July 12, 1883] 



NA TURE 



257 



were investigated and discussed by him he was not with the 

 expedition, but had the observations forwarded to him at regular 

 intervals. 



The whale which was found by a fi-herman in Selsea Bay 

 some six weeks since, and presented to the Brighton Aquarium, 

 is a valuable addition to that establishment. Although un- 

 doubtedly belonging to the whale family, competent authorities 

 have pronounced it to be a bottle- nosed dolphin, a creature rarely 

 to be seen alive in an aquarium. It has been placed in a tank 

 which holds 100,000 gallons of water, and is no feet in length, 

 so that the animal, which is ten feet long, has some amount 

 of freedom. It seems to be doing quite well, for not only has 

 it not lost in bulk since its capture, but has even gained, weigh- 

 ing now more than eight hundredweight. It is very tame, 

 taking its food from the attendant. At present it subsists upon 

 mackerel, that being the food most easily obtained just now. 

 Of these it takes five meals each day, and manages to eat some 

 400 of them during a week. The mackerel season is, however, 

 almost over, and some other diet must be found for the animal, 

 perhaps herrings. When first placed in the tank it retreated to 

 one end. After a week's sojourn there, it sought the other end 

 of the tank. Here it remains, swimming in circles. When 

 swimming it keeps close to the surface of the water, moving 

 through it with a graceful undulating movement, coming now 

 and again to the surface, ai.d taking in a fresh supply of air 

 about every third or fourth time it thus rises. The animal is 

 certainly an interesting acquisition to the Aquarium. 



The balloon of the Paris Observatory has been in working 

 order for some weeks. Its capacity being only sixty cubic 

 metres, it was found difficult to use it except in calm weather. 

 The motions of the registering apparatus are an obstacleto correct 

 readings. The experiments, conducted by Admiral Mouchez, are 

 stated to be only preliminary to further aerostatical experiments. 

 The subject is quite new, scientific ballooning being only in its 

 iuf.incy, and it is only by gradual investigation that the extent of 

 the services it can render to science can be ascertained. 



A correspondent of the North China Herald describes a 

 journey from Hankow on the Yangtsze to Chunching in Szechuen, 

 a distance of 720 geographical miles. After passing Ichang, 

 the highest port on the great river opened to foreign trade, the 

 first of the celebrated g .rges is entered, and the mountainous 

 country which extends up to and beyond Chunch ng begins. 

 Through these ranges, which mostly run in a north and south 

 direction, the Yangtsze, here called the Ch'uan Ho, or river of 

 Szechuen, forces its way. Leaving the wild, little-inhabited 

 country of the gorges behind, the traveller, on reaching Wan- 

 hsien, 160 geographical miles above Ichang, emerges into a 

 country of picturesque sandstone hills, at this season covered 

 from base to summit w ith poppy gardens, with not a vacant spo 

 except where perpendicular cliffs prevent all access. He emerges, 

 too, among a people remarkable fur their polished manners and 

 especial politeness to Europeans. While Hupeh province was 

 suffering from floxls, the traveller fmnd Eastern Szechuen, from 

 Kweichow to Wan-hsien, praying for rain. The drought here 

 had extended over six months, the south gates of the cities 

 were closed (as facing the yang or fire-element), and all slaughter- 

 ing of animals was forbidden. From Wan-hsien to Chunching, 

 a distance of 200 miles, the aspect of the river remained the 

 same — a succession of winding reaches, nearly all, owing to the 

 peculiar sandstone formation, running at right angles to each 

 other, and united by the customary rapid. Cliffs were frequent, 

 and the sites of the towns and cities, built on steep projecting 

 knolls, their walls and battlements crowning the precipices, are 

 admirable. At length, two months from Shanghai, the traveller 

 reached Chunching, the c jmmercial metropolis of Szechuen, in 

 which, by the Chefoo Convention, the English Government is 



authorised to maintain a Resident, who watches the commercial 

 prospects and movements of the great provinces of Szechuen 

 and Yunnan. 



The Paris Figaro recently published a special supplement on 

 Tonkin, and if the writer is to be credited, that country is one 

 of the richest in the world. Its gold mines, he says, can rival 

 those of California and Australia. The natives use that metal 

 for exchange ; the females of the Muongs of the Black River, on 

 their way to and from market, gamble with thousands of francs 

 worth of it, without caring whether they win or lose. The 

 mines of T;dan, near Yuen-kiang, on the Red River, were visited 

 by the Commis-i >n of the Meikong, who found gold there in bars 

 as well as dust. Still higher, near the source of the Red Kiver, 

 the precious metal is obtained in large quantities. Silver also 

 is not rare, and copper is found everywhere, all the domestic 

 utensils of the people being made of this metal. The tin mines 

 are not worked for want of capital, although those worked near 

 Mong-t-ze, in Yunnan, near the Red Kiver, are the most valu- 

 able known to exist. Zinc, lead, iron, and bismuth are also 

 known. The coal mines, however, are the most important of 

 all. Tonkin produces also musk, tortoise-shell, mother-of-pearl, 

 wax, sdk, peacocks' feathers, as well as those of the blue 

 pheasant, and other birds of brilliant pluaiage. " In short," 

 concludes the Figaro, " it is a rich country, and worth the 

 trouble of occup)ing it." 



Anothkr trial has been made in Paris of the electric tramcar 

 in which Faure-Sellon-Volckmar accumulators were employed. 

 The experiment was preceded by a lecture given by M. Philippart, 

 tending to show the great economic superiority of electricity 

 over the employment of hor es. On this occasion the route 

 chosen was not, as formerly, from the Place des Nations to La 

 Muette and Trocadero, but from Trocadero to the Louvre and 

 thence to the Place des Nations by the Bastille, an alteration made 

 to show the capacity of the electric tramcar for ascending slopes 

 on the common roads. 



Dr. Obach has lately perfected his tangent galvaaometer with 

 a swinging coil. In the present form the coil is compound, being 

 in reality one for measuring quantity and another for measuring 

 electromotive force. The coil is movable on a horizontal axis, 

 and therefore can be inclined at any angle. It has the advantage 

 over a tangent galvanometer in having a suspended needle which 

 can be rendered dead beat ; the coils are also balanced so that 

 the deflection corresponding to one volt with the high resistance 

 coil is that which corresponds with one ampere with the low 

 resistance coil. This instrument promises well for practical 

 testing if made in a convenient portable form. 



The last number of the Zeitschrift der GcselLchaft fur Erdkunde 

 of Berlin contains a paper by Dr. F. Boas on the former distri- 

 bution of the Eskimo in the Arctic-American archipelago. After 

 referring to the discovery by Arctic travellers, in places where no 

 human foot appears now to tread, of traces of habitations, graves, 

 weapons, &c, he says that two theories have beeu broached to 

 account for these remains. One is that the ice has encroached 

 more and more on the s a, and driven aw ay the ] eople ; the 

 other that there has been a migration from the we»t across the 

 archipelago. Dr. Boas rejects both of these explanations. He 

 points out that, judging by the remains, the former inhabitants 

 led precisely the same life as the Eskimo that we know to-day. 

 He conies to the conclusion, after an examination of the various 

 islands, of the distribution of traces of previous inhabitants and 

 of the present tribes, that for numerous reasons we must abandon 

 the theory that there was an earlier extension of inhabitants 

 towards the north. He thinks that the remains found are those 

 of the present tribes who have been driven from place to place 

 by the necessity of obtaining subsistence, and refers to the 



