192 
NATURE 
RES Cet ae a ip ey ee 
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[Fuly 3, 1873 
Ir has been announced by cable from America that a new 
planet (No. 132) was discovered by Prof. Henry on June 13. 
THE just published lecture, delivered in April last by Prof, 
Flower at the Royal Institution, on ‘‘ Palzeontological Evidence 
of Gradual Modification of Animal Forms,” is accompanied by 
an excellent and very ingeniously-constructed diagram of the 
affinities of the different members of the class Ungulata, including 
all the fossil as well as the recent forms. Each genus is repre- 
sented by a circle, the comparative size of which indicates the 
number of species included in it. The existing genera are left 
white, and those which have fossil representatives are surrounded 
by rings, which are so shaded as to make it easy by referring to 
an accompanying table, to find in which stratum the form first 
appears; the extinct genera appear as shaded circles. Conse- 
quently the Peccary and Babirussa are represented by unsur- 
rounded white circles, while Coryphodon and Lephiodon are all 
shaded ; Antilope is a large white circle surrounded by a late 
Miocene ring ; Aceraterium has a central late Miocene circle 
and an early Miocene ring, indicating its range in time. Sucha 
method applied to all the classes of animals, if equally thorough 
and accurate, would be an invaluable acquisition to Zoological 
Science. 
Tue following telegram dated Alexandria, June 30, 1873, 
1 P.M., has been received at the Foreign Office, from the Hon. 
H. C. Vivian, Her Majesty’s Acting Agent and Consul-General 
in Egypt :—‘‘ Telegram just received from Sir Samuel Baker, 
dated Khartoum, yesterday, reports his safe arrival there in 
good health, with all the other Europeans. The country as far 
as Equator annexed to Egyptian dominion. All rebellions, 
intrigues, and slave trade completely put down. Country 
orderly. Government perfectly organised, and road open as far 
as Zanzibar, El Zaraf navigable. Victory on June 8 with only 
105 men, over army of Onioso, This mission completely 
successful.” 
M. DE LesseEps is a candidate for the! place in the French 
Academy vacant by the death of the late M. de Verneuil. 
Tur name Drefanephorus having been recently used by Sir 
Philip Egerton for a species of fossil fishes, Mr. Sclater proposes 
to change the generic name which he gave to the Paradise Bird 
discovered by the Italian naturalist D’Albertis, to Drepanornis. 
We shall shortly have the opportunity of offering to our readers 
a description of this bird from the hand of Mr, Sclater, together 
with a drawing illustrating its peculiarities. 
Some years ago, in connection with the Berlin Geographical 
Society, an Association, joined in by all the chief European 
powers except France and England, was formed for the purpose 
of determining a standard European metre, to be based on the 
exact determination of the meridian between Christiana and 
Palermo. The work has developed itself into the ascertainment 
of the dimensions of the globe, and the Association has been 
now joined by France, England thus being the only power which 
holds itself aloof from taking part in the highly valuable work. 
The result will be the union of the triangulation of the whole of 
Europe. 
At the recent D.Sc. examination of the University of London 
Mr. Richard Wormell, M.A., passed in Electricity, and Mr. 
Augustus C. Maybury in Geology. 
ATTENTION has been lately given by the American Ethno- 
logists to the fossil skeleton of Guadeloupe, and they support 
the suggestion that it belongs to the Carib race, This admission 
still allows of considerable antiquity, 
Doctor Don Ricardo de la Parra, died at Envijado, in } 
Antlouquia, U.S. of Colombia, on May 9. He was about to pub. | 
lish a work on Elephantiasis, which had been a special study, 
‘ 
THE volcano of Puraca, in the western state of Cauca, in the 
U.S. of Colombia, has been in convulsion for three years, and is 
now causing great alarm. It gives rise to frequent storms. 
THE forthcoming number of Petermann’s A@i/theilungen will 
contain a very interesting article by Carl Dambeck ‘on the 
Geographical Distribution of Sea-fish, in \which the author 
divides the ocean into eleven regions, and gives lists of the 
principal fishes to be found in each region, 
Mr. LaMont’s fine yacht Diana, which was chartered by 
Mr. Leigh Smith, and which recently left Dundee on a Polar 
Expedition, is reported by the whaler Zc/ifse, which arrived at 
Peterhead on Sunday. The letters which have been received an- 
nounce that the paity were on June 1 last in latitude 77°40, being 
among the floating ice, which reached northward to Spitzbergen. 
At that time all connected with the expedition were well, and 
notwithstanding that very severe weather had prevailed since 
leaving Scotland, no accident had happened. The arrangements 
had been slightly interfered with in consequence of the tempes- 
tuous weather, and the island of Jan Mayen had not been 
reached, The Diana was to proceed along the outside of the 
ice towards the north-west corner of Spitzbergen, where she 
will meet a storeship which preceded her. 
MucH gratification is felt in Peru at the discovery of a new 
coal deposit near Pisco, which is said to be one of the best and 
richest on the Pacific coast, and the locomotives on the Ica and 
and Pisco Railway are using it with great success. The mine is 
situated close to the sea, and near a perfectly safe harbour, and 
the coal is said to be finer ‘in quality than any in Chili, and of 
great extent, and, if so, must prove to be of very great economi- 
cal value. 
A GENERAL meeting of the members of the Aéronautical So- 
ciety of Great Britain was: held on Monday evening in the 
theatre of the Society of Arts, under the presidency of Mr. 
Glaisher. A number of models prepared for the occasion were 
exhibited by persons actively interested in the advancement of 
the great scheme of aérial navigation. The chairman, in his 
opening remarks, expressed his satisfaction at having to record 
several marks of progress made during the past year in the 
science in which they were all so interested. These marks were 
certainly slight, but they were nevertheless decided steps in the 
right direction. Very many experiments of the highest impor- 
tance to the furtherance of aérial navigation had been carried 
out in many cases with what might be considered tolerably satis- 
factory results, ‘The Society had, he added, expended a sum of 
1,200/, in the construction of a ballcon the motive power of 
which was to be brought about by a small steam-engine, now in 
preparation, of a merely nominal weight, and giving, for its size, 
an exceedingly high pressure of steam. A model of this was 
exhibited in operation by Messrs, Thomas Moy and R, E, Shill. 
Papers were read during the evening by several gentlemen, in- 
cluding Mr. Bennett and Mr. D. S, Brown, 
THE French ‘‘ Society of the Friends of Science,” an associa- 
tion for succouring the widows and orphans of men of science, 
has distributed during the last three years, in spite of the mis- 
fortunes of the country, 88,439 fr. 
THE scarcity of rags has, it is well known, recently induced 
paper manufacturers to look out for new textures as substitutes 
for those formerly used. In France hop-stalks have been suc- 
cessfully utilised for this purpose, and in this country an attempt 
has been made to utilise jute for newspapers. A copy of the 
Warrington Guardian, printed on jute paper, has been sent us, 
and it appears to us quite satisfactory, 
A SociEry for the Promotion of Scientific Industry has recently 
been established in Manchester. Its object is the increase of the 
