NATURE 
[ Mov. 2, 1882 
Saturday Jast. Capt. Douglas Galton, C.B., was voted to the 
chair, It was unanimously resolved that H.R.H. Prince 
Leopold, Duke of Albany, who had graciously consented to 
accept the presidency, be formally elected to that office. Capt. 
Douglas Galton, in replying to a vote of thanks for presiding, 
said that the Museum had now entered on a fresh phase of 
existence, and had established itself as an independent institu- 
tim in premises which, after nece:sary alterations had been 
completed, bid fair to serve its purpose, for the present at least, 
admirably. The Council contemplated making the sanitary 
arrangements necessary for the Museum itself as perfect as 
possible, and it was intended that all such arrangements should 
be useful for teaching purposes; the drainage, for instance, had 
heen carefully considered by Prof. Corfield and Mr. Rogers 
Field, M. Inst. C.E , and the latter gentleman had generously 
undertaken to bear the whole expense of carrying it out. Mr, 
Twining had undertaken the whole trouble and cost of arranging, 
and for the most part of providing the Food Collection ; the 
Warming, Lighting, and Ventilating have been referred to a 
Special Committee, whose endeavour it would be to insure that 
every appliance was the best of its kind. The general collection 
was to be carefully weeded and re arranged, and it was hoped 
that the Museum would be opened to the public soon after 
Christmas. 
THE name zsanemones has been recently applied by M. Brault 
to curves of equal velocity of wind, and he has made a drawing 
of such curves for the North Atlantic in summer, using for the 
purpose 240,000 ob ervations on board ship. It is shown that 
an approximate namerical value may be attached to each of the 
ordinary terms used in ship’s I-gs to denote the wind’s force. 
M. Brault’s map, which appears in Comptes Kendus, is remark- 
able in that it reproduces almost exactly the map of mean isobars. 
Thus, during summer, that is to say, when the atmosphere is 
most stable over the great North Atlantic hasin, the mean zsaze- 
mones and the mean zsosars are the same, presenting only difler- 
ences that are nearly equal to pessible errors of observation and 
of construction. It remains to be seen in what meacure this 
important law is general ; M. Brault believes it to be so for 
every surface of the globe which is under what he calls funda- 
mental maxima and minima (such as the maximum and minimum 
of Asta, the maximum of the Azores), the fixity and permanence 
of which are such that they form together, and at six months? 
interval two distinct systems which suffice to define the two great 
phases of the annual circulation (Ephemeral maxima and 
minima are such as appear and disappear daily in.our latitudes ; 
while sodile or tempestuous minima such as cyclones or squalls, 
are grouped as a third cla‘s.) 
In his work on worms, Darwin has described some tower- 
like dejections which he never saw constructed in England, but 
which are artributed to an exotic s;ecies of Perrcheta, from 
Eastern Asia, naturalised in the environs of Nice, M. Trouessart 
has lately observed sin ilar dejections in gardens near Angers. 
faving collected a large number of worms from where the towers 
were made, he found no species of Pericheta, nor of any other 
exotic genus. In two or three cases he surprised the worms at 
work, and they were Lausmbricus agricola. \t was the anterior 
part of the body that was lodged in the tower. After the rainy 
period at the end of September all the tubular interior of each 
tower (forming a continuation of the subterranean gallery) was 
quite free ; but a few days later it was obstructed by recent 
dejections. M. Trouessart supposes that the caljtie or cap of 
the tower, getting hard in air, a time comes whe. the worm can 
no longer burst the upper wall as before, to place its dejections 
outside (so increasing the height of the tower), but deposits them 
within. Thus a long period of rain is necessary for these towers 
to rise regularly. The towers probably serve to protect the 
galleries from rain, and to afford a breathing place for the 
worms, where they are not seen by birds. 
WE learn from the Rivista Sctentifico-Industria‘e that Baron 
V. Cesati has resolved to sell his botanical collection. This 
consists of a herbarium of about 32,000 phanerogamic species, 
also a special cryptogamic herbarium containing at least 17,000 
species ; altogether more than 350,000 plants. There is also a 
collection of autographs of 2500 botanists. Any one wishing to 
purchase is desired to apply to the owner, at the Botanical 
Gardens of Naples. Full particulars of the herbaria will be 
given. 
In the construction of a railway bridge recently over the 
Ticino, electric illumination has been used instead of that with 
stearine candles (previously preferred for the compressed air 
caissons). The hygienic conditions of the workmen in the’ 
caissons is thus greatly improved ; as stearine candles impregnate 
the atmosphere wih smoke. Eight lamps of the small Swan 
type are used to light the working chamber ; a Siethens’ dynamo 
of abcut 30 lamp-power supplying the current. A second 
dynamo is kept in reserve, to be used in case of breakdown cr 
excessive heating. The additional cost of the system is regarded 
as Jargely compensated by the increased comfort in working. 
THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include a Vervet Monkey (Cercopithecus lalandit & ) 
from South Africa, presented by Mr. G. H. Jones; nine Hairy- 
footed Jerboas (Dipus hirtipfes), twenty-four Gerbilles 
(Gerbillus ) from Arabia, presented by Lieutenant Paget, 
R.N.; a Laughing Kingfisher (Dacelo gigantea) from Australia, 
presented by Mr, H. G, Austin ; a Ceylon Jungle Fowl (Ga//zs 
stanleyi 8) from Ceylon, presented by Mrs. Dick Lauder ; a 
Spinose Land Emys (Geomyda spinosa) from Borneo, presented 
by Miss C. G. Robson; two Sharp-headed Lizards (Lacerta 
oxycephala) from Madeira, presented by Mr. H. J. Clements ; 
three European Tree Frogs (/y/a ardorea), European, presented 
by Miss L. Burness ; a Rhesus Monkey (Macacus erythreus $) 
from India, a Malbrouck Monkey (Cercopithecus cynosurus) from 
East Africa, deposited ; two Canadian Beavers (Caster cana- 
densis) from Canada, an Eyra (felis eyra 3), two Sun Bitterns 
(Zurypyga helias), a Brown Gannet (Sw/a /eucogastra) from 
South America, two Globose Curassows (Crax globicera $ 2) 
from Central America, a Razor-billed Curassow (JWZitua lomen- 
zosa) from Guiana, a Greater Shearwater (Pufiinus cinercus) from 
Lincolnshire, six Knots (Z7inga canutus), a Lapwing (Vanellus 
cristatus), British, a Matamata Terrapin (Chelys matamata) from 
the Amazons, purchased ; a Muscovy Duck (Cazrinxa moschata) 
from South America, received in exchange. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 
ScHMIptT’s COMETARY Onyecr.—We have received a circular 
(No. 48) of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, con- 
taining a letter from Dr. Julius Schmidt, dated Athens, October 
14, in which he notifies his discovery of a nebulous object not 
far from the head of the great comet, which will be best given 
in his exact words. He writzs :—‘‘Seit October 9, 16°5h. liegt 
in S.W. neben dem Kometen eine der Form nach stark variable 
cosmische Nebelmaterie, welche die scheinbare Geschw indigkeit 
des grossen Kometen zwar etwas iibertrifft, doch im Ganzen der 
Bewegung desselben entspricht.” Dr. Schmidt appends the 
following places, the first and last being from measures, the 
second deduced from a star-chart — 
Dist. from nu- 
1882. M.T. Apparen 5. ee 
at Athens. RA. ; Be ay pens sees 
h. m. bh. am. 5: S40) a fe 
Oct, (O)-. 16 64) <2. TO) 15/53). = zSS ee waned 
TO}. .<) 101-30) ..-) LO) 00) 20ne ato eee 
IT ee 10°37 cc LO) HO Tere eso a ese rh ee 
On submitting these positions to calculation by the ordinary 
method of Olbers for a parabolic orbit, Mr, Hind has found the 
