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We have received from the U.S. Enginéer Office a well- 
constructed skeleton map prepared by Lieut. Geo. M. Wheeler, 
Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, covering that part of the 
United States west of the rooth meridian, and exhibiting the 
relations that exist between lines and areas of explorations and 
surveys conducted under the auspices of the War Department in 
that region. It is of interest as showing, in an approximately 
detailed manner, the routes of government surveys over the large 
area embraced. < 
AN excellent opportunity for obtaining a valuable collection of 
minerals and fossils is furnished by the offer for sale in the U.S. 
of the celebrated Troost Cabinet, which, indeed, almost belongs 
to a former generation, having been packed away since the death 
of its collector at Nashville, Tennessee, a period of over twenty 
years. It was brought together at a time when rare and choice 
minerals were more easily obtained than at pressent, by Dr. 
Troost, who was at the time state geologist of Tennessee, and 
succeeded in making up one of the finest series of minerals in 
this country. The collection is at present in charge of Professor 
J. B. Lindley, of Nashville, to whom communications on the 
subject are to be addressed. 
THE Syndicate recently appointed by the University of Cam- 
bridge to inquire into the scheme for establishing a county 
college at Cambridge have issued their report. While favour- 
able to the scheme generally, they are net prepared to recom- 
mend that any special title should at present be offered by the 
University to students in the manner proposed, or that the Uni- 
versity should prescribe rules for the admission of students into 
the proposed college. ‘They recommend that a general approval 
be given to the proposed scheme. His Grace the Duke of 
Devonshire has consented to name the trustees. 
THE Marquis of Westminster, K.G., presided at a meeting 
at Chester on Saturday, in furtherance of a scheme for uniting 
under one roof the City Library and Reading Room, the Society 
of Arts, the Architectural and Archzeological Socicty, the Natu- 
ral Science Society, and also for establishing a local museum, 
the nucleus of which is already secured to the city by a valuable 
and extensive collection of geological specimens presented by 
the Marquis. 
‘THE foundation-stone of the new Pre-idency College, Cal- 
cutta, was laid on February 27 by his Excellency the Governor. 
A NEw archzological society has been started at Rajkote, 
Kattywar, India, named the Sourashtra Society. Its object is 
the encouragement of antiquarian research, the recording of tra- 
ditional and ethnological information, and generally to add 
to the knowledge of the physical, social, and philosophical con- 
dition of the Province of Kattywar, 
PROBABLY the oldest collection of specimens of natural history 
now extant in the United States constitutes a portion of the 
present cabinet of Princeton College, New Jersey. It was first 
brought together by Monsieur Delacoste, a French collector and 
naturalist, who flourished in New York at the beginning of the 
present century, and who published in 1804 a catalogue of his 
curiosities (chiefly collected in Guiana), filling a pamphlet of 
about ninety pages. The collection embraces about 260 species 
of birds, 63 of quadrupeds (which included both mammals and 
turtles), over 50 of fishes, and other objects in proportion. This 
collection is still preserved, for the greater part in good condi- 
tion, at Princeton. The establishment of the Delacoste collection 
does not antedate that of Peale in Philadelphia; but that long 
since disappeared, partly by the scattering of the material col- 
lected, and partly from its destruction by fire. 
COMMANDER SELFRIDGE arrived at] Panama on January 
21 last, and sailed on the 25th, on board the steamer 7uscarora, 
for the coast of Darien, for the purpose of continuing the survey 
| thighed Colobus (Colobus bicolor) from West Africa, purchased, 
SSS ri ee 
of the Darien Ship-Canal route. Work will be commenced 
about latitude 6° 32’ north and be carried across the “ divide,” 
following the valley of the river Bajaya, a tributary of the 
Atrato, to its junction with the latter river, at a distance of about 
150 miles from the Caribbean Sea. 
MEssrs. BLACKWOOD AND SONS ‘have sent us a well-con- 
structed North Polar Chart, by Mr. Keith Johnston. Besides 
showing the latest discoveries of voyagers within the Arctic circle, 
the chart indicates each of the farthest points which have as yet 
been attained on the margin of the unvisited area, the great 
glacier and snow fields, the average and extreme limits of the 
appearance of sea ice, the northmost limits of tree growth on the 
land, the depths of the Arctic waters, so far as these are known, 
and the elevation of the land which surrounds them. The poli- 
tical boundaries of the countries which come within the limits of 
the map are also indicated. 
WE have received a copy of the correspondence between. the 
Royal Geographical Society and the Government with reference 
to the new Arctic Expedition which Government was unsuccess- 
fully petitioned to undertake. The pamphlet contains 7” exfenso 
all the documents submitted to Messrs. Lowe and Goschen, 
containing information of great intrinsic value. 
THE earthquakes in Samos continued in March. A report 
had been spread by the Smyrniotes that the statement of earth- 
quakes had been invented in the island to draw the Bey back 
from Constantinople. 
ll i Be 
On Feb 20 no less than 20 distinct shocks were felt at Afioom 
Kara Hissar in Asia Minor, causing great alarm, as there was 
also almost incessant moving of the earth’s surface. On the 
next day the wind veered round to the north with sharp cold and 
frost. 
ON March 7, at 6A.M., a smart shock of earthquake was felt 
at Rhodes, 
Our neighbours on the other side of the Atlantic are continu- 
ally sending us what they term ‘‘ Preliminary Descriptions” of 
novel forms of existing or extinct animals, These consist of new 
names, followed by short and very imperfect accounts of any 
apparently peculiar specimens which the author has had the 
good fortune to hit upon, a note being generally appended to 
the effect that fuller descriptions will shortly appear in some 
work now in hand. Our friends seem to forget that the form of 
ability which gives rise to an illustrious name, is gained by the 
employment of original method, rather than by the simple re- 
cording of novel facts. We fear that the large amount of un- 
digested matter thus brought forward may in the long run pro- 
duce a condition of dyspepsia of the scientific mind, which will 
tell hard on the more modest and painstaking workers on the 
subject, by producing a generally diffused and excessive scepti- 
cism as to the value of new discoveries, however promising. 
THE ‘Results of Meteorological and Magnetical Observa- 
tions, 1872,” taken at Stonyhurst College Observatory, show 
that the meteorological work there is done with great care and 
minuteness. ‘ 
WE would recommend to all science teachers the lecture re- 
cently delivered by Mr. Joseph Payne at the College of Pre- 
ceptors, on ‘‘The True Foundation of Science-Teaching,” now 
published in a separate form. 
THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include two Barbary Turtle Doves (7urlur risorius) 
from Africa, presented by Mr. G. Hanney; a Yellow-footed 
Rock Kangaroo (Péetrogale xanthopus), and a Prince Alfred’s 
Deer (Cervus alfredi), born in the Gardens; also a White 
