number of subjects treated and the staff of writers. The theo- 

 logical discussions appear to be wholly eliminated, to the increa e 

 of the general interest of the journal. The first two numbers 

 of the new issue are now before us, and exhibit no lack of mental 

 power. The literary treatment of the varied subjects discussed 

 is in most cases excellent. The most powerful recruit appears 

 to be Capt. Brinkley, R.A., who writes a serial tale with 

 Japanese characters and scenes, as well as a serial history of 

 Japanese keramics, which deserves more attention in this country 

 than it is likely to get. Higher education in Japan is elaborately 

 treated by Dr. Groth, while Capt. Blakiston, probably the best 

 authority on the ornithology of Japan, writes on that subject. 

 Mr. A. H. Cole is responsible for a popular paper on the Dar- 

 winian theory, and Prof. Summers describes some ancient caves 

 near Osaka. These are but a few of the papers in the first 

 numbers of the new magazine, the editor of which appears 

 determined at least to deserve success. We may, however, draw 

 his attention to one defect, surely a very grave one in a scholarly 

 publication such as this, viz. the notices of current literature, 

 which so far have been quite unequal to the other departments. 





