238 



NA TURE 



Juty 14, 1 88 1 



of the variation of the seconds' pendulum with latitude was quite 

 trustworthy enough (not to say correct enough) to fuiiii-h the 

 geographical difference between London and Paris lengths. Yet 

 as a fact the pendulu'a never was so appealed to. Vet to this 

 day it is still not uncommonly taught that the pendulum is the 

 proper natural standard of reference. In 1816 of course such 

 was the nearly universal dogma. 



I say "never," but perhaps one or other of the above obser- 

 vers may be adduced to confute me. J. Herschel 



Collingvvood, July 11 



Faure's Secondary Battery 



In your issue of last week you gave an account of the soiric 

 held at King's College, London, on the evening of July 2, and 

 in this account it is stated that " the great event of the evening 

 was the exhibition for the first time in England of M. Faure's 

 secondary battery." 



At the soiri'cs given by the Mayor of Nottingham on the 

 evenings of June 30 and July 3 in connection with the opening 

 of the College by H.R.H. Prince Leopold, I had the pleasure 

 of exhibiting to large audiences one of M. Faiu'e's new batteries. 

 Sheets of lead were bent up into the form of shallow trays, one 

 foot square and one inch deep ; in each of these was placed a 

 layer of red lead, then a layer of flannel, then a layer of red lead, 

 and lastly another lead plate. These trays to the number of six 

 were then piled one above the other, after being filled with dilute 

 acid. The cells being connected ii series, were polarised by a 

 lo-cell battery of Grove's cells, and after twenty minutes' 

 charging, had taken up a very large quantity of electricity. At 

 a short lecture given during the evening the charged Faure battery 

 was connected with a Gramme machine, and drove it round with 

 considerable velocity for some minutes. After thus employing 

 part of the charge the remainder was used for heating several 

 inches of platinum wire, and for driving for a few seconds a 

 simple form of magneto-electric engine. These experiments 

 amply convinced those present of the practical character of M. 

 Faure's invention. As I liave not had the opportunity of ex- 

 amining one of the original batteries of the inventor, I was obliged 

 to make up this experimental form. It is however a convenient 

 form for lecture-room demonstration, as it permits the structure 

 of tlie battery to be exhibited to an audience. The enormous 

 superiority of M. Faure's cell over the old form of Plante cell 

 is evident at once on experimenting with it. J. A, Fleming 



The University College, Nottingham, July 10 



Earthquake in Van 

 Since my former letter I have had an opportunity of visiting 

 the region most affected by the earthquake of May 30, and have 

 obtained some further particulars about it. Its greatest severity 

 seems 'o have been felt at the Armenian village of Teghourt, lying 

 at the foot of the Nimroud Dagli, at a distance, judging by eye, 

 of not more than four miles from the edge of the crater. This 

 village has been almost entirely destroyed, with the loss of ninety- 

 three lives. By the same shock about 200 houses were thrown 

 down or more or less damaged in the aggregation of hamlets 

 named Akhlat, some six or seven miles further distant from the 

 Nimroud Dagh. Here however happily only two lives were lost 

 and a few persons were injured. On June 9, in the evening, 

 a second shock took place of less violence, which partially 

 damaged a third village, Sipratzor, lying betw-een the other two. 

 As far as I was able to learn these villages were tjie only localities 

 in which buildings were actually thrown down, though cracks 

 were caused in walls, &c., in other places. The three villages 

 are all in the direct line between the two great extinct volcanoes 

 of the Nimroud Dagh and Sipan Dagh, which fact leads to the 

 conjecture that there may be a line of least resistance joining the 

 two mountains. All three villages, however, are nearer to 

 Nimroud than to Sipan. The greater severity of the shock at 

 Teghourt, the nearest village to Nimroud, may have been due to 

 the latter having been the centre of the disturbance, but it may 

 also have been caused by the fact that the village is built directly 

 upon the solid rock of an ancient lava-bed. The only observa- 

 tion I was able to obtain of the direction of the earthquake \iave 

 was communicated to me at a village lying due east of the 

 Nimroud Dagh. Here it was said that the wave came from the 

 souti), which would look as if the centre of disturbance were in 

 the Central Kurdistan mountains, not in Nimroud ; but one 

 doubtful observation is of course not enough to establish sucli a 

 point. 



Whilst in the neighbourhood I took the opportunity of visiting 

 the Nimroud Dagh. The mountain rises in a very gentle slope, 

 so that it is possible to ride the whole way up and into the crater. 

 The edge of the crater, where we crossed it, is 2810 feet above 

 the Lalie of Van by aneroid and about six miles distant from it ; 

 some parts of the walls however rise 500 feet or so higher, the 

 most elevated points being to the north and south. The crater 

 is a vast, nearly perfectly circular, hollow, between four and five 

 miles across, the floor of which is an irregular flat dome, partly 

 covered with herbage and partly with dwarf birch and beech and 

 a creeping yew. Among the undulations of the dome, and 

 especially in the depressed ring between the dome and the walls 

 of the crater, are situated some six or seven tarns. One of these, 

 on the maj-gin of which we stopped to rest, is fed by hot springs, 

 which bubble up at numerous points near its edge. I had no 

 thermometer to ascertain the temperature of the water, but I 

 found that one spring, which rose in a small basin almost cut off 

 from the rest of the lake, was just about as hot as I could bear 

 to keep my hand in. This tarn is SSo feet lower than the edge 

 of the crater where we crossed it, this being the lowest point in 

 the whole circuit. I saw no sign of vaporous exhalation, although 

 local tradition has it that the mountain was active not more than 

 four centuries ago ; but time did not permit me to explore the 

 whole of the great interior space. Emilius ClaytoN 



Van, Turkey-in-Asia, June 20 



Meteors 



Several splendid meteors having lately been visible, the 

 following observations may be worthy of note in Nature. I 

 may add that the most brilliant meteor was the one recorded in 

 your columns (vol. xxiv. p. 189). 



June 24, loh. 28m., a very large bright orange coloured 

 meteor equal to Jupiter appeared near Vega. 



At llh. 29m. a deep orange-coloured meteor, larger and 

 brighter, than Jupiter, crossed the extremity of the comet's tail. 

 It left a short bright streak. 



June 25, loh. 52m., a yellowish-white meteor, as bright as 

 Vega, appeared near f Cygni. 



At I2h. 4m. a white meteor, as bright as Jupiter, appeared 

 just south of X Draconis, and after pursuing a wavy path, disap- 

 peared near 7 Ursce Majoris. It left a .short streak. 



July 3, loh. 23m. a yellow meteor, nearly as bright as Jupiter, 

 appeared just east of Polaris, travelled slowly in a wavy path, 

 and disappeared north of |8 Cassiopei. 



It will be observed that three out of these five meteor,- appeared 

 in that part of the sky occupied by the comet, and also that two 

 of them pursued wavy or zig-zag paths. B. J. HoPKlNS 



79, Marlborough Road, Dalston, E., July 5 



The VV-Pattern of Paddles 



In your impression of the 2nd ult. allusion is made to the 

 origin of the VV pattern which occurs upon paddles from the 

 Solomon Isles. Without illustr.ition it is difficult to understand 

 the transitions which have taken place, but with the objects 

 before you their history is easily read. I therefore inclose 

 sketches ; they are all from the same locality. In Fig. I it is 

 seen that the swell of the blade of the paddle has suggested the 

 idea of a fish's body, and accordingly the head with the mouth 

 and eyes of a fish have been carved in their proper place. In 

 Fig. 2 the same occurs, except that the blade is bent, probably 

 to adapt the paddle to steering purposes, or for some other 

 object. These two specimens represent the liead of a fish in its 

 realistic form. The progress of ornamentation is from realism 

 to conventionalism. By comparing Fig. 3 with the foregoing it 

 is easily seen that the VV represents the mouth and sides of a 

 fish's head reduced to straight lines, the eyes having disappeared. 

 In all the specimens in my possession its position is always that 

 in which the true fish's head occurs in the realistic specimens. 

 In Fig. 4 a further change has taken place, the mouth is 

 omitted, and the sides of the head have been brought together 

 in a point, thus forming a simple triangle. Possil^ly the idea of 

 a fish's head may have been altogether lost in this stage of the 

 ornament, but in the next example. Fig. 5, the idea revives 

 again, as so frequently happens in like cases, without recurring 

 to the original model. Two eyes are seen to be inserted in the 

 place where one occurred in the realistic specimens, the mouth 

 still being deficient. 



There can be little doubt, I think, that this interpretation 



