7«/)' 14, 1881] 



NA TURE 



247 



the perfection of the workmanship cause general surprise. The 

 objects found have been forwarded to the Stralsund Museum. 



The Thuringian Fisheries Union had a meeting at Jena on 

 June 7, when the Grand Duke was present. The proceedings 

 proved the satisfactory progress of pisciculture in Thuringia. 



A NEW commentary to Kant's " Kritik der reinen Vernunft " 

 will be published by Spemann of Stuttgart, upon the occasion of 

 the centenary of that great work. The author is Dr. H. H. 

 Vaihinger of Strassburg, and the commentary will be in four 

 volumes. \i will give a detailed explanation of the text, a 

 logical analysis of the contents, and an abstract of all the works 

 published during the century with reference to Kant's master- 

 work. 



Similar devastations to those which we reported from the 

 Caucasus some time ago are now caused in Turkey by grass- 

 hoppers. The Turkish Government is compelled to employ 

 extraordinary measures to overcome the plague. A particularly 

 voracious species has appeared in the Bodirum district (Smyrna), 

 and the whole population is employed to combat the insects. At 

 Angora all business was suspended for three days by order of the 

 Governor-General, and all the inhabitants w'ere ordered to march 

 out into the fields to destroy the grasshoppers. Every inhabitant 

 was compelled to deliver 20 oka (about \ cwt.) of dead grass- 

 hoppers to the officials. The sw^arms are said to emanate prin- 

 cipally from Persia. 



The Epping Forest and County of Essex Naturalists' Field Club 

 has held three field-meetings this year. On April 2 the Club 

 visited Waltham Abbey under the guidance of Mr. George H. 

 Birch, who communicated a paper on this interesting building. 

 On May 14th the Club united with the Geologists' Association 

 for the purpose of visiting the chalk-pits at Gray's Thurrock. 

 The conductor for the occasion was Mr. Henry Walker, F. G. .S. 

 Prof. Morris, who was also of the party, gave a series of mos' 

 instnictive addresses on the ground. The last field-meeting, held 

 on June 25, was microscopical, the conductor being Mr. \V. 

 Saville Kent, F.L.S. The Club met at Chigwell, where they 

 were hospitably entertained by the Rev. Linton Wilson, M.A., 

 at Oakhurst. Mr. Kent read a paper entitled "Infusoria — what 

 are they? — their Collection and Investigation." Field-meetings 

 in conjunction with the Hertfordshire Naturalists' Field Club 

 and with the Essex Archaeological Society are under arrange- 

 ment. The Essex Field Club has recently been making excava- 

 tions in the ancient earthwork in Epping Forest known as 

 Anibresbury Banks, under the superintendence of General Pitt- 

 Kivers, F.K.S., who will shortly give an account of the results 

 obtained. 



In the Poserua district, between Weissenfels and Lutzen, 

 saline springs have been discovered by the Mining Engineer, 

 Herr C. Reyher of Halle. The spring near the village of 

 Poserna comes from an old shaft which is said to be eighty 

 yards deep, but is now filled with debris. The water is effer- 

 vescent. Another spring was discovered near Stosswitz at a 

 depth of 19 metres, and rose with such force that it could only 

 be stopped with great difficulty. Some loo yards from the 

 latter a third spring was discovered. The water of the three 

 springs is strongly saline, and as they contain principally potash 

 salts, their discovery is valuable. It is now found that during 

 the fifteenth century salt works existed in this neighbourhood. 



M. Thorel, President of the General Council of the Seine, 

 has received an official answer to his inquiries relating to the 

 reasons why the Paris gas companies refused to sell their 

 commodity to Parisian aeronauts. It is probable that an arrange- 

 ment will soon be entered into, and that public ascents will be 

 resumed shortly as in former years, under the supervision of the 

 municipal authorities. 



The Kant Society at Konigsberg inaugurated a chapel dedi- 

 cated to the memory of Kant on June 19. The small Gothic 

 building touches the cathedral on the north side and forms a 

 fitting substitute for the " Stoa Kantiana," which has become 

 useless since the opening of the new University building. The 

 interior of the chapel is formed by a double cross vault. On the 

 left the same tombstone is let into the floor which covered the 

 grave in the "Stoa Kantiana," and which was originally pre 

 sented by Herr Scheffner. Underneath this the remains of Kant 

 are contained in a double zinc coffin. 



At Zanioly, in the Hungarian Comitat of Stuhlweissenburg, 

 two tombs have been discovered which contained coins from the 

 time of Diocletian. One was the grave of a boy, the other 

 that of a \ery tall man. Interesting remains of bas-reliefs and 

 portraits were found in the tombs. They were on pieces of 

 wood ; one shows the words " Bibite hoc." 



iH^yournal THegraphiqiiioi Berne, the organ of intertiational 

 telegraphy, has expressed its approval of the proposal to esta- 

 blish an international code for the protection of submarine tele- 

 graph property, both during war and peace. 



The German Geometrical Society held its tenth annual meeting 

 at Karlsruhe in the third week of June. 



On the i6th inst. an International Agricultural Exhibition will 

 be opened at Hanover. The exhibitors number over 1600. 



Mr. Murr.w has in hand, and will shortly publish, the fol- 

 lowing works of interest to scientific men : — " The Land of the 

 Midnight Sun," being an account of Summer and Winter Jour- 

 neys through Sweden, Norway, Lapland, and Northern Finland ; 

 with Descriptions of the Inner Life of the People, their Manners 

 and Customs, the Primitive Antiquities, by Paul B. du Chaillu. 

 In two vols.; with map and numerous illustrations. "The 

 Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms," 

 with Observations on their Habits. By Charles Darwin, F.R.S. 

 "The White Sea Peninsula;" a Joiu-ney to the White Sea, 

 and the Kola Peninsula. By Edward Rae. With illustrations. 

 "The Life of Sir Charles Lyell ; " with Selections fron his 

 Journals and Correspondence. Edited by his sister-in-law,. Mrs. 

 Lyell. With portrait, two vols. 



During the demolition of some old buildings at 406 and 407, 

 Oxford Street, last week, the workmen onreachiug the foundations 

 came on a quantity of old armour and weapons — helmets, breast- 

 plates, spears, swords, and daggers, some very cm'ious in shape. 

 On opening a stone vault they found also some plate, including 

 church utensils, such as a monstrance and a chalice, the work- 

 manship of which is thought to be of the fourteenth century. 

 The monstrance had a Latin inscription. 



An Agricultural Exhibition will be held at Strassburg from 

 September 11-18 next. Over 2000/. will be distributed in 

 prizes. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gai-dens during the 

 past week include a Weeper Capuchin (Cebiis capucinus) from 

 Brazil, presented by Mr. J. S. Chapperton ; a Grey Ichneumon 

 {Hcrpestes grisciis) from India, presented by Mr. Arthur Tower ; 

 a Central American Agouti {Dasyprocta isthmica) from Central 

 America, presented by Mr. A. Melhuish ; two Pileated Jays 

 (Cyanocoyax pileatus) from La Plata, presented by Mr. A. A. 

 Dawley; a Berg Adder (Vipera atropos) from South Africa, 

 presented by Mr. Borrodaile Pillans ; a CuUen's Eagle (Aquila 

 culletii), South European, eight American.Menobranchs (Meno- 

 branchits lateralis) from N. America, purchased ; a Common Rhea 

 {Rhea americana) from South America, on approval ; a Reeves' 

 Muntjac {Cemulus reevesi), born in the Gardens; two Scarlet 

 Ibis (Emlocimus ruber), three Common Widgeons {Mareca 

 penelope), bred in the Gardens. 



