March 19, 1885] 



NATURE 



467 



are, however, other fact?. The pepper plant {Drimys anfarii'ca) 

 is a native of the colder regions of the globe. When the Glacial 

 epoch set in and a chilly temperature advanced to the equator 

 itself, this plant marched forward with it in the same regions. 

 When the interglacial warm period came on the cold temperature 

 relaxed ; but wherever the pepper plant had access to lofty 

 mountains it retreated to their cold peaks, and so secured itself 

 permanently in its new home. Then it died out on the hot 

 plains, and thus Mr. Griffiths explains its existence upon the 

 lofty ranges of New Guinea and Borneo, but nowhere else until 

 we get far down into the colder regions of the southern hemi- 

 sphere — its natural habitat. In the same manner cold-loving 

 European plants crossed the hot tropics, unknown ages since, 

 but probably at the same epoch, and established themselves in 

 Australia ; and so, when botanists in exploring the Australian 

 mountains climbed to an altitude of 5000 feet, they met thirty- 

 eight species of European plants, isolated from their fellows, 

 and thousands of leagues from their home. 



The Russian Government has ordered from a Paris balloon 

 factory two elongated silk balloons, in order to experiment on 

 their direction by electricity. The Italian Government has also 

 ordered two silk balloons equipped with telephones, &c. , for 

 captive ascents. 



To the Astronomischc Nachrichten, Nos. 2651-52, Herr von 

 Gothard contributes an elaborate paper on the periodicity of the 

 changes observed in the spectrum of $ Lyras during the year 

 1884. The observations of the previous year had already deter- 

 mined changes in the intensity of the bright bands, which could 

 not be accounted for by mere atmospheric influences. Since 

 then thirty fresh observations have enabled the author to follow 

 through successive periods the shiftings of the bands D 3 from an 

 almost brilliant intensity to their total disappearance. He was 

 prevented by the unfavourable atmospheric conditions from de- 

 termining the duration of the several periods, which however 

 seemed to average not more than seven days. The hydrogen 

 lines and also very probably those of the red, although more 

 constant, also seem subject to periodical change. The spectro- 

 scopic phenomenon is of such a remarkable and unique character 

 that observers are urged to direct their attention to this highly 

 interesting star, with a view to a more accurate determination 

 of its periodicity. Appended to the paper is a brief summary of 

 the thirty observations taken at intervals from February 18 to 

 November 17 of last year. Of these the following may be 

 quoted as bearing on the short duration of the periodic changes : — 

 July 13, D 3 of almost dazzling brightness; July 17, D 3 very 

 faint ; September 17, U 3 scarcely perceptible; September 24, 

 D 3 again brilliant ; November I, D 3 invisible ; November 5, 

 D 3 bright. 



An important point in connection with recent seismic 

 investigation in Japan which does not yet appear to have 

 been noticed in this country, is 'the various intensities 

 of the same shock and of different shocks at different 

 places. One place appears more subject to earthquakes 

 than another place which may be near at hand, and to 

 be more violently affected than the latter by an earthquake 

 which visits both. Thus, with similar instruments placed at the 

 corners of a triangle having sides about 800 feet long, Prof. 

 Milne has obtained conclusive evidence that, while at one 

 corner there might be sufficient motion to shatter a building, 

 at the other corners the disturbance would be trivial. In 

 the last severe shock by which the capital of Japan was visited, 

 the chimneys of the British Legation were shaken so severely 

 that they had to be rebuilt, but the Russian Legation, a building 

 of much the same character a mile away, suffered no appreciable 

 damage. If in further investigation it turns out that certain 



portions of the same earthquake district are comparatively free 

 from violent shocks, while the force of the earthquakes are con- 

 centrated in certain others, then seismic surveys would appear 

 an indispensable pre-requisite of building in earthquake coun- 

 tries. A residence in "a desirable situation" would in that 

 case mean, not onecommanding a good view, or close to the 

 station, church, and post-office, or convenient for a pack of 

 hounds, but one built on an oasis unsympathetic to earthquakes, 

 and which remains still and secure while its neighbours are 

 being tossed about and destroyed by seismic forces. 



The Sixth Circular of Information of the United States Bureau 

 of Education for 1S84, compiled by Miss Annie T. Smith, a 

 Member of the Office, is a digest of the information gained there 

 on the subject of rural schools. It is hardly necessary to refer 

 here to the difficulty of a thinly populated country like America — 

 viz. the smallness of the schools, and hence, in defiance of State 

 laws, the smallness of teachers' pay and teachers' qualifications. 

 High authorities are here cited as to the ease with which much 

 valuable information might be imparted to many such teachers 

 who sorely need it. Good technical rules accordingly for teachers 

 in any country, and a list of about eighty books bearing upon 

 education and desirable for a schoolmaster's library are here 

 given. The Circular records the eager desire for new ideas on 

 the subject of elementary instruction manifest in all countries; 

 and after quoting the highest English and American authorities 

 on the subject, it gives a rhume of some recent publications of 

 the Belgian and French Governments. The principal result of 

 it all is to insist upon the great value of general object-lessons ; 

 for which purpose, moreover, French schools are cited as being 

 provided with specimens of the materials used in the trades of 

 the neighbourhood : to urge the teaching of geography first from 

 the nearest surrounding view, and then from the map which has 

 thus been made intelligible ; of elementary arithmetic also by 

 objects. The way in which, in agricultural di tricts, this object- 

 learning goes on side by side with book-learning, especially in 

 the cases of the youngest boys whose time is divided between 

 school and labour, makes it a familiar phrase in America that 

 " our brightest boys come from the country." 



In the report of the Temple Observatory at Rugby for 1S84, 

 Mr. Seabroke, the Honorary Curator, reports that the original 

 work done during the past year consisted of the measurement of 

 positions and distances of double stars, in continuation of that 

 of former years. 264 complete measures of 108 stars were 

 taken. The observations of double stars of the last four years 

 have, it is stated, been presented to the Royal Astronomical 

 Society, and ordered to be printed in the Memoirs. They num- 

 ber about 900 complete measures. A new list of stars for 

 measurement in coming years has been prepared by Mr. Sea- 

 broke, with the as-istance of Mr. C. H. Hodges. Some few 

 measurements have also been made of the motion of stars in the 

 line of sight with the spectroscope on the reflector. 



The decreasing tendency of the lobster fishery in America is 

 becoming so marked that the United States Fisheries Com- 

 mission is instituting inquiries into the causes operating against 

 it. It is intended to investigate all points connected with the 

 natural history of the species, the condition of the fishery 

 grounds, &c, in order to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion on 

 the subject. 



The Council of the National Fish Culture Association have 

 decided to form an ichthyological library containing works of 

 every description on the subject of our fish and fisheries, their 

 culture and development. 



We have received separate reprints of the following papers 

 read before the Chemical Society : — " On Additive and Con- 



