566 



NA TURE 



[Oct. I, 



I55I 



The Exhibition of the Photographic Society is now open at 

 the rooms of the Old Water-Colour Society in Pall Mall. 



A NEW form of compressed air locomotive engine, the inven- 

 tion of a Mr. Hardie, has been put to a practical, and, it is said, 

 successful test in New York, on the Second Avenue elevated 

 railroad. The compressed air is stored in four tubular tanks 

 connected with each other by pipes so as virtually to form one 

 lai'ge reservoir. It is said that a^aving of 50 per cent, is effected 

 on the cost of working a locomotive by the use of the new 

 invention. 



A TELEGRAM from Geneva last Thursday states that another 

 large rift has opened in the Tschingel, a circumstance which 

 indicates that the mountain is still in movement. The inhabitants 

 of Elm, many of whom had returned, have been again warned 

 to leave their houses. 



We have received a very interesting coloured picture of the 

 moon, reproduced from a telescopic painting by Mr. Henry 

 Harrison of New York. It is the first of a series, and re- 

 presents the moon at the stage of the three days crescent. The 

 picture is twenty-four inches square, with the moon eighteen 

 inches in diameter, and the execution is excellent. It shows 

 the earth-shine very distinctly on the surface in shadow. As 

 to its accuracy, we notice from a letter by Prof. Harkness 

 that it was tested at the United States Naval Observatory, and 

 the result is stated to have been all that could be desired. This 

 picture is to be followed up by five others representing the 

 moon at various succeeding stages. The London agent for the 

 picture is Mr. William Wesley. 



The June number of the Jouynal of the Straits Branch of the 

 Royal Asiatic Society, published half-yearly (Loi.don : Triibner 

 and Co.) contains several useful articles : — Some account of the 

 mining districts of Lower Perak, by J. Errington de la Croix ; 

 The Folklore of the Malays, by W. E. Maxw ell ; Notes on 

 the Rainfall of Singapore, by J. J. L. Wheatley ; Journal of a 

 voyage through the Straits of Malacca on an expedition to the 

 Molucca Islands, by Capt. Walter Caulfield Lennox ; a sketch 

 of the career of James Richardson Logan, by J. TurnbuU 

 Thomas ; and a memorai dum on the various tribes inhabiting 

 Penang and Province Wellesley, by J. R. Logan. A journal 

 with such a programme deserves every t ncouragement, and we 

 hope it will receive it. 



The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge has issued 

 a series of coloured zoological diagrams representing various 

 typical specimens of animal life, from corals and anemones to 

 mammals. They are accurately and nicely executed after Leute- 

 mann's Zoological Atlas for Schools. Why should we still have 

 to go to Germany for such productions ? 



Under the title of "Anglo-Saxon Britain " Mr. Grant Allen 

 has published (through the S.P.C.K.) an interesting little volume 

 on the early history of England. He has taken pains to master 

 all the results of recent research in archaeology and ethnology, 

 and therefore the book has a more scientific flavour than usual 

 with such works. While adopting generally the views associated 

 with the names of Freeman and Green, he shows independence 

 of view, and treats his subject in an unusually unconventional 

 manner. Either as a reading-book or as a text-book for the 

 special period, it ought to be useful; it is certainly interesting. 



In " Miscellanies of Animal Life," by Elizabeth Spooner 

 (S.P.C.K.), the authoress has brought together a number of 

 interesting and instructive extracts from various good authorities 

 as to the habits of animals, which ought to prove interesting to 

 children. 



The double balloon ascent which we announced in our last 

 number took place at La Villette gasworks on Wednesday last 

 wee k, at the appointed time. The weather was splendid, and 



the two balloons were in view for some length of time ; but the 

 noise produced by the crackling of the net and the swinging of 

 the aerostat produced such an effect on the sculler that he 

 de-isted from his experiment, and contented himself after a few 

 pulls with an ordinary ascent. The experiment will be tried 

 shortly with more experienced aeronauts. 



On October iS a great electrical experiment will be made at 

 tlie Paris Opera to test the effect of electric light on theatrical 

 representations. The principal feature will be the lighting of a 

 large number of Brush lamps by a magneto-electric machine 

 revolving in the Palais de I'Industrie. 



The Ashton-under-Lyne Linnasan Butanical Society held its 

 annual meeting on Sunday, October 2. Its members belong 

 almost exclusively to the artisan class, and they are doing very 

 good work. Under the auspices of the Ashton Biological 

 Society they have undertaken the preparation of a complete flora 

 and fauna of the district. The annual report gives particulars of 

 the winter meetings and summer rambles of the members. It is 

 a remarkable and interesting fact that the science of botany has 

 been steadily and successfully cultivated by the Lancashire 

 artisans for a century, if not longer, and their meetings, w hich 

 are numerous, are held upon the Sundays. 



All our lady readers are familiar with the name of PuUar of 

 Perth, whose practical application of science to dyeing seems to 

 meet with general favour. The present representative of that 

 firm, Mr. Robert PuUar, is evidently conscious of how much he 

 owes to science, and lias recently been endeavouring to make her 

 some return. The name of the Perthshire Natural History 

 Society is no doubt known to many of our readers ; its present 

 president is Dr. James Geikie. At a recent meeting of the 

 Society Mr. Pullar handed over to the Society a handsome 

 and commodious house for their use, with accomu odation for a 

 museum, &c., Mr, Pullar himself having been the jirincipal 

 subscriber to the fund. The building will be known as the 

 Moncrieffe Memorial Museum, in memory of the late president 

 of the Society, Sir Thomas Moncrieffe. We trust, under the 

 favourable conditions in which it now finds itself, the Perthshire 

 Natural Historj' Society will do even better work than it has 

 hitherto done, and tliat its museum w ill become a model of what 

 a local museum ought to be. 



Mr. J. Harris Stone, M.A., will contribute to the Novem- 

 ber number of Good Words an article upon the Viking Ship 

 w hich was recently discovered in Norway. The paper will be 

 illustrated with woodcuts made from photographs taken by the 

 author. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Rhesus Monkey {Macacus erythraus) from 

 India, presented by Mr. Frank Smyth ; two Beautiful Parrakeets 

 {Picphottis pitlcherriiHus), an Australian Quail (Synirais misiralis), 

 a Regent Bird {Sen'aihis meliiuis), three Modest Grass Finches 

 (Amaa'i/ia modesta) from Australia, two Banded Grass Finches 

 (Fa-phila ciiicta), two Bicbenos Finches (Estre/da bichenozni) 

 from Queensland, a Melodious Finch {Phoyiipara canora) from 

 Cuba, a Blue-beaked Weaver Bird {Spa'mospiza hizmatina) from 

 West Africa, a Black-headed Finch (Munia malacca) from India, 

 two Ceylonese Hanging Parrakeets (Lcnculus asiaticus) from 

 Ceylon, presented by Mr. T. II. Bowyer Bower; two Dunlins 

 (Triiiga cinclus), a Ringed Plover {(Egialilis hiaticzild), British, 

 presented by Mr. Edmund A. S. Elliot, M.R.C.S. ; a Common 

 Viper {Vipera berus, var.), British, presented by Mr. L. A. 

 Sandford ; two Axolotls (Siralon mexieanus) from Mexico, pre- 

 sented by Dr. Heneage Gibbes, F.Z.S. ; a Leopard Tortoise 

 {Testndo pardalis) from South Africa, a Radiated Tortoise 

 {Testudo radiata) from Madagascar, three Bell's Cinixys (Cinixys 

 belliana) from Angola, presented by Sir John Kiik, C.M.Z.S. ; 

 a Hog Deer (Cetvtis porciniis), a Hybrid Mesopotamian Fallow 



