Feb. 19, 1885] 



NA TURE 



369 



the doctrine of the protoplasmic origin of animal and vegetable 

 life, could be easily imagined. Not only as a physiologist, but 

 as a pathologist, Hunter was a great vivisector, and it might be 

 taken for granted that he would rank himself with those who 

 now claim the right of man, for beneficial purposes, or even in 

 the pursuit of knowledge, to attempt to discover the processes of 

 animal life by tests and trials on living animals. While averse 

 to unnecessary repeated experiments, his large views of the unity 

 of the " principle of life " and of the community of organisation 

 and of action throughout the whole animal kingdom would lead 

 him to disregard the objections of those who insist on the use- 

 lessness of experiments on animals so far as concerns their 

 application to man. Hunter did not spare his own body, but 

 subjected himself to an inoculation experiment of a very grave 

 character, in order to test opinions on a pathological question, 

 and to put to proof the efficacy of certain variations in treatment. 

 Since his time the inquiry as to the functions of the nerves and 

 the nerve centres had made great strides, almost exclusively by- 

 means of experiments. Had Hunter lived now he would have 

 been a staunch evolutionist, his belief being that "from the 

 variations produced by culture it would appear that the animal 

 is so susceptible of impression as to vary Nature's actions, and 

 this is even carried into propagation." Hunter expressed the 

 opinion that in time it might perhaps happen the human race 

 should be exterminated by specific poison diseases ; but he re- 

 garded it as more probable that many poisons were extirpated, 

 and that new ones might arise in their stead every day. 



The National Fish Culture Association are about to establish 

 a Museum of British and Foreign Fishes, and a large number of 

 valuable specimens have already been presented for preservation. 

 The project has met with unmistakable signs of approbation, and 

 is likely to receive the hearty co-operation of the ichthyological 

 world. The latest addition to the collection is an exceedingly 

 fine specimen of a trout weighing 23 lbs. 



In an address at the last meeting ot the Society of Meteorology 

 of France, M. Herve-Mangon described the growth of meteoro- 

 logical science in that country. It is curious, he said, that in 

 the first part of this century, meteorology had fallen into strange 

 discredit with the most distinguished men of science, one of 

 whom called it "the poor science." The Hydrometric Society 

 of Lyons, founded in 1840, was the only one in France occu- 

 pying itself with atmospheric phenomena ; the Meteorological 

 Annual was not founded till 1849, and the Society of Meteor, 

 •logy till 1853. In 1855 Leverrier created the system of tele- 

 graphic warnings. In 1878 the Society succeeded in getting the 

 Government to reorganise the system of telegraph weather 

 reports, and to create a central meteorological bureau, while 

 numerous observatories had been erected all over the country, 

 and Paris was now in connection with 1500 stations. In 1852 

 France participated in the International Congress of Meteorology 

 at Brussels, but for twenty-six years after that they took part in 

 no similar reunion. But, owing to M. Herve-Mangon's exer- 

 tions, the Congress of 1S78 was invited to be held in Paris, and 

 in 1879 France took formal part in the Congress at Rome. 



M. IIansen-Blangsted, of Paris, has recently published, 

 under the title of " Un Progres," an account of the manner in 

 which the metric system of weights and measures is extending 

 over Europe. Confining himself to Germany, Austro-Hungary, 

 and Norway since 1870, he points out that in German geography 

 down to 1869 all the measures were given in the system of the 

 country. In 1865 Peter manris Mittheilungen expressed geo- 

 graphical measures of length, height, depth, and superficial area 

 in German or English measures. In 1869 French measures 

 • were employed, that is, they were put side by side with the 

 English and German. Since 1875 the metric system is almost 

 exclusively employed, and it is always added where a writer 



does not use it. Prior to 1870 the metric systeai was rarely 

 employed in the Geographisehe Jahrbuch, in 1876 it had made 

 much progress, and now it is almost the only one in use. Dr. 

 Daniel's large geography in four volumes, the fifth edition of 

 which was published by Dr. Delisch in 1882, is used everywhere 

 throughout Germany, and is an undoubted authority. Here all 

 the geographical measures are given according to the metric 

 system ; the German system is not used even in parenthesis. In 

 Austria we find that Dr. Umlauft uses the metric system exclu- 

 sively in his "Rundschau furGeographie und Statistik." In "Das 

 eiserne Jahrbundert" also the same is the rule. Dr. Umlauft has 

 lately published a work devoted wholly to the geography of the 

 Austrian empire, which is widely spread and used in schools. 

 He employs in it only the metrical system. In Norway, the 

 geographical works of the former Minister, M. Broch, both in 

 Norwegian and French, have had much effect in propagating 

 the knowledge and employment of the metric system, for he 

 uses the latter side by side with the Norwegian measures. For 

 the first time in the geography of P. Geelmuyden, published at 

 Christiania in 1882, the metric system is exclusively adopted, 

 the Norwegian measures being placed in parentheses. This 

 work forms one of the text-books for primary and advanceil 

 instruction in the schools. 



M. Nikitinsky has recently made a series of experiments for 

 determining whether the amount of ash given by burnt tea-leaves 

 really increases with the decrease of the quality of tea, as was- 

 asserted a few years ago. Taking different kinds of tea, the 

 price of which was respectively 72, 64, 34, 12 '8, and I2'I2 

 Chinese lans, he found that they gave respectively the following 

 percentage of ash : 5'l6, 5 '21, 5'66, 5-91, and 6-32. The dif- 

 ference is thus very small. A cheap green "brick-tea" gave a 

 percentage of 6 '87. The Orenburg teas, which are sold under 

 the name of Buray-tea, at the price of 12 and 5 roubles for 16 

 kilogrammes, and are adulterated with leaves of Epilobium 

 angustijolium, gave a far greater quantity of ash, namely, 7 '87 

 and 1043 per cent., thus affording a means for discovering this 

 kind of adulteration. 



The Report of the Botanical Record Club for 1S83 is just 

 published. For those interested in the details of the geographical 

 distribution of British plants, these annual publications form an 

 indispensable supplement to the posthumous edition of H. C. 

 Watson's "Topographical Botany," published in 1883. 



Prof. Stricker's work, " Studien iiber die Sprachvorstel- 

 ]ungen," has now been translated into French by F. Schwiedland. 

 This French edition, which has been enlarged by some new 

 chapters by the author himself, is published by Felix Alcan at 

 Paris. 



Oldenbourg of Munich has just published "Die Hieracien 

 Mittel-Europas. Monographische Bearbeitung der Piloselloiden 

 mit besonderer Beriicksichtigung der mitteleuropaischen Sippen,' 

 by C. von Nageli and A. Peter. 



An officer of the French Staff has gone to Algiers and Tunis 

 in order to continue the work of the late Col. Roudaire. But it 

 is not likely that he will succeed, although he is strongly sup- 

 ported by M. de Lesseps. In the colony the opinion is strongly 

 against the scheme. The argument of its opponents is the 

 insalubrity which would result from the presence of these salt 

 waters in an extremely hot country without any appreciable 

 current, and frequent changes of level owing to evaporation. 



We understand that the Quarterly Journal of Microscopy and 

 Natural Science will in future be published by Messrs. Bailliere, 

 Tindall, and Cox. 



Mr. A. S. Oliff and Mr. J. D. Ogilby have been appointed 

 assistants in the Australian Museum. 



