August 2, 1883] 



NA TURE 



329 



the candidates themselves. The period during which this prize 

 may be obtained by a candidate is limited to ten years after the 

 date of matriculation ; and with a view to render the prize as 

 widely associated with Prof. Kolleston's name as possible, it 

 is open to the members of the Universities of Oxford and 

 Cambridge. 



A correspondent writes to us that he has received from a 

 resident at Zagazig, in Egypt, a curious fact concerning cholera, 

 which, if not noticed before, may be of interest. The resident 

 stated that the town of Zagazig was perfectly healthy, and that 

 the swallows and spirrows were flying about as usual, and so 

 long as they remained he considered they were quite secure from 

 any attack, but when they left he would not be long before he 

 followed them. He remarked further that the birds had been 

 observed by old hands to depart before the approach of cholera 

 during the last four epidemics. Our correspondent asks what 

 can be the cause of this, and we shall be glad if any of our 

 leaders can answer the question. 



A Correspondent makes the following statement : — 

 " Kentish men who drink chalk water are large boned, whilst 

 those people who drink soft water are the reverse. At Glasgow, 

 where the water is supposed to be very soft, there are said to 

 be more bandy-legged children than at any other place.*' Is 

 this so? 



M. Pasteur has written to the Voltaire a letter justifying the 

 step taken by him in advising the Government to send a mission 

 to Egypt in order to study the generation of cholera. He 

 believes that this plague is produced by some description of 

 microzyme ; but he admits that this minute organism has not 

 been discovered yet. 



M. Barthllemy St. Hilaire has just finished the printing 

 of his translation of the "Natural History of Animals," by 

 Aristotle, which will be published in a very few days ; it consists 

 of four large octavo volumes. 



The managing committee of the Vienna International Electric 

 Exhibition, which recently announced that, io consequence of 

 the delay in the arrival of exhibits, the opening of the Exhibition, 

 originally arranged for the 1st inst., would have to be postponed, 

 has now fixed the ceremony for the 16th. 



The International Medical Congress of the present year will 

 open at Amsterdam on September 4, and will be attended by a 

 number of the most distinguished physicians and medical men of 

 Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Germany. Amongst the 

 British physicians papers or addresses have been promised by 

 Sir Joseph Fayrer, M.D., and Dr. J. Ewart, on the treatment of 

 imported and tropical diseases in countries belonging to the 

 temperate zone ; Dr. F. de Chaumont, of Ne'ley Hospital, on 

 the best measures of quarantine ; Dr. E. Waring, of London, on 

 the remedies used by the natives of tropical countries against the 

 most dangerous epidemics ; Dr. J. B. Scriven, on quinine injec- 

 tions and malaria fevers ; Dr. Norman Chevers, late Professor 

 at Calcutta, on tropical epidemics and the influence of tropical 

 climates upon them ; and Dr. Dyce Duckworth, of London, on 

 the education of physicians for the Colonies. 



The fifty-first meeting of the British Medical Association 

 began on Tuesday at Liverpool with the address of the President 

 (Dr. A. T. H. Waters of Liverpool). On Wednesday the Council 

 met to consider invitations for 1SS4 and to nominate a President 

 Elect. 



The Gardens of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia in 

 Fairmount Park are, we believe, the most nearly complete and 

 best organised Zoological Gardens on the American Continent. 

 Their eleventh annual report, now before us, shows a consider- 



able amount of progress since their last anniversary. The 

 number of visitors to the Gardens in the twelve months ending 

 on the last day of February 18S3 was 252,866, being nearly 

 10,000 more than in the preceding corresponding months. The 

 income of the Society during the same period was rather over 

 §50,000, while the expenditure seems to have been some 88000 

 less. During the same twelve months 423 living specimens were 

 added to the collection, the total number of animals in the 

 gardens at the date of the report being estimated at 687, of 

 which 306 were Mammals, 338 Birds, and 43 Reptiles and 

 Batrachians. These figures, no doubt, cannot rival those of the 

 eal Society of London. But it must be recollected that 

 our Society has been founded upwards of fifty years, is supported 

 by some 3300 members, and has a population of 4,000,000 to 

 draw upon for its visitors, not to count the strangers who are 

 perpetually seeing the "sights of London." Among the special 

 additions to the menagerie to which attention is invited in the 

 report is an example of the Coast Fox {Vu'pcs littoraHs) received 

 from Yucatan, and stated to be probably the first to be exhibited 

 in a living state. This rare fox his, we believe, never been 

 obtained by the Zoological Society of London, and we rather 

 doubt whether there is any example of it in the British Museum. 



The Committee of the Sunday Society have resolved to 

 petition the Prince of Wales to use his influence as President to 

 have the Fisheries Exhibition open to the public on a few 

 Sundays before the final close of the collection. 



Among a number of very munificent bequests that have been 

 left to Paisley by the late Mr. Brough, we, says the British 

 Medina! Journal, observe that he has directed that 300/. is to 

 be spent annually in establishing and maintaining a science 

 lectureship in that town, with all the necessary adjuncts and 

 accessories. The subjects to be taught are left to the trustees to 

 fix, but the testator himself recommends that one of them should 

 be physiology. 



A violent shock of earthquake was felt at Catanzaro, in 

 Calabria, on the morning of luly 25. 



With reference to the volcanic eruption on Krakatan Island 

 off the coast of Java, brief reports of which were received by 

 telegraph, and then noticed in Nature, the following particulars 

 have since been received. During Sunday, May 20, and Mon- 

 day, May 21, the eruption was very heavily felt at Batavia, also 

 more or less on Tuesday, May 22 ; but the earthquake shocks 

 have since ceased, although the mountain is still apparently 

 vomiting fire and smoke. The following report is from Anjer, 

 dated May 23, 3.47 a.m. : — On Sunday morning last, from six 

 to ten o'clock, there was a tremendous eruption, with continuous 

 earthquakes and heavy rain of ashes. On Sunday evening and 

 Monday morning it was continued. The eruption was distinctly 

 seen here till nine o'clock this morning, and smoke was seen 

 until twelve o'clock ; afterwards it cleared up a little, and at this 

 moment the air is clouded again. Capt. Ross reports from Anjer 

 that on May 22 he was sailing near Java's first point and tried to get 

 Prinsen Island in sight, but found that it was surrounded by clouds. 

 Then he steered for Krakatan, but found it to be the same there. 

 The captain observed that the lower island or mountain situated on 

 the north side of Krakatan was totally surrounded by smoke, and 

 from time to time flames arose with loud reports. Fire had broken 

 out in several places, and it is very likely that the trees in the neigh- 

 bourhood have caught fire. The mountain of Krakatan has 

 been covered all over on the north side with ashes. The captain 

 could not make out the condition of the mountain, as he kept 

 away as far as possible, being afraid of the wind falling, and the 

 vessel being drifted on to the island. The strongest fire was 

 seen on the evening of May 22, with heavy explosions and 

 detonations. The fire was also seen at that time at Anjer, but 

 on account of the heavy smoke nothing could be perceived, as 



