47o 



NA TURE 



[Sept. 13, 188; 



It is proposed to establish a permanent meteorological obser- 

 vatory for the Bristol Channel. Mr. E. J. Lowe, who for the 

 Ia;t forty years has carried on a regular series of meteo.-ological 

 observations at Highfield, near Nottingham, has recently pur- 

 chased the Shirenewton estate, near Chepstow ; and, being con- 

 vinced of the real importance of establishing an observatory 

 which may be carried on through future years without interrup- 

 tion, he has generously offered to present the whole of his valuable 

 collection of meteorological instruments, together with his books 

 and papers, towards the establishment of such a permanent ob- 

 servatory, for which he also offer . to give the site, together with 

 such stone and lime as may be required for the erection of the 

 necessary buildings, provided a sufficient sum can be raised in 

 the district to build the same, and to provide a small endowment 

 towards the maintenance of a limited staff of assistants, who 

 would, in the first instance, be under his gratuitous guidance and 

 supervision. Previous to making this offer publicly known, Mr. 

 Lowe conferred with the Meteorological Department of the 

 Treasury, by whom Mr. Scott, F.R.S. (the director of the 

 Department), was sent down, and his report was in every way 

 most favourable, both as to the great utility and importance of 

 the scheme, and also as to the admirable site which Mr. Lowe 

 proposed to offer. 



Prof. Brown Goode, the Commissioner of the United 

 States to the International Fisheries Exhibition, has just received 

 a telegram from Prof. Baird, the United States Commissioner of 

 Fish and Fisheries, to the effect that Mr. Ryder, the embryo- 

 logist of the Fish Commission, has finally solved the problem of 

 the culture of oysters from artificially impregnated eggs, and that 

 on the 4th inst., at the Government station at Stockton, Mary- 

 land, there were many millions of young oysters three quarters 

 of an inch in diameter which had been hatched from eggs 

 artificially impregnated forty-six days before. It may be added 

 that oysters were artificially impregnated in America by Dr. 

 Brooks, cf Baltimore, in 1S79, but the difficulty hitherto met 

 with in hatching them has been to prevent the young oysters 

 from escaping and being lost immediately after they are hatched, 

 since the spat passes through the meshes of most finely-woven 

 fabrics, such as flannel. 



We have before us No. 15, Part II., of the " Encyclopaedia 

 of Physical Sciences " (from the publishing house of Eduard, 

 Trewendt, Breslau), which closes Wittstein's Alphabetical Manual 

 of the Pharmaceutical Technology of Botany. As a conclu- 

 sion to the work are appended three tables : (1) of the German 

 and other popular names of drugs; (2) of the officinal Latin 

 names ; (3) of the systematic Latin names of mother-plants. 

 The 16th number contains the continuation of the Alphabetical 

 Manual of Chemistry published by Ladenburg, and among other 

 things gives a very comprehensive and concise work by Tollens 

 on "Analysis," and an important monograph by Weddige on 

 "Aniline." The last number which has reached us of the 

 " Encyclopedia of Physical Sciences " is the 34th, Part I., being 

 at the same time the 50th of the whole series. It brings the 

 Alphabetical Manual of Zoology, Anthropology, and Ethnology 

 a considerable stage forward. The editing of this work from 

 the letter F onwards has been committed to Reicheuow in Berlin, 

 who, with the old contributors and a large number of newly 

 added cooperators, such as Sussdorf, Vetter, E. Taschenbergs 

 and Georg Pfeffer, is pushing the work rapidly forwards. 



On September 3 the steamer Nordemkjold arrived at Hammer - 

 fest with the Dutch Meteorological Expedition saved from the 

 Varna on board. The party states that the Varna was crushed 

 in the ice on Christmas Eve last, but did not founder until |uly 

 24, after which date they were lodged on board the Dijmphna. 

 One of the crew died during the winter. The scientific staff 

 are exceedingly well satisfied with the result of their labours, 



with the exception naturally of the magnetic researches. Al- 

 though Hovgaard was confident of getting into open water in 

 August, he had decided that if not free "by August 15 half the 

 crew, under Lieut. Olsen, should leave the ship and attempt to 

 reach the coast of Siberia at Yalmal, while he, with the other 

 half, would winter on board. All was well on board when the 

 Dutch departed. 



The Norwegian geologist, Amund Helland, states tha% 

 having measured the following Iceland glaciers, he finds their 

 area in Norwegian square miles to be: Vatnajokull, 150; 

 Langjbkull, 26; Hofsjokull, 25; Myrdalsjokull, 18; Dranga- 

 jokull, 15 ; Glamujokull, S ; Forfajbkull, 2 ; and Eyriksjokull, 

 2. By way of comparison he mentions that the Norwegian 

 glacier, the Justedalsbrx, is only i^\ miles. It will thus 

 be seen that the Iceland glaciers are larger than any others 

 in the world, as those of the Alps and the Pyrenees are even 

 smaller than the Norwegian. 



The Norwegian zoologist, Prof. Robert Collett, a member of 

 the Norwegian North-Sea Expedition, has written an interesting 

 paper on the beaver in Norway. Formerly, he states, this inter- 

 esting animal was found in many parts of the country, but now 

 only in two rivers in the south. In 1876 a colony, of (hem 

 appeared near Porsgrund, which, however, disnppenred again in 

 1880. Although he estimates the total number of animals at 

 present in Norway at only about 100, he does not believe they 

 are decreasing. 



University College, Bristol, is showing considerable en- 

 terprise in extending its curriculum and improving the efficiency 

 of its teaching. In the curriculum of work for the coming 

 session there is an increased extension of laboratory! instruc- 

 tion ; this is a very pleasing feature. During the past session 

 the chemical laboratory was very largely attended. The physi- 

 cal and electrical laboratory is now in full operation, and valu- 

 able apparatus has already been procured, though more is 

 wanted when the funds can be obtained. A biological labora- 

 tory has also been commenced. In the ensuing session we see 

 that a geological laboratory will be provided. Special arrange- 

 ments are also made for the systematic nse of the engineering 

 workshops. The success of the engineering department hitherto 

 has been most encouraging ; and we are glad to see that the 

 Council have now provided several facilities for the study of 

 architectural drawing, and speciil arrangements for the practical 

 work of students in this department have been made with 

 various en.ineers, surveyors, and architects in and near Bristol. 

 The medical school is rapidly growing, and already the neces- 

 sity for further accommodation has become apparent. Want of 

 funds seems to be the only check to the fuller growth and in- 

 creased prosperity of the College. We believe, however, that 

 the citizens of Bristol will not allow an important institution 

 w hich is doing so much good work to feel the need of liberal 

 support. 



M. Bertrand read, at the sitting of September 10 of the ' 

 Paris Academy of Sciences, a repnrt draw 11 up by the Mayor of 

 Grenoble, assisted by a commission of engineers, contradicting 

 the rumour that the experiments on the transmission of power to 

 a distance by the Marcel-Deprez system had failed. On the 

 contrary, the success was complete. A power of eight horses was 

 conveyed to Grenoble, and the original motive power underwent 

 only a loss of 40 per cent. The force conveyed to Grenoble 

 v, as utilised not only in pumping water, but in sewing, in moving 

 machinery of every description, &c. The experiments lasted 

 during a lengthened period, and are being continued. We must 

 state that the distance is 14 kilometres, and the wire of copper 

 instead of iron. 



Fresh shocks of earthquake were felt at Casamicciola on the 

 9th and 10th inst. 



