yune 28, 1877] 



NA TURE 



173 



and Mr. Larmuth a research upon the ' ' Physiological Action 

 of certain Vanadium Compounds." The number of students in 

 the various departments of the College during the session just 

 closed has been — Arts, Science, and Law, 415 ; Medicine, 175 ; 

 Evening Classes, 900 ; making a total — allowing for double 

 entries — of 1,450, being an increase of seventy on the number 

 registered durmg the session of 1875-76. 



Leeds. — -On Saturday the prizes and certificates awarded to 

 the students at the termination of the third session of the York- 

 shire College of Science were distributed by Lord Frederick C. 

 Cavendish, the President of the College. Thoroughly gratifying 

 reports of progress were made by all the professors. Not only 

 has a site been obtained for the erection of permanent buildings, 

 but an architect has been appointed to prepare plans and 

 superintend the erection of the buildings. The first step has 

 been taken to provide what we have all along advocated, a com- 

 plete curriculum in literature as well as in science, by the 

 appointment of Mr. Marshall as classical professor, and it is 

 hoped that in a very short time a professor of modern literature 

 will also be added to the staff. Liberal contributions have 

 already been made towards the great expenses required to start 

 the institution, and the University E.\tension Committee have 

 handed over the whole of the funds of which they had been 

 made administrators in connection with Leeds, Still to attain 

 anything like efficiency the sum already obtained must be 

 doubled. It is the people of Yorkshire who will mainly benefit 

 by this new institution, and we hope it will not be difficult 

 to convince them that it is both their interest and their duty to 

 provide the greater portion of the funds required. 



DtTRHAM. — At a recent Convocation the foUowmg degrees 

 and licences were conferred in connection with the University : — 

 B.Sc. : John Thomas Dunn, Mather Scholar. Associates in 

 Physical Science : Edwin Cooke, John Richard Hutchinson 

 Williamson. 



Paris. — The reconstruction of Charlemagne College, one of 

 the most celebrated national colleges in Paris, has just been 

 finished. The fitting-up of the buildings has begun, and they 

 will be ready by October next. This college was established 

 after the Revolution in the Hotel d'Anville, rue St. Antoiue, 

 which had been purchased from Anne de Montmorency by the 

 Cardinal of Uourbon, and bequeathed by him tothejesuits, then 

 in hostility with the University. 



A large number of houses having been pulled down in the 

 Quartier Latin to make room for the Boulevard St. Germain, the 

 works for the enlargement of the School of Medicine have been 

 begun, and will be completed before the Exliibition. The 

 expense will be 2,838,000 fr. 



NOTES 



The varied and cultured tastes of the Emperor of Brazil are 

 unusual even among private individuals, and probably without a 

 parallel among his own limited class ; his activity and eagerness 

 for knowledge are astonishing. While in Paris, as we stated at 

 the time, he was present at almost every scientific meeting of any 

 importance, and in London this interest in science manifests 

 itself quite as strongly. He has attended every meeting of the 

 Royal Society, since his arrival, was present at Mr. A. R. 

 Wallace's lecture, carefully inspected the Science School at 

 South Kensington, called the other day on Mr. Crookes, visited 

 Dr. Siemens on Tuesday and Mr. Spottiswoode on Wednesday, 

 and Jndeed has conversed with almost every man of science in 

 London who has been doing any original work during the past 

 few years. These visits are not mere formalities, for the 

 Emperor is not satisfied until he masters whatever new research 

 is submitted to him. On Tuesday he was made an honorary 

 member of the Anthropological Institute and of the Royal His- 

 torical Society. Were the Emperor to stay here for some time 

 we believe his presence would have a distinct influence on the 

 public recognition of science ; and if there were any one in this 

 country in a similar station who took an equally real interest in 

 science, we believe it would be all the better. 



Under the auspices of the Sanitary Institute, Dr. Richardson, 

 F.R.S., will deliver a lecture at the Royal Institution, Albe- 



marle Street, on Thursday next, at 4 p.m., "On the Future of 

 Sanitary Science in relation to Political, Medical, and Social 

 Progress. " We hope to give a verbatim report of this lecture in 

 next week's number. 



The last meeting of the Royal Society previous to the recess 

 was held last Thursday. 



We regret to see that Poggendorffs name has been entirely 

 suppressed in the title-page of the new volume of the Annalen. 

 The journal now edited by Borchardt still bears Crelle's name, 

 and our Philosophical Magazine still keeps the names of Tilloch 

 Nicholson, and Thomson on its title-page. A similar allusion 

 to the man who has made the Annalen what they are, would 

 have been a better tribute to his memory than the short account 

 of his life which closes what we must now call the last volume of 

 Poggendorff s Annalen. 



The twenty-si.xth meeting ot the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science will be held at Nashville, Tennes- 

 see, commencing August 29, 1877. The president at this meet- 

 ing will be Prof. Simon Newcomb ; the permanent secretary is 

 Prof. F. W. Putnam. 



The Geologists' Association have arranged for an excursion 

 mto Derbyshire on Monday, July 23 and five following days, 

 under the direction of the Rev. J. M. Mello, Prof. Boyd Dawkinp, 

 and Mr. Rooke Pennington. 



The Select Committee to which the Ancient Monuments' Bill 

 was referred met on Monday, when Sir Joliu Lubbock was 

 chosen chairman. The Committee meets again on Monday next, 

 when evidence will be taken. 



At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on Mon- 

 day, the last of the three lectures on scientific geography arranged 

 for this session was given by Mr. A. R. Wallace, " On the 

 Comparative Antiquity of the Continents. " The object of the 

 lecture was to establish the comparative antiquity of continents 

 by an examination of the living and extinct animals found in each, 

 and the lecturer came to the general conclusion that the main 

 divisions of the eaith had been nearly the same from the earliest 

 period. The Emperor of Brazil was present during the lecture. 



In our report of the Anniversary Meeting of the Geographical 

 Society it was stated that the Society contemplated organising 

 an African Exploration Fund. The Society, it is known, has 

 taken no share in the International African Association founded 

 by the King of the Belgians ; while doing everything to forward 

 the views of that association, it seems to be of opinion that 

 England ought to carry out African exploration independently. 

 The Prince of Wales has become patron of the African Fund, 

 and a special committee has been appointed, with the president 

 of the society as chairman, the society having given a special 

 donation of 500/. A map accompanying the programme of 

 the scheme shows how large an area has been explored 

 by British travellers, and several routes in Eastern Africa 

 are suggested for exploration or careful examination. A 

 comparison has been [made of the length of each journey 

 in Africa in a few recent instances, with the cost of 

 making it. It appears that the total expense of despatching a 

 well-equipped exploratory expedition from England may be 

 roughly reckoned at the rate of \l. 10s. for each geographical 

 mile of country travelled over in Africa, supposing the expedition 

 to return to the place whence it set out. In through journeys 

 the rate is in many cases nearly twice as great. The aggregate 

 length of the seven specified routes is about 7, 700 geographical 

 miles ; consequently, the total cost of the proposed explorations, 

 at the above rate, would amount to about 11,550/. No doubt 

 many besides fellows of the society will be willing to help forward 

 this new scheme. In connection with this we may here state 



