March 22, 1883] 
NALGCRE 
497 
reeling of the nearest houses as by an earthquake. Unhappily | 
the ignorant country people, when the first fright passed, with 
mattocks and sticks smashed it and took away the pieces, so 
that Prof. Calderoni, who directly ran up from Cremona, 
could obtain only some little fragments for chemical analysis 
and for scientific cabinets. 
A SCHEME is proposed for introducing electric lighting 
into the Canton of Vaud. The motive force would be derived 
from turbines of 5000 horse-power at Vallorbes, and the water 
supply being constant and abundant, it is believed that gas, 
which is very costly in Switzerland, may be entirely dispensed 
with throughout the district. 
A VERY severe shock of earthquake was experienced in Cyprus 
on the morning of March 5, at 7.30, lasting about fifty or sixty 
seconds. At Limassol the houses swayed and rocked in the 
most appalling manner, and uncemented walls fell to the ground. 
It was impossible for foot passengers in the streets to keep their 
balance without assistance. The mules and horses staggered 
about as though in fits. It was altogether the severest shock 
which has been recorded for many years. 
WE have received copies of the circulars just issued by the 
Local Scientific Societies Committee of the British Association 
to 324 societies, for the purpose.of obtaining such information as 
will be useful in suggesting further action. Appended is a list 
of about 120 local societies which publish Proceedings. 
THE Easter excursion of the Geologists’ Association will be 
to Hythe, Romney Marsh, Sandgate, and Folkestone (March 26 
and 27). On April 7 the Association will visit Westcombe 
Park, Greenwich ; on April 14 the College of Surgeons; and 
on April 21 Berkhampstead and Boxmoor. 
WE understand that a new weekly journal, devoted to the 
popular exposition of sanitary matters and to the education of 
the people in the laws of health, will be shortly issued by Messrs. 
Wyman and Sons, London. The new journal will be entitled 
Health. 
THE former limits of the ice-sheet of the Glacial period appear 
to be still more and more extended by Russian geologists, in 
proportion as the post-Pliocene formations of Russia are better 
explored. We notice in a recent monograph on the Geology of 
the Volga, by M. Krotoff, that the author, who is well acquainted 
with this region, considers the glacial formations described by 
Prof. Miller in the southern parts of the province of Nijni- 
Novgorod, as due to the action of glaciers, and not of floating ice. 
THE young Society for Caucasian History and Archzology, 
founded in 1881, has already published a first fascicule-of its 
Bulletin ; the second will soon follow. Prof. V. Miller has 
published his linguistic ‘‘ Osetian Studies,” containing in the 
appendix a paper on the religious beliefs of the Osets ; and Prof. 
Patkanoff has published the first part of his ‘‘ Materials for an 
Armenian Dictionary,” as well as a pamphlet ‘‘ On the Cuneiform 
Inscriptions of the Van system discovered in Russia.” 
THE Administration of Public Instruction of the Caucasus 
has conceived an excellent idea which cannot be too much recom- 
mended for other countries ; it is to invite schoolmasters to write 
descriptions of their localities, and to collect local traditions, 
folk-lore, &c., and to publish the papers received in the shape of 
a special collection. It is easy to conceive, indeed, the amount 
of knowledge which might be gathered in this way, and the at- 
traction which is thrown by a scientific pursuit into the wearisome 
life of a schoolmaster, who is lost in a small town or village, far 
from intellectual centres. When he knows that his work will 
not be lost, and when he is supplied from an intellectual centre 
with the scientific works he needs, he surely will find interest in 
his pursuit. This of course applies more to Russia than England. 
The two first parts of the collection thus started on the Caucasus 
wholly confirm these previsions ; as is seen from an analysis of 
them published in the /evestia, they contain, indeed, much 
valuable information, The descriptions of Erivan, Gori, 
Wakhichevan with its district, and of Chernolyesskoye village 
are spoken of as very useful work. Two papers, on the forma- 
tion of Lake Paleostome, and a summary of all places where 
the Caucasus is mentioned by the ancients, are very elaborate ; 
whilst a series of smaller papers and notes contains a variety of 
ethnographical sketches, folk-lore, and traditions. 
LAMPART AND Co. of Augsburg are issuing in parts a third 
revised edition of Hellwald’s ‘‘ Kulturgeschichte in Ihrer Natur- 
lichen Entwicklung bis zur Gegenwart.” Triibner and Co. are 
the London publishers. The work will be completed in twenty 
parts. 
AT the last meeting of the Meteorological Society of France, 
M. Moureaux, physicist to the Bureau Central, read a paper 
showing that the regimen of the rains south of the Central 
Plateau was independent of the meteorological conditions on the 
oceanic side. This communication is considered as an argument 
in favour of granting to the Bureau Méréorologique of Algiers 
the privilege of being in direct communication with the other 
offices, and issuing warnings for the northern side of the 
Mediterranean. 
THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include a Common Seal (Phoca vitulina), British 
Seas, presented by Mr. William Whiteley ; a Common Squirrel 
(Scturus vulgaris), British, presented by Mrs. Campbell; two 
Prairie Grouse (7Zetrao cupido) from North America, presented 
by Mr. Henry Nash; six Common Trout (Sa/o fario), British 
fresh waters, presented by Mr. S. Wilson; two Common Seals 
(Phoca vitulina), British Seas, eight Prairie Grouse (Zétrao 
cupido) from North America, deposited ; three Common Shel- 
drakes (Zadorna vulpanser), three Common Pintails (Dajfla 
acuta), four Shovellers (Spatula clypeata), European, four Chilian 
Pintails (Dajila spinicauda) from Antarctic America, two 
Bahama Ducks (Dajfila bahamensis) from South America, two 
Chiloe Wigeons ((JZareca chiloensis) from Chili, nine Summer 
Ducks (47x sfonsa) from North America, six Mandarin Ducks 
(Aix galericulata) from China, purchased ; an Axis Deer (Cervus 
axis 6), two Black Swans (Cygzus atratus), born in the 
Gardens. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 
THE OBSERVATORY AT MELBOURNE.—The seventeenth 
annual Report of the Board of Visitors of this establishment, 
together with the Report of the Government astronomer, Mr. 
Ellery, for the year ending June 30, 1882, has just been re- 
ceived. The meridian work with the transit-circle was for the 
most part limited to observations of standard stars, for the 
ordinary purposes of an observatory and the determination of 
places of stars used for positions of comets. The 8-inch equa- 
torial had been arranged for the observation of the small planets 
Victoria and Sappho, during the last autumn, according to a 
programme agreed upon with several European and American, 
and other southern observatories, with the view to another 
determination of the solar parallax. The large reflector was 
employed on celestial photography, for sketching a number of 
Sir John Herschel’s smaller nebulz, for drawings of comet 1881,, 
IV., &c. The nebula about 7 Argus was examined on three 
evenings, and was found to agree very closely with the drawing 
made in 1875. The majority of the smaller nebulz were found 
to accord well with Herschel’s descriptions. Nos. 57 and 1423, 
however, were much fainter than Herschel indicated, and Nos. 
1655 and 2181 differed considerably from his description. The 
positions of these nebule for 1$83°0 with Herschel’s notes are 
as follows :— 
