52 
NATURE 
| May 19, 1870 
Natural History Society on Novy. 11, 1869, under the title of 
“The Moss Flora of Sussex, together with Notes on the Struc- 
ture and Reproduction of Mosses.” 
THE first volume is published of Dr. Oppolzer’s “ Lehrbuch 
zur Bahnbestimmung der Kometen und Planeten.” 
A PAMPHLET lies on our table entitled “ History of Modern 
Aneesthetics, a second letter to Dr. Jacob Bigelow, by Sir J. Y. 
Simpson, Bart.” Without entering into the merits of the con- 
troversy between the Scotch and American doctors, it is but 
just to the memory of Sir James Simpson to say that it appears 
to have been conducted by him in an admirable spirit of courtesy 
which is not always found in scientific discussions. It is admitted 
on both sides that the first case of an anzesthetic operation under 
sulphuric ether occurred at Boston on the 30th of September, 
1846 ; and the first case of an anesthetic operation under chlo- 
roform occurred at Edinburgh on the 15th of November, 1847. 
The last sentence of Sir James’s letter to Dr. Bigelow, written 
when the grave was almost closing upon him, is full of touch- 
ing pathos :—‘‘ With many of our profession in America I have 
the honour of being personally acquainted, and regard their 
friendship so very highly, that I shall not regret this attempt— 
my last, perhaps—at professional writing, as altogether useless 
on my part, if it tend to fix my name and memory duly in their 
love and esteem.” 
‘In the North American Review for April appeared an article 
entitled ‘‘ Darwinism in Germany,” from the pen of Mr. Charles 
L. Brace, giving a véswme of the present state of biological 
speculation on the Continent. 
Mr. WILLIAM Hucues, Professor of Geography in King’s 
College, London, reprints ‘‘ Geography in its relation to History,” 
a lecture delivered at the Birkbeck Institution ; and ‘‘Geography, 
what it is, and how to teach it,” a paper read before the College 
of Preceptors. 
THE Food Fournal for May commences a somewhat minute 
description of Mr. Twining’s Museum of Domestic and Sanitary 
Economy at Twickenham, one of the most interesting and really 
valuable collections ever brought together by private enterprise. 
DuRING the present year, the following medals will be 
awarded for the encouragement of photographic discovery :—A 
large silver medal, by the French Photographic Society, for the 
best transparent pellicle that can be devised for the transfer of 
cliches ; a large gold medal, by the Vienna Photographic Society, 
for the best dry process ; and two silver and two bronze medals 
for other deserving inventions. The Hamburg Society also 
promises medals for important discoveries. 
AT the sitting of the Paris Academy of Science for May 2, 
the President announced the death of Professor Lamé, amember 
of the Institute since 1843. The deceased, a very celebrated physi- 
cist and mathematician, was born in 1795, educated at the Ecole 
Polytechnique, and was for some time engineer in the Russian 
service. On his return to France, he was appointed Professor of 
Physics at the above-named school, and remained in that capacity 
until the year 1845, when he was elected Examiner at the school. 
In the year 1848 he was appointed Professor in the Faculty of 
Sciences at Paris. Among his very many published works those 
on mathematics and the elasticity of bodies are the most cele- 
brated. 
ACCORDING to the British Medical Fournal, the weight of the 
late Sir James Simpson’s brain, including the cerebellum, was 
54 ounces. While, as is well known, the ratio between intellect 
and size of brain is by no means close, yet there can be no doubt 
that itis very important. Most of our great men have had large 
crania, Themale brain ranges chiefly between 46 and 53 ounces, 
its average being 49} (Quain and Sharpey). That of Cuvier is 
stated to have weighed 64 ounces, and that of the late Dr. Aber- 
crombie 63 ounces, but it is possible that some error may have 
crept in through the use of weights of different standards. If not, 
Sir James’s brain, whilst much above the average, did not nearly 
reach those of the celebrated men we have mentioned ; but at 
the same time, the conyolutions were remarkably numerous ; 
they were, says a correspondent, ‘twisting and twining round 
on each other as if they could not find room within the head. 
The island of Reil was very wonderful.” 
THE frontispiece to the Photographic Art Journal for May is 
the first published example of Mr. Woodbury’s new patent pro- 
cess of photo-mechanical printing in printing-ink. It was printed 
in a copper-plate press from a plate produced at the.establish- 
ment of MM. Goupil, at Paris. It is entitled ‘‘ Orpheline,” and 
is a copy of a drawing by Girardet, an eminent modern French 
artist. The other illustrations in the same journal are a photo- 
graph by Messrs. Edwards and Kidd’s photo-mechanical or sur- 
face-printing process, of a drawing made at Chartres last October 
by Mr. A. E. Browne; and a copy by the photo-engraving pro- 
cess of M. H. Garnier, of Paris, of an old lithograph by the cele- 
brated French painter Géricault. 
AN interesting application of photography to legal evidence 
has just taken place. The Spanish Government having refused 
to give up the Zornado, an English vessel captured some time 
since, or to give compensation to the owners, our own Govern- 
ment has acquiesced in the decision, a photographic copy of the 
private instructions given to the captain by the owners haying 
proved conclusively the more than doubtful character of the 
vessel. 
THE American Entomologist for April appears under the new 
title of the American Entomologist and Botanist. Mr. Charles 
V. Riley continues the editorship of the entomological depart- 
ment, while the botanical section is undertaken by Mr. George 
Vasey, of Richview, Illinois, who has long been known in the 
West as a careful botanist. The paper is published at the enter- 
prising south-western capital, St. Louis, Missouri, a town which 
also supports the Grage Cu/turist, a monthly journal devoted 
exclusively to grape culture and wine making, and the S¥%. Louis 
Journal of Agriculture, published weekly. An epitome of its 
contents will be found under the head of “ Scientific Serials.” 
AT arecent meeting of the Paris Chemical Society, M. Scheurer- 
Kestner read a paper on the composition of fossil and recent 
bones. He finds that bones which have been buried for long 
periods contain, besides ossein, which is insoluble in water, 
another organic nitrogenous substance, soluble in water, and 
into which he supposes ossein to be slowly changed. Running 
water gradually removes this soluble modified ossein, and con- 
sequently the ancient bones found in loose impervious soils 
contain very little organic matter, while those buried in compact 
clay may retain a large quantity of it. The rate of decomposi- 
tion thus varies with the nature of the soil ; but in the same soil 
M. Scheurer-Kestner believes that the relative age of different 
bones can to a considerable extent be determined by their chemi- 
cal composition. 
THE Scientific American states that Mr. Sherwood has in- 
vented an ingenious method for the separation of animal fibre 
from vegetable. The process does not alter the colour or struc- 
ture of the animal fibre, and permits the use of cotton or linen 
separated from it for numerous purposes. It is sufficient to 
suspend the goods in an atmosphere of nitrogen or carbonicacid, 
and to cause the vapour of perfectly dry sulphuric, phosphoric, 
or hydrochloric acid to enter the room, These fumes disentangle 
the vegetable fibre, and leave intact the animal—the two fibres 
can thus be separated and appropriated to their respective uses. 
ACCORDING to the Chamber of Agricultural Commerce, Belgium 
sent us during the year 1869 3,000 tons of meat, poultry, and 
rabbits ; and the birds, at any rate, we might as well have fed and 
hatched athome. Belgium exported in the same year 34,375 tons 
ee a i a nce RE 
nen gets emma meptee ts 
