aa: ; 
Fune 5, 1873] 
mountains quaking and bursting in fissures, volcanoes casting 
out stones, ashes, and mud, and in some instances. flame and 
- hot lava. Smoke and steam from Asamayama have been visible 
from Yedo, several times this winter. In addition to the 
eruptions in Yechiu, Mito and Higo, the latter being especially 
severe and damaging to the cultivated land around it,—another 
mountain is reported as being affected with volcanic symptoms, 
Kurokami-yama, near Nikko, which has, so far as is known, 
always been very quiet, was shaken with a great shock oa 
March 12, at 3 P.M. The shock was accompanied by loud 
noise, and a strong smell of sulphur, which remained about six 
hours. : 
' 
, 
4 
4 
ApDITIONs to the Brighton Aquarium during the past week : 
a Porpoise (Phocena communis) from Rye Ba, ; a Sturgeon 
(Accipenser sturio), 6 feet long, captured by the Bognor fi-her- 
men ; Smooth Hounds or Skate-toothed Sharks (M/ustilus vul- 
garis); White Hound or Toper (Gal/eus canis); Thornback 
Skate (Raja clavata); Sting Rays (Z7rygon pastinaca) ; Grey 
Mullet (A/zgil capito) ; Flounders, fresh-water variety (//eurvo- 
 mectes flesus); Butterfish or Gunnel (Centionotus gunnellus) ; 
Allis Shad (C/ufea alosa) ; Salmon (Sa/mo salar); Ballan Wrasse 
(Labrus maculatus) ; Crabs (Cancer pagurus) ; (Portunus puber); 
(Polybius Henslowi) ; (Carcinas Menas) ; Zoophytes (Actinoloba 
_  dianthus) ; ( Tealia crassicornis) ; (Sagartia miniata) ; (.S. nivea). 
THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include a Bengalese Cat (/v/is bengalensis) and two 
_ Indian Crows (Corvus splendens) from Arracan, presented by 
Mr. W. Dunn ; a New Caledonian Rail (Ocydromus lafresnaya- 
nus), presented by Dr. G. Bennett ; an Indian Porphyrlo (Por- 
phyrio indicus) from the Navigator’s Islands, presented by Rev. 
J. Whitmee ; a dwarf Chameleon (Chameleon pumilis) from 
South Africa, presented by Miss Siddons ; an African Tantalus 
(Zanialus ibis); three Molucca Deer (Cervus moluccensis) ; a 
Vociferous Sea Eagle ( Haliaétus vocifer) from Africa ; a European 
Lynx (Felis lynx), and a Glutton (Gu/o borealis) from Norway ; 
a collared Amazon (Chrysotis collaria) from Jamaica ; two com- 
mon Spoonbills (Patalea leucorodia) from Europe, and two 
Wattled Cranes (Grus carunculatus) from Southj Africa, pur- 
chased ; an American White Crane (Grws americana), received 
in exchange ; three American Mocking Birds (Afimus polyglottis) 
hatched in the Gardens ; and an Australian Thicknee (Oedicne- 
mus grallarius) deposited. 
SCIENCE IN ITALY 
‘THE Transactions of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of 
Bologna for the academical year 1871-2 contains twenty-nine 
memoirs read by members at the sittings of the Academy and 
several communications from without. I find it quite impos- 
sible to do justice to these without exceeding permissible limits, 
but will briefly refer to a few. 
In a paper ona probable connection between solar eclipses and 
terrestrial magnetism, Dr. Michez, after describing the magnetic 
phenomena observed in Italy and more especially in Sicily 
during the eclipse of December 22, 1870, and pointing out the 
difficulty of separating the disturbances due to the eclipse from 
those otherwise produced, states the result of his laborious and 
careful study of the Greenwich magnetic records in relation to 
the passage of the lunar shadow over any part of the earth, 
Having determined the average ordinary declination and amount 
of agitation for the particular hour and season corresponding to 
that of each eclipse, he compares these with the declination and 
agitation observed while an eclipse was in progress, and collect- 
ing all these results and averaging the deviation of the eclipse 
periods from those of ordinary corresponding times, he concludes 
that an eclipse of the sun exercises a real influence on the decli- 
nation needle, that this influence extends through several hours 
_ before and after the period of greatest solar obscuration, and 
that it is manifested by a greater agitation of the needle, and an 
pa 
eke > . 
NATURE 113 
eastward deviation. Upon theoretical considerations, Dr. Michez 
shows that the moon’s shadow regarded in its relations to 
humidity should always produce an eastward deviation, but as 
regards the magnetic properties of oxygen should produce either 
an eastward or westward deviation, according to the position of 
the place of observation in relation to the shadow. Assuming 
that the latter, on a sufficiently large average, will neutralise 
each other, the residual phenomenon should be a slight eastward 
deviation. 
In a paper on “The Climate of Europe during the Glacia 
Epoch,” Dr. Bianconi, following De la Rive and Villeneuve, 
shows that the gacial extension of that period may have been 
due to greater humidity of climate rather than a lower mean 
temperature. Dr. Bianconi’s conclusions are almost identical 
with those I suggested about fourteen years ago when describing 
a curious summer accumulation of ice in a previousiy unvisited 
; Norwegian valley, where the snow line is actually lowered to an 
extent of about 3,000 feet, simply by a local increase of atmo- 
spheric humidity caused by the drifting spray of a double water- 
fall* The subject was subsequently treated by Dr. Frankland 
in a lecture at the Royal Institution. 
Prof. Filopanti contributed an interesting paper on the 
movements of the atmosphere, in which, after referring to the 
conclusions of Maury, that on both sides of the equator up to 
about the 3oth parallel constant easterly winds prevail, from the 
3oth to the 35th variable winds, but still with the easterly pre- 
dominating ; from the 35th to the goth, variable wind, with a 
commencement of westerly prevalence ; and from the 4oth to 
the Pole westerly winds decidedly prevailing. The object of 
Prof. Filopanti was to find a theoretical reason for these parti- 
cular limits. To do this he regards the atmosphere as subject to 
the operation of two forces, viz. the resistance of the earth, and 
the mixture of aérial columns due to variations of temperature 
of the earth’s surface. If only the first of these influences 
operated, the atmosphere would ultimately partake in every part 
of the velocity of the terrestrial parallel on which it rested, and 
there would be no sensible winds ; if only of the second, the at- 
mosphere would ultimately acquire throughout an absolutely 
equal velocity of rotation. He works out mathematically the 
amount of this velocity, and finds it equal to that of the surface 
of the earth at the latitude 35° 50’ 52”, which is a close approxi- 
mation to the 35° of Maury. ‘This he considers would be the 
uniform velocity of the air if the land and the sea were perfectly 
smooth, and he therefore designates the parallels of 35° on either 
hemisphere the ‘‘ neutral parallels.” Hence we are justified in 
theoretically anticipating that between the neutral parallels and 
the equator actual mean rotatory velocity of the air will 
be less than that of the earth, that is, the prevailing 
winds will be easterly, and that between the neutral 
parallels and the Poles the prevailing winds should be westerly, 
as there the mean rotatory velocity of the air should exceed 
that of the earth. The friction of the earth will be continually 
struggling to correct these differences of velocity, while the 
north and south movements, due to differences of temperature, 
will contest for their maintenance and augmentation. Prof. 
Filopanti goes further into details of special atmospheric currents 
to illustrate and confirm the above, but space will not permit 
me to follow him there. I have, however, so far sketched in 
abstract his leading idea as it appears to be an important 
contribution to the theory of atmospheric movements, and as 
far as I know is original. To some extent it is applicable to 
the vexed question of ocean currents, 
The ‘“ Hermaphroditism” of eels has occupied a good deal of 
the attention of the Bolognese Academicians. Prof. Ercolani 
described a number of his own observations and experiments, 
showing that this hermaphroditism is ‘‘ perfect,” and the subject 
was further discussed at two subsequent meetings, when the 
results of previous researches of Vallisneri, Valsava, Allesandrini, 
Mondini, and others, were stated and compared. Besides the 
above and some others on subjects of general interest, are 
a few purely mathematical papers, and several on pathological, 
medical, and local subjects, which I must pass over. 
Considering that Bologna itself is but a provincial town, and 
that the whole province of Bologna contains a population about 
equal to that of Birmingham, these Transactions of the Bologna 
Academy of Sciences indicate an amount of scientific activity in 
the highest direction of scientific research that we are unable to 
tival in any corresponding provincial district of Great Britain. 
W. MATTIgU WILLIAMS 
* “Through Norway with a Knapsack,” Chap. xy. 
