Jiine 7, 1877] 



NA TURE 



'13 



ventors of this country, it made them a very insignificant return. 

 Only about 2,00c/. was spent upon a Patent Museum. The Patent 

 Museum at Soutli Kensington was very inferior to the correspond- 

 ing institutions in France and America, and if we had such a 

 museum at all it ought to be a good one, and such as would 

 promote invention. He wished to nsk whether the Government 

 had bought or rented a large building for the purposes of an 

 efficient Patent Museum ? Mr. W. H. .Smith explained that the 

 space intended for the Patent Museum at South Kensington had 

 been taken up by the collection of scientific apparatus, but that 

 the Government still intended to arrange for a suitable exhi- 

 bition of inventions. 



A NOTE has been circulated in German papers, warning parents 

 against the use of india-rul")ber toys manufactured in France and 

 sold largely on the north of the Rhine. They were said to be 

 poisonous owing to a certain quantity of oxide of zinc which 

 was mixed with vulcanised india-rubber. The French Minister 

 of Agriculture and Commerce ordered an inquiry to be made by 

 the Council for Public Health, and the result is a declaration 

 that these objects are quite harmless. 



According to recent news received by M. Sidoroff as to the 

 mammoth discovered in Siberia, the carcass was found in the gold- 

 bearing sands of a gold-washing on the river Kundola, at a depth 

 of five metre.'. The flesh was very soft and of a light red colour 

 when freshly dug out, but soon hardened, becoming like a white 

 clay. It seems to be much impregnated with lime. The digging 

 out of the whole body will be very difficult because of the access 

 of water. M. Polyakoff has already lelt St. Petersburg for the 

 excavation of the body. 



A Tashkend telegram, dated May 10, announces that the 

 Russian embassy, sent last spring to Kurl, has made a thorough 

 survey of the route it followed, together with numerous baro- 

 metrical measurements of heights. Capt. Kuropatkin and the 

 naturaHst M. Wilken, have explored the lake Bastan-nor and 

 the route to Karashar, twenty-seven miles east of Kutl, whilst 

 Lieut. Serorguroff has explored and surveyed the route from 

 Aksu to Karakol, following the Babel pass. 



At the last meeting, May 16, of the Russian Geographical 

 Society, it was agreed to postpone the exploration of the Angara 

 river until next year, whilst the exploration of the water-parting 

 between the Obi and the Yenissei will be made during this sum- 

 mer. Besides, M. Sonimof undertakes a tour in Russia for 

 magnetical measurements. 



We learn from the Gardeners^ Chrcn'ch that Prof. Boulger, 

 ihe Professor of Natural History at the Royal Agricullural Col- 

 lege, Cirencester, is preparing a "Flora" of Gloucestershire, 

 and will be glad of any information as to rare species, locali- 

 ties, &c. 



A Committee has been formed having for its object the 

 I'resentation of a testimonial to Mr. F. W. Wilson, whose con- 

 nection with the Crystal Palace, after twenty-five years' service, 

 has just terminated. During the past quarter of a century Mr. 

 Wilson, by his genial disposition, obliging manners, and 

 thoroughly zealous efforts to promo'e and successfully carry out 

 t*:e various interesting natural history and other exhibitions held 

 at the Crystal Palace, has earned the respect both of his col- 

 leagues and the general public. 



Our Paris correspondent writes : We were present at the 

 Alliance Electric Works to witness an experiment on the 

 new caolin-light, which we had seen in operation at the 

 Physical Society, and which was recently described in Nature. 

 The Ruhmkorf machine was fed by a more powerful primary 

 current given out by an Alliance electro-motor of three-horse 

 power. The bar of caolin, ignited by induction-spark, was eight 



centimetres long, and fully equal to eight gas-burners. At the 

 same time three so-called electric candles were in operation, 

 each of them giving about forty gas-burners, and fully equal to 

 five caolin lights. Con.sequenfly not less than twenty-five lights 

 could be fed at once in separate parts of the same building or at 

 any distance. The light is admirable for its constancy and dura- 

 tion ; the quantity of caolin destroyed is quite insignificant — no 

 more than i mm. per hour ; the thickness of the caolin plate or 

 bar used is not more than 4 millimetres. The electric candles 

 are formed, as is known, by two graphite bars separated by a 

 caolin bar. It was proved that the agitation of the candlestick 

 produces no interruption of the current. Consequently a single 

 Alliance-work machine can feed the three lights required by the 

 regulations for steamers. The graphite pencils are consumed at 

 the rate of eight centimetres per hour, which is a difficulty ; but 

 it is expected that any length required may be supplied by means 

 of a proper clock-work. Experiments were tried on the same 

 day at the Palais de I'lndustrie for the purpose of illuminating 

 the exhibition of pictures with electric light. The ordinary 

 Gramme machines were set into operation. The light was found 

 steady, but the effect was not quite favourable anistically. It is 

 expected that with the .system of light division, an improvement 

 may be effected. The experiments were made in order to test 

 whether electric light may be utilised on the occasion of the 

 forthcoming International Exhibition. 



In connection with the above we may state that the experi- 

 ment with Jablochkoff's electric light at the West India Docks 

 on Tuesday night, was not quite successful, owing to some part 

 of the apparatus going wrong. The experiment is, however, we 

 believe, to be repeated. 



The destruction of agricultural and garden produce by the 

 systematic attacks of insects is yearly becomin g more and more 

 serious. The gravity of this subject has been felt of late years 

 not cnly by the growers of food crops themselves, but by scien- 

 tific men, especially entomologists, and it is therefore with satis- 

 faction we notice that some steps have been taken to obtain 

 accurate records of the habits and conditions most favourable to 

 the development and increase of certain well-known insects that 

 devastate our crops. A little pamphlet called " Notes for 

 Observations of Injurious Insects " has recently been issued by 

 Mr. T. P. Newman, of 32 Botolph Lane, E.C. In these notes 

 the necessity of such observations is pointed out, not only on 

 .scientific grounds, but also with a view to diminish the yearly 

 losses of food crops to the country. The " Notes " are illusti ated 

 with woodcuts of many well-known insect depredators as a guide 

 to their identity, and a ruled sheet is furnished for entering the 

 records and any remarks that m.iy appear desirable. These, as 

 well as the " Notes " themselves, are to be obtained free on 

 application to the printer, as above, and any information required 

 will be furnished by the Rev. T. A. Preston, the Green, Marl- 

 borough, or by Mr. E. A. Fitch, Maldon, Essex. 



Mr. Oscar Bbowing, in lecturing on Friday evening last at 

 the Royal Institution on the history of education, drew attention 

 to the science of teaching being in advance of the art. He 

 urged that, like medicine, piedogogics should be made a science 

 of observation on results obtained. Teachers should inter- 

 change experiences on results as well as on theory. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Mesopotamian Fallow Deer (Cervus mesofo- 

 tamkus), an African Leopard (Filis pardus), a Cheetah {Felis 

 jiiba'd) from South Africa, a Humboldt's Lagothrix (La^othrix 

 humboldti) from South America, deposited ; a Prevost's 

 .Squirrel {Sciunis pret'osii) from Malacca, purchased ; a Black- 

 backed Jackal [Cants incsomeles) from South Africa, prcser.ted 

 by the Earl of Guildford. 



