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NATURE 
271 
e number of papers has already been entered to be read at 
ectional Meetings, by well-known scientific men, and 
interesting excursions have been planned, including one 
mous pre-historic station at Solutré. So far, this year’s 
of the Association promises to be very successful. Im- 
y after the session of the Association is concluded, the 
cal Society of France holds its annual meeting at Roanne. 
Gorrer?, of Breslau, the veteran writer on the subject of 
plants, is desirous of disposing of his immense collection, 
uring which he has spent more than thirty years, and made 
haps the finest in the world, embracing, as it does, type 
secimens of 94 different works and 400 minor essays, repre- 
snted on about 1,000 plates. The number,of specimens exceeds 
0, and includes Sigillaria from sixteen to twenty feet in 
, and other specimens of equal magnitude. There are also 
specimens of different kinds of amber with their inclosed 
ants, and also a series of diamonds, with various objects 
cluded in them. In addition 'to the fossil objects there is also 
very large collection of recent plants, which serves to illustrate 
ie first-mentioned series, such as palms, tree-ferns, cycades, 
amboo, algz, sections of wood, fruits, seeds, &e. Numerous 
inal drawings also accompany the collection, which add 
much to its value. 
_ Mr. SmirH gives some very interesting details in the Daily 
‘Telegraph of his excavations at Nimrod. We think, however, 
the main result of his expedition is to show the necessity of a 
nore thorough and longer continued exploration of the ruins of 
ria than Mr. Smith has been able to give ; and the sooner 
ch an exploration is undeitaken, the more fruitful are the 
results likely to be. 
f 
| THE New Vor Herald of the 17th inst. publishes a letter from 
D r. Petermann, the eminent German geographer, to Dr, Strasnecky, 
the Secretary of the American Geographical Society. In it he 
says :—As at the departure of the expedition much stress was 
laid on its prospect of reaching the North Pole, the public at 
large, which has no idea of the difficulties surrounding the solu- 
tion of geographical problems, might look upon it as a complete 
failure. It should not be made a reproach to Captain Hall that 
he held out sucha prospect, for without it he would not probably 
have obtained either ship or money, or any other support. 
Placed in a similar condition, the same thing has happened to 
me and my friends in Germany, and it will always remain thus 
as long as the civilised Governments of the world devote their 
millions principally to the increase of their armies, and the 
scientific objects-only figure in the Budget for the crumbs, and 
‘aslong as people who are willing to add to the little knowledge 
we have of our own earth have to go begging for small contribu- 
tions. To me the geographical results of the expedition appear 
of an extraordinary value. At any rate they are the highest that 
_any vessel among the numerous expeditions of all nations to the 
"North and South Poles have ever accomplished for many 
centuries. I shall speak of the subject at greater length in my 
next Arctic report (No. 80). 
Ar the commencement of 1874, says the Deutsche Zeitung, 
“one or two ships of the German navy are to be sent ona scien- 
tific mission to observe the transit of Venus. These vessels will 
have to submit their observations, which are to be extended to 
ocean currents and tides, to the hydrographic office of the 
_ German Admiralty. 
THE first three numbers of a work on indigenous and exotic 
_ Lepidoptera have been issued by Mr. Hermann Strecker, of 
Reading, Pennsylyania, U.S. the object of the author being prin- 
cipally to bring to the cognizance of the public the many new 
species from all parts of the world embraced in his very exten- 
‘sive cabinet. While the preference will be given to those from 
North America, he, unlike Mr. William H. Edwards, includes 
some species from other countries. The illustrations, which 
occupy one plate for each number, are ‘all drawn, printed, and 
coloured by Mr, Strecker himself in the intervals of his daily 
labours, and the whole work is extremely creditable to him. 
The work is in quarto, and it is proposed to publish one number 
every two months, each with a single plate, crowded as fully as 
possible with figures. The enterprise is well worthy of commen- 
dation, and persons desirous of obtaining the work can do so 
by addressing Mr. Strecker, as above. A few copies only are 
printed, and the drawings then erased to make way for a new 
set. 
Pror. MEEK announces the existence of primordial species 
among the fossils collected by Dr. Hayden, in 1872, from near 
Gallatin City, Montana, U.S.—a very important geological fact. 
He has also found carboniferous fossils in various localities. Some 
of these are from the ‘‘ divide” between Ross’s Fork and Lin- 
coln Valiey, Montana, embracing many of the same species as 
occur in the noted Spurgen Hill locality, in Indiana, of the age 
of the St. Louis limestone. 
AT noon of July 8 Prof. Agassiz formally opened the Anderson 
School of Natural History on Penikese Island, thus bringing to 
a practical beginning the great idea of a summer school of natural 
science as first suggested by Prof. Shaler, Our readers are suf- 
ficiently familiar with the details of the circumstances which led 
to the establishment of this magnificent educational enterprise— 
first, the donation by Mr. John Anderson, of New York, of 
Penikese Island, one of the Elizabeth group, situated at the 
entrance of Buzzard’s Bay, and valued at 100,000 dollars ; then 
his endowment of it in the sum of 50,000 dollars to meet the 
current expenses; and {subsequently the presentation to the 
professor by Mr. Galloupe, of Swampscot, of a yacht worth 
20,000 dollars, for use in deep-sea dredgings and other explora- 
tions in connection with the school. Ina circular Prof. Agassiz 
gives notice to the public that the island affords no accommoda- 
tion to strangers, and that no guests can be received except- 
ing those who have been accepted as members of the school. 
The limit of fifty has long since been made up, one-third of 
them being ladies, while more than a hundred have been rejected 
in consequence of the limitation. A caterer has been engaged, 
who will provide for the table, and keep the rooms in order. 
There is to be no charge whatever for tuition, and as the dormi- 
tories have been built at the expense of the fund, no rent will be 
charged beyond a percentage of the value of the bed-room fur-° 
niture. The board is to be charged at cost. Should any persons 
desire to make collections of specimens to carry away with them, 
cans and alcohol will be furnished at cost to those who are not 
already provided. 
Tue Russian astronomers haye decided upon occupying 
twenty-four stations on the important occasion of obserying the 
Transit of Venus. It is found that the weather will probably be 
highly favourable to astronomical observation at all the stations 
in Siberia and on the Pacific coast, as there is an average of only 
three cloudy days in the month of December in these parts of the 
Russian possessions. The extreme cold of November is well 
regarded as an almost insuperable hinderance to the proposed 
work. The following very complete outfit has been ordered 
for use on this occasion, viz., three heliometers and three photo- 
heliographs, for use in measuring the position of the planet on 
its passage across the sun’s disc ; ten equatorials, for observing 
the apparent contacts of the limbs ‘of the planet and sun by the 
use of the spectroscopic method, and for the determination of 
the same moments by observations with the filar micrometer ; 
ten telescopes, for simply observing the instant of each contact ; 
and besides these, there is for each station a complete outfit of 
clocks, chronometers, and instruments for determining the local 
