
Fuly 13, 1871 | 
NATURE 
215 

netic disturbances in Rome, and the aurora borealis at Up- 
sala. Tothe magneticdisturbance on the 24th at Melbourne 
—_ 7 
correspond the great magnetic disturbances at Rome, and 
the very fine aurorze boreales on the same day in Ger- 
many, Russia, England, Turkey, Greece, and Sicily. 
November.—The aurora australis of November 9 at 
Melbourne, lasting from midnight till the morning twilight, 
corresponds to an hour to the aurora borealis which was 
seen at clear full moon on the evening of the 8th in Schles- 
wig, and to the magnetic disturbances at Rome on the 
8th and oth. To the aurore australes on the 15th, 
17th, and 18th at Melbourne correspond the aurorz 
boreales on the 14th, 17th, and 18th in England. To the 
great aurora australis on the 19th at Melbourne corre- 
spondsthecontemporary aurora borealis at Miinster, Nieder- 
orschel, Peckeloh, Schleswig, alsoat Upsalaand in England. 
To the aurora on the 23rd in Melbourne corresponds 
the aurora borealis in England of the 22nd and 23rd. To 
the aurora australis of the 24th corresponds the aurora 
borealis at Upsala of the 24th and in England. The 
magnetic disturbances at Rome on the 19th, 20th, 23rd 
24th, 25th, and 29th coincide with the aurora australis, 
on the same days, and the magnetic disturbances at Rome 
on the 1oth, 22nd, and 27th, with the disturbances at Mel- 
bourne on the same days.* Besides the aurora borealis 
on the 22nd in England, and on the 27th in Briinn coin- 
cide with the contemporary magnetic disturbances at 
Melbourne. 
December.—To the aurora australis on the 6thand 17th 
at Melbourne corresponds the aurora borealis at Peckeloh, 
Keitum, and in England. To the aurora on the 17th at 
Melbourne corresponds the contemporary aurora borealis 
at Miinster, Schleswig, Breslau, Keitum, and in England. 
The magnetic disturbance on the 22nd at Melbourne 
coincides with the aurora borealis on the 22nd in 
Schleswig. 
January 1871.—To the aurora australis on the 3rd and 
13th at Melbourne correspond the magnetic disturbances 
at Rome on the same day, and to the aurora australis of 
the 13th corresponds the aurora borealis on the same 
day at Miinster, Breslau, Cologne, Schleswig. To the 
aurora on the 15th at Melbourne corresponds the aurora 
borealis at Breslau and Schleswig on the 15th. To the 
aurora on the 20th at Melbourne corresponds the aurora 
borealis on the 19th at Thurso. 
February.—To the aurora australis on the 12th at 
Melbourne corresponds the aurora borealis on the 12th 
at Miinster and Niederorschel, Peckeloh, Wolgart, 
Moncalieri, Coeslin, Breslau, the pharos of the Weser, 
on the west coast of England, Eger, Datschitz, Florence, 
Rome, Volpeglino, and the aurora borealis on the 13th 
at 3 A.M.at Rome. The magnetic disturbances on the 
4th at Melbourne correspond to the magnetic disturb- 
ances at Rome on the same day. To the magnetic dis- 
turbances on the 5th at Melbourne corresponds the 
aurora borealis at Breslau. To the magnetic disturb- 
ances on the 9th at Melbourne corresponds the aurora 
borealis at Cleve and Thurso. 
EDWARD HEIs 
Minster, Westphalia, June 30 


SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 
LonDON 
' Entomological Society, July 3.—A, R. Wallace, president, 
in the chair. Prof. Westwood exhibited the minute-book of pro- 
ceedings of an Entomological Society existing in London in 
1780, but which appeared to have been dissolved after about a 
year. The members seemed to have consisted of Messrs. Drury, 
Honey, Swift, Francillon, Jones, and Bentley ; the meetings 
being held weekly.—Mr. S. Stevens exhibited a collection of 
* Bulletino Meteorologico del Collegia Romano, dell’ Osservatorio di 
Palermo edel Collegio Carlo Alberto a Moncalieri. 

Coleoptera recently made in Ireland, the most interesting species 
being Chiemius holosericeus from near Killaloe. Mr. Champion 
exhibited an example of Hyws hirtus recently captured by him 
in the New Forest ; also rare British Hemiptera. Mr. Blackmore 
exhibited a collection of insects of all orders from Tangiers ; locusts 
were extremely destructive there, and on the shore the pedes- 
trian is often up to his ankles in the dead and dying accumula- 
tions of these insects.—Mr. Dunning read a letter from the Rey. 
Mr. Wayne, of Much Wenlock, calling attention to the damage 
done to his strawberries in consequence of a Myriopod effecting 
an entrance into the interior of the ripe fruit ; also complaining 
that his youngcarrots were destroyed by a dipterous larva, probably 
that of Psi/a rose, which bored into the root.—Mr. Druce exhibited 
a collection ofrare Diurnal Lepidoptera, including species of Papilio, 
Euryades, Heliconia, Eresia, Catagramma, Agrias. Paphia, &c.— 
Mr, Stainton exhibited an example of Botys fuscalis captured by the 
Rev. R. P. Murray in the Isle of Man, to the head of which a 
portion of the puparium still adhered; the insect was flying 
briskly when taken, notwithstanding that it must have been nearly 
blind. Mr. Albert Miiller exhibited a leaf froma vine growing 
at Basle showing the-damage done by Phytoptus vitis —Mr. 
Riley, State Entomologist for Missouri, exhibited a collection of 
American insects with their transformations.—Prof. Westwood 
read a paper on new species of exotic Papilionide. Mr. S. S. 
Saunders read a monograph of the Strepsiptera, describing 
twenty-one species ; he considered the group as undoubtedly 
pertaining to the Coleoptera, in the vicinity of RAzpiphorus. 
Mr. C. O. Waterhouse read a memoir on some species of Cazt- 
tharis. The Baron de Selys Longchamps communicated a 
statistical sketch of the Odonata ; the number of species of dragon 
flies now known he estimated at 1,344. 
Society of Biblical Archeology, July 4.—Samuel Birch, 
LL.D., F.S.A., in the chair. The Rev. F. K. Cheyne, M.A., 
was duly elected a member of the society, The Rev. B. T. 
Lowne, M.R.C.S., read a paper ‘‘On the Flora of Palestine.” 
He considered that it comprised eight distinct elements, four of 
the dominant existing floras of Southem Europe, Russian Asia, 
North Africa, and that of Arabia and North Western India, 
Each of these floras was stated to occupy a distinct region of 
the country. Interspersed with these are found numerous 
examples of plants belonging to palzearctic Europe, constituting 
its fifth element. The Arctic flora of Hermon and Lebanon con- 
stitutes the sixth. Mr. Lowne thought further that the cedars of 
the Lebanon, and the papyrus of the Jordan lakes were the 
remnants of two ancient and almost extinct floras belonging 
to two distinct geological periods.—James Collins read a paper 
“©On the Gums, Perfumes, and Resins mentioned in the Bible,” 
particularly pointing out the fact that few of them were indi- 
genous to Palestine, and that many have been wrongly named by 
the Greek and later botanists. In the course of his observa- 
tions Mr. Collins detailed the characteristic differences between 
the true and false Balm of Gilead, ladanum, sandal wood, &c., 
and the greater or less efficacy of their medicinal properties. 
Mr. Lowne and Mr. Collins brought for exhibition a large 
number of mounted specimens, and a complete collection of 
gums, perfumes, &c., to illustrate their respective papers. 
PARIS 
Académie des Sciences, June 28.—M. Claude Bernard in 
the chair. M. Robin presented a new edition of his great work 
on the Microscope.—M. Elie de Beaumont presented a most 
valuable book by M. Rivat, who died recently, and who was 
one of the chief engineers in the mining service, containing a 
new method of extracting silver from sulphuric ores, with the 
assistance of super-heated steam. The quantity of steam required 
was originally very great, and is now reduced to {th of what it 
was when the first experiments were tried. ‘Ihis process of 
quantitative analysis is largely used in the Laboratory of the Ecole 
des Mines, at Paris.—Father Secchi sent a memoir on a sup- 
posed relation between protuberances, sun-spots, and ‘‘faculz,” 
as discovered by him.—M. Struve and others sent a letter on be- 
half of the German astronomers, who will meet at Vienna, and 
asking for the presence of French astronomers. Some _instru- 
ments destroyed by the Communists were intended for that 
meeting.—M. Delaunay has circulated amongst the members a 
small notice relating to an intended meteorological atlas of 
France, and presented the volume of meteorological observations 
made at the National Observatory, which he calls the ‘‘ Obser- 
vatory of Paris.” M. Charles Sainte-Claire Deville rose im- 
mediately in order to present the French Academy with the 
