558 
NATURE 
| Oct. 30, 1873 : 
certain decision to be come to on the opinion advanced by M. 
Gaugain as probable, viz. that voltaic electricity is propagated 
by matter, while induced electricity is propagated by ether. 
THE German expedition for the exploration of the Libyan 
desert is expected to start from Europe about the end of Novem- 
ber, and from Egypt early in December, and it is thought that 
the first reports may accordingly be looked forward to about 
Christmas, The leader of the expedition is Dr. Gerhard Rohlfs. 
FATHER SECCHI, we are glad to see, has received permission 
from the Italian Government and Cardinal Antonelli to remain 
at the Royal College of Astronomy. 
AMONG the societies concerning which we have received in- 
formation since the publication of our list last week, is the 
Working Men’s College Field Club, of which Prof. Flower is 
president. It meets in the Museum of the College in Great 
Ormond Street, has been in existence only five months, but ap- 
pears from a reports before us to be in good working trim. It 
has meetings at which papers are read, courses of lectures by 
well-known scientific men, and several field-days each month. 
These field-days seem generally to be Saturday and Sunday, 
and we only wish that working-men generally put their Satur- 
days and Sundays to such an excellent recreative use. 
WE congratulate the Sunday Lecture Society on the excellent 
beginning, to be made next Sunday, of their winter course of lec- 
tures. Dr. Carpenter, we see, is to give a series of two lectures 
on the brain; and we think the society ought to consider 
whether it would not be advisable to have more connected series 
of lectures than they have hitherto had. 
In a final letter to yesterday’s Dazly Telegraph, Mr. George 
Smith concludes the account of his Assyrian Expedition. Alto- 
gether both Mr. Smith and the Zé/egvaph are to be congratulated 
on the results of the enterprise. 
THE following ‘‘ Science Lectures for the People,” are an- 
nounced to be delivered at the Memorial Hall, Manchester ; the 
Hulme Town’ Hall being now required for other purposes :— 
Wednesday, Oct. 29, ‘‘ Polarised Light,” illustrated by experi- 
ments in the electric light, by Wm. Spottiswoode, F.R.S., 
Treasurer of the Royal Society. Noy. 5, ‘‘ How Flowers are 
Fertilised,” by A. W. Bennett, M.A., Lecturer on Botany, St. 
Thomas’s Hospital, London. Nov. 12, ‘* On Parasites and their 
Strange Uses,” profusely illustrated, by T. Spencer Cobbold, 
M.D., F.R.S. Nov. 26, “Animal Mechanics,” illustrate1 by 
experiments with the electric light and the oxy-hydrogen lantern, 
by S. M. Bradley, F.R.C.S. Dec. 3. ‘‘The Senses,” by Prof. 
Croom Robertson. Dec. 10, ‘* On Muscle and Nerve,” illustrated 
by experiments with the electric light and the oxy-hydrogen lan- 
tern, by Prof. Gamgee, F.R.S. Dec, 17, “The Time that has 
e'apsed since the Era of the Cave Men of Devonshire,” by Wm. 
Pengelly, F.R.S. 
Tue French Association, as is known, is to meet at Lille in 
1874. Among the many towns which desire to be favoured with 
its presence in 1875 is Nantes, the Municipal Council of which 
has already devo'ed 10,000 francs to defray the preliminary ex- 
penses of the session, should it take place there. _ 
AccorDING to Za Nature the voleano of Mauna Loa, in 
Hawaii, is at present in full eruption. 
A Microscopic Society has recently been founded at Mel- 
bourne, 
Last Thursday the whaler Z77é arrived in Dundee, having on 
board R. W. D. Bryan, who was astronomer to the Po/aris Ex- 
pedition ; B. Manch, seaman; and J. W. Booth, fireman. All 
the men were in excellent health. On Friday the Ravenscraig 
arrived at Dundee, haying on board one of the boats ingeniously 
constructed by Mr. Chester, in which the castaways effected their 
escape from their winter quarters. It is about the size of a 
whaling-boat, and somewhat similarly shaped. 
THE Journal of the Society of Arts gives, from the annual 
report published by the Minister of Public Education, the fol- 
lowing particulars respecting education in Italy during the 
scholastic year 1872-73:—The number of students registered at 
the Royal Universities was 5,614, and in addition to this number 
1,333 persons were allowed to attend the course of lectures, 
making in all 6,497. At the Universities of Camerino, Ferrara, 
Perrugia, Urbino, 284 students and 22 non-students, in all 806, 
attended the course of lectures. At the Royal Institute of high 
studies at Florence the number of students was 214. The Lite- 
rary and Scientific Academy of Milan numbered 26, At the 
Royal School of Application for Engineers the number of 
students was 173, and at that at Naples 185. The Technical 
Institute of Milan was attended by 209 students, and the Normal 
School of Pisa by 41. 295 students were registered at the 
schools of Veterinary Science of Milan, Turin, and Naples. — 
The royal lyceums are 79 in number, with 4,228 pupils; the 
royal gymnasiums 104, with 8,462 pupils. In the royal colleges, 
which are 26 in number, there were 2,208 pupils. The following — 
schools received subsidies from Government :—32 in Piedmont, 
67,290 francs ; 19 in Lombardy, 49,810 fr. ; 10 in Venetian pro- 
vinces, 16,550 fr. ; 24 in Emilia, 52,800 fr.; 14 in Tuscany, 
31,200 fr.; 17 in Marshes, Umbria, and Roman provinces, 
20,800 fr. ; 54 in Neapolitan provinces, 90,350 fr. ; 5 in Sicily, 
6,200 fr. The number of elementary schools throughout the 
kingdom was 41,713 (being 3,413 more than were opened 
during the previous year). Of this number 21,353 were for 
boys, and 16,280 for girls. 33,556 were public and 8,157 pri- 
vate schools. The number of pupils attending those schools 
during the scholastic year 1872-73 was 1,723,007, showing an 
increase of 145,853 on the number of the previous year ; of this 
960,517 were boys, and 762,490 girls. The total number of — 
pupils attending the! public schools was 1,545,820, and those 
of the private schools 177,187. The total number of teachers 
in these schools was 43,420, being an increase of 3,102 on the - 
number of the previous year. Of these 23,212 were teachers 
in the boys’ schools, and 20,211 in the girls’ schools; the 
public schools being conducted by 34,309 teachers, and the pri- 
vate by 9,114. 
WE have received the Catalogue of the publications of Gaus 
thier-Villars, of Paris, for April, May, and June of this year. 
It contains the publications of most of the scientific societies of 
Trance, beside a number of original works in mathematics, 
physics, engineering, &c., which recommend it to the attention — 
of scientific men. A few more foreign catalogues have also come 
to hand, which we would recommend to those who wish to 
know what is being published on the Continent; no doubt the — 
publishers would be glad to send these catalogues to any oae 
asking for them :—Catalog des Antiquar. Biicherlagers von — 
Fidelis Butsch Sohn (Augsburg, 1874, sic.) ; A catalogue of 
works in Anatomy and Physiology, and Medicine generally, 
which belonged to the late Dr. Fahle, of Altona (T, O. Weigel, 
Leipzig) ; the satne bookseller has sent a Catalogue of standard 
works in all departments of Science. 
WE are glad to see that the Quarterly Fournal of Education, 
which is shortly to become a monthly, has opened its columns to — 
a correspondence upon questions relating to science-teaching. 
WE have received a separate reprint from the “ Proceedings 
of the Geologists’ Association” of Mr. D. C, Davies’ yaluable 
paper on ‘‘ The Overlapping of the Several Geological Forma- 
tions of the North Wales Border,” a 
