494 



NA TURE 



| Sept. i 8, 1884 



be found breeding in holes or in roofed nests, their eggs 

 concealed from view ; but, on the contrary, they build 

 open nests, some of them, as with the pigeons, being very 

 clumsy and conspicuous structures. On the other hand, 

 birds like the creeper, nuthatch, wren, willow wren, and 

 chiffchafif, with the hen birds of sombre colours, would be 

 expected, on Mr. Wallace's theory, tobuild open cup-shaped 

 nests « herein the sitting bird would be exposed to view ; but 

 the two first-named breed in holes of trees, and the others 

 all construct domed nests. It would be easy to take ex- 

 ception to other propositions made by Mr. Wallace, and 

 generally to combat his ingenious theory ; but such is not 

 our object here. We have referred to his essay rather for 

 the purpose of redirecting attention to it in connection 

 with the admirable series of birds' nests in the collection 

 under notice which furnishes the 'reader with illustrations 

 to many of Mr. Wallace's remarks. 



As to the birds which rely for the safety of their eggs 

 on their own ability to defend them, whether singly or in 

 pairs or colonies, familar examples occur to us in the 

 partridge, peewit, and black-headed gull. There must be 

 few observant naturalists who have walked abroad in the 

 nesting time and have not witnessed and admired the 

 extraordinary efforts made by some or all of these birds 

 to decoy the intruder away from their eggs or young by 

 feigning lameness, or to frighten him away from the spot 

 by boldly dashing at his head with loud reiterated cries. 



The group, of which an engraving is here given from 

 a careful sketch by Mr. Charles Whymper, represents a 

 pair of little grebes, or dabchicks as they are provincially 

 called, at a pond-side, with their characteristic nest of 

 weeds. The hen bird is just leaving the nest to join her 

 mate, having hastily covered her white eggs to conceal 

 them. 



The taxidermist, it will be observed, in this case has 

 been obliged to show them partially uncovered, in order 

 to explain what otherwise might remain unsuspected by 

 those who are unfamiliar with the habits of these interest- 

 ing birds. 



NOTES 

 The Queen has been pleased to confer the dignity of a Knight 

 of the United Kingdom on John William Dawson, L.L.D., 

 C.M.G., Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the McGill University, 

 Montreal, in the Dominion of Canada. 



The death is announced of Dr. J. J. Woodward, surgeon, 



United States Army, the well-known microscopist, whose 

 admirable photo-micrographs, produced during bis official con- 

 nection with the Army Medical Museum, Washington, have 

 given the pre-eminence to America for this branch of scientific 

 mil • iscopy. 



The Electrical Conference at Philadelphia has adopted reso- 

 lutions thatsteps should be taken to legalise in America the ohm 

 adopted by the Paris Conference, as also the ampere and volt, 

 as electrical standards of measure. It was proposed by Mr. W. 

 II. Preece that the Committee should consider the adoption oi 

 the English watt as a unit of power ; this was also adopted. 



Prof. Robert S. Bah lectured in Philadelphia on Wednesday 

 night last week on the distances of the stars. He had a large 

 audience at the Academy of Music. 



The first aerial voyage in England having taken place from 

 the Honourable Artillery Company's ground at Finsluiiy on 

 September 15, 17S4, in the presence of the Prince of Wales, 

 afterwards George IV., preparations were made to fittingly 

 celebrate the 100th anniversary of the event, which occurred on 

 Monday. A committee successfully perfected the arrangements 

 for the ascent of three huge balloons from the grounds at the 



rear of the Finshury Armoury, whence, at 5 minutes after 2 in 

 the afternoon, just a century before, Lunardi, the secretary 

 to the Neapolitan Ambassador in London, started upon the first 

 aerial voyage performed in this country, and ultimately de- 

 scended, at 20 minutes past 4, in safety in a meadow at Standon, 

 near Ware, Hertfordshire. In the Long Room, Col. Beau- 

 mont, R.E., presiding, M. W. de Fonviclle, editor of La 

 Lumiire £lectriqtte, delivered an address, in which he described 

 the improvements made in the construction and the gear of 

 balloons during the past century, particularly alluding to the 

 improvements effected by the late Mr. Green, the inventor of 

 the cone anchor, which had been the means of saving the lives 

 of so many aeronauts when they drifted out to sea, and had been 

 rescued by passing vessels. He spoke hopefully and sanguinely 

 of the ultimate success of the efforts now being made by gallant 

 French officers to steer balloons by the medium of electric 

 currents. 



A SECOND ascent was made on Friday at Meudon in Capt. 

 Renard's new balloon, but this time without the success which 

 attended the former experiment. There was a good ! : 

 On the previous occasion, it will be remembered, there was only 

 a slight breeze. After resisting the wind and remaining sta- 

 tionary, or nearly so, for a few minutes, the balloon was carried 

 in the direction of Versailles, and, on nne'of the batteries ceasing 

 to work, descended near Versailles. From there the balloon 

 had to be dragged back to Meiulon. The inventors assert that, 

 but for the accident to the battery, they would have returned to 

 Meudon in the teeth of the wind. 



M. Regnard has made a series of experiments on living 

 organisms under high pressures. Yeast was found to he latent 

 after having been -ubjected to a pressure of 1000 atmospheres 

 for one hour; an hour later it began to ferment in sweetened 

 water. Starch was transformed to sugar by saliva at 1000 

 atmospheres. At 600 atmospheres Algre were able to de- 

 compose carbonic acid in sunlight, but they died and began to 

 putrefy after four days. Cress-seed after ten minutes' exposure 

 to 1000 atmospheres were swollen with water, and after a week 

 began to sprout. At 600 atmospheres Infusoria and mollusks, 

 .Sic., were rendered morbid and latent, but wdien removed re- 

 turned to their natural state. Fishes without bladders can stand 

 100 atmospheres, at 200 they seem asleep, at 300 they die, and 

 at 400 they die and remain rigid even whilst putrefying; 



We observe that among the three recipients of the g.dcl medals 

 awarded by the University of Chiistiania is Prof. G. A. 

 Guldberg. 



A new enemy to the beetroot plantations has appeared in 



Scania (Sweden) in the shape of the spinach-fly [Antkomyza 



). It has previously been known as an enemy to 



spinach, but this year it has also attacked the beetroot plants. 



Dr. Holmgren believes that its appearance is only periodical. 



ALTHOUGH a great deal has been done in Norway and 

 Switzerland to examine and measure the glaciers in those 

 countries, comparatively little has been done in Sweden in this 

 respect. During the last couple of years, however, a elacialist, 

 Dr. F. Svenonius, has been engaged in studying and measuring 

 iomi '»f the glaciers in Non-land, and we now learn from the 

 report of this gentleman that there are about a hundred glaciers 

 in Sweden, but that they are very small, the whole covering 

 altogether only nine square miles (Swedish). The area had 

 previously been estimated at thirty square miles. 



The Corporation of Southampton have unanimously resolved 

 to support the movement commenced by the Council of the 

 Hartley Institution a short time ago, in favour of a revised 

 Geological Survey of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on the 

 maps of the 6-inch scale. The Southampton Town Council will 



