344 
NATURE 
[ Fed. 8, 1883, 
a short communication entitled “Das Problem der Con- 
figurationen,” by Prof. Reye, of Strassburg. The Editor 
may be most heartily congratulated on the stait he has 
made: taking everything into account, we have little 
doubt but that his efforts will be crowned with abundant 
success. 
The most serious difficulty about such an undertaking 
is that of finance. The American Journal began its 
career with the Johns Hopkins trustees at its back: we 
suppose, however, that by this time it walks alone. In 
the present instance, the mainstay is the enlightened 
King Oscar the Second. Long may he live! The jour- 
nal is rightly dedicated to him, the dedication being made 
appropriately in one of the second-rank languages, which 
it is cheering for us to see, have sometimes their uses. 
M. D. 
THE FRENCH MISSION TO CAPE HORN 
BR members of the French Magnetic and Meteoro- 
logical Expedition to Cape Horn have taken up 
their quarters at Orange Bay, and have already begun 
work. The accompanying illustration, reproduced from 
La Nature, after a photograph transmitted to the Paris 
Academy of Sciences, will give an idea of the aspect of 
the station occupied by the expedition. On the summit 
of the hill are the astronomical cabins, beside which are 
placed a pluviometer and an actinometer. The large 
house in the middle distance forms the officers’ quarters, 
while the lower building is for the sailors, Along the 
shore are other structures partly shown in the illustration, 
a stockade for the tidal register, and an isolated tent for 
absolute determinations. 
Station of the French 
The mission arrived at Orange Bay, Terra del Fuego, 
on September 6 last. They found the country marshy, 
and were compelled to select a wooded spot in order to 
obtain firm ground. No time was lost in erecting in- 
closings and installing the various instruments ; and on 
September 26, the meteorological and magnetical obser- 
vations were begun. 
temperature at Orange Bay has been very mild; the 
thermometer has never been below o° C., and several 
times it has been as high as 16°. The air is very moist, 
and there has been plentiful rain almost every day, 
though not lasting long. Squalls have been rare. The 
magnetic observations will be made partly by instruments 
which will be read directly,—absolute determinations of 
declination, inclination, horizontal force, &c., and partly 
by means of regulating apparatus, which, so far, have 
worked very satisfactorily, and have given indications 
g seeing with those obtained from direct-reading mag 
Since the arrival of the party the | 
Mission to Cape Horn. 
netometers. The other duties of the expedition consist 
| in astronomical and meteorological observations. 
The expedition has been well received by the natives, 
one of whom speaks and reads English fluently. Indeed, 
twenty miles off, in Beagle Channel, is an English mis- 
sion station, which is reported to be very prosperous. 
On-the whole, the French expedition has been very suc- 
| cessful ; it may be regarded as one of the International 
Polar Observing Stations. 
HEATING BY ACETATE OF SODA 
M A. ANCELIN, Civil Engineer, describes in Za 
* Nature a method he has devised of heating for do- 
mestic purposes, travelling, &c. ,by means of acetate of soda. 
His object has been to devise a method that will possess 
all the advantages of heating by means of hot water, with- 
out any of itsinconveniences. For this purpose he sought 
