March 12, 1885] 



NATURE 



435 



When in Coorg, in two different years, during the months of 

 [anuary and February, we not imfrequenl to Mercara, 



the capital, a distance of ten miles from the place where we were 

 staying. On ime trees in their winter 



condition with perfectly hare brandies, others had the tender 

 foliage of spring, some again were in all their summer glory, and 

 some were clothed wish the most brilliant autumnal tints ; this 

 was most probably due to the great variety in the species of 

 trees in that district. Cosmopolitan 



A Tracing Paper Screen 

 ral inquiries have been made of me as to where the 

 proper tracing paper can be obtained, perhaps I may be allowed 

 to state that I got mine through Mr. George Smith, 26, Cole- 

 brooke Row, City Road, N., who was the first, I believe, to 

 recommend the use of this valuable material. 



Charles J, Taylor 

 Toppesfield Rectory, Halstead, Essex 



GEOFFREY NEVILL 

 \1 J"E have to announce the comparatively early death 

 * * of Mr. G. Nevill, which took place at Davos Platz, 

 after a long and lingering illness, on February 10. This 

 removes from among us another of the scanty band of 

 English conchologists, whose ranks, only a few days 

 before, suffered a similar loss in Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys. 

 Mr. Nevill's labours have been principally confined to 

 India, where he was for many years one of the assistant- 

 superintendents under Dr. J. Anderson in the Indian 

 Museum, Calcutta ; his work is, therefore, better known 

 to those who have collected in the East and written on 

 the molluscan fauna of that part of the world. For many 

 years he was a constant correspondent and colleague of 

 the writer's, who can testify to the large and varied know- 

 ledge Mr. Nevill possessed of the different forms. A 

 very large number of species were sent him by Mr. Nevill 

 from time to time, many of which still remain to be de- 

 scribed. Mr. Nevill was the author of many papers on 

 his favourite study, most of which are to be found in the 

 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal : but perhaps 

 his best and most useful work, particularly to those 

 interested in distribution, was the " Hand List of Mol- 

 lusca in the Indian Museum" (Part I. comprising the 

 Pulmonata and I'rosobranchia-Neurobranchia published 

 in December, 1878, and is remarkable for the accuracy 

 with which the localities of the different species is given, 

 and the collections from whence they were received. He 

 also catalogued the Ampullariacea and Valvatidae and 

 Pallidum! l,. Unfortunately, the whole catalogue of the 

 Gastropoda is incomplete, for his health failed him alto- 

 gether in 1881. Yet he struggled on to the last with his 

 task, even when unable to leave his room to go as 

 usual to his office in the Museum, and was compelled 

 eventually to give up his appointment and return to 

 Europe. The entire arrangement of the Mollusca in the 

 new Museum formed a part of his work when there, and 

 it was well and admirably done. Almost his last work in 

 the field was at Mentone, in 1S7S-79, where, in the post- 

 Tertiary beds, he made a careful collection of the shells, 

 particularly the smaller species, a list of which he pub- 

 lished in the Zoological Societ' \gs. Vet even 

 so late as last summer, when hardly able to move from 

 weakness and partial paralysis, he was getting together 

 the land-shells to be obtained in the country around the 

 Lago de Como. 



Geoffrey Nevill was born at Holloway on October 5, 

 1S43; he was the second son of Mr. Win. Nevill, 

 F.G.S., who resided for many years at Langham Cottage, 

 Godalming, a gentleman who made mineralogy his 

 study, and whose collection of meteorites was well 

 known. As is often the case, his son inherited kindred 

 tastes, for, when quite a boy, his attention was directed to 

 shell-collecting both in Germanv and in England. Most 



of the English species in the Calcutta Museum originally 

 formed a part of this collection, and bear labels from 

 near his early home at Godalming. He received his 

 education at Dr. H. D. Heatley's school at Brighton, and 

 afterwards spent some time at Bonn in the house of 

 Dr. F. H. Troschel, Professor of Zoology, and this no doubt 

 confirmed his early taste for natural history and directed 

 his future career. 



He was never strong, so, after entering into mercantile 

 life in his father's house, and his health breaking down, 

 he was ordered abroad, and he proceeded to the Cape, 

 the Mauritius, and Bourbon, where he collected largely, 

 and formed a valuable and rich collection. Some of the 

 results were described in joint papers by himself and his 

 brother, Hugh Nevill, of the Ceylon Civil Service, He 

 went .111 to "the Seychelles Islands in 186S, where he re- 

 mained some time', still further enriching his collection, 

 and then went on to Calcutta. At this time an appoint- 

 ment offered itself in the New Museum, which he took 

 and filled for many years. Here in Calcutta during this 

 period a little band of workers in conchology were drawn 

 together, most of whom were employed on the different 

 surveys of the country. Season after season, on return 

 from 'the field, the results of their labours in every part of 

 India accumulated and were examined. Ferd. Stoliczka, 

 one of the first to be removed, was one of the most ardent 

 workers, and all benefited from his deep, more advanced 

 knowledge of the subject. 



The survivors will recall those pleasant intellectual 

 gatherings when they hear of Geoffrey Nevill's death, 

 and future students and collectors of Indian Mollusca 

 will appreciate the work he lived to perform, and which 

 will render their work in the galleries of the museum in 

 Calcutta more easy. 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCA- 

 TION IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE 

 YEAR 1SS2-S3 1 



IT is impossible to read the account which the United 

 States Bureau of Education, in the opening pages of 

 this Report for 1S82-83, gives of itself and of its labours, 

 without being convinced of the value of the matter there- 

 in contained. A total of over 10,000 institutions of edu- 

 cation of various kinds are in correspondence with, and 

 supply information to, the department. An idea of the 

 work also which falls to it may be formed from the fact 

 that some questions addressed to it have necessitated 

 months of research by several clerks, while the labour 

 which its publications have entailed, as well as the value 

 placed upon them, are shown by the fact that one of them 

 kedfor by 10,000 persons of different addresses. 

 Since all is voluntary, the Bureau claims to work the 

 most complete system of the kind in existence. The wide 

 compass of its survey is indicated by the very full account 

 given, among other foreign intelligence, of the Report of 

 the English Commission on Technical Edtuation. Be- 

 iself circulating through the world 20,000 copies of 

 its Report, the office is require dto print 18,000 copies 

 more for the use of, and distribution by, other members 

 of the Government. Its library — where all the items of 

 information which it is possible to collect, down to cut- 

 tings from newspapers, are gathered together and classi- 

 fied — is an immense work : and we can well believe that, 

 " if this office were put in possession of a small sum 

 annually for the purpose, it would make effective and 

 useful displays at exhibitions, of American education . . . 

 the most unique feature of our national life." 



The report of this education generally is far more satis- 

 factory than in other years. There has been a general 

 increase, first in the number of scholars, even in Maine 

 where the population has become smaller, and in New- 

 Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut, South Carolina, 

 ' Washington Government Printing Office, i8?4- 



