Sept. 1, 1870] 
rather high, and hitherto the cartridges have mani- 
fested a tendency to stick after having been fired. 
These facts alone would be decisive against trusting 
solely to the Mitrailleur. But it does not follow, because 
it is not good for all purposes, that it may not be useful 
for some. There are obviously many positions in whieh 
it might inflict great damage on an enemy. Doubtless 
much light will be thrown on its capabilities by the tests to 
which it is being submitted at Shoeburyness, and by the 
manner in which it bears itself among the fearful scenes 
in which it is at present playing a prominent part on the 
Continent. 
NOTES 
Dr. C. H. ScHAIBLeE has published a little pamphlet of 
t6 pages, entitled ‘‘Self-help on the Battle-field” (Sebsthilfe 
auf dem Schlachtfelde: Triibner), for gratuitous distribution 
among the German troops, and solicits its reprint in Germany, 
In spite of the great care now bestowed upon wounded soldiers, 
it is practically impossible, in great engagements, for all to 
receive immediate attention ; and immense suffering is caused 
by their lying as much as two days on the battle-field without 
being removed. In these cases the wounded soldier is thrown 
entirely on his own resources ; presence of mind and quiet judg- 
ment are indispensable at such a moment; but both are the 
result of a knowledge o: the proper remedies. This knowledye the 
author undertakes to teach in a concise and sinple way, intelli- 
gible to every understanding. He fisst poinis out the articles 
required for immediate dressing, which might be carried by 
every soldier. He then explains the mode of arresting bleeding ; 
the different steps in dressing the various kinds of wounds ; the 
treatment of fractures ; and concludes with some general rules. 
We earnestly hope it may afford some alleviation of the terrible 
sufferings caused by the present war. 
NOTWITHSTANDING the announcement which was made to 
the contrary, the International Metric Commission met in Paris 
from the 8th to the 13th of August, for the purpose of some pre- 
liminary business, and then adjourned to a more favourable oppor- 
tunity. Of the 25 foreign States which accepted the inyitation of 
France, 20 were represented, viz , Austria, Chile, Colombia, Spain, 
the Roman States, the United States of N. America, Ecuador, 
Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Russia, 
San Salvador, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey. The 
bureau was constitutedas follows :—President, M. Mathieu, of the 
Institute of France ; Vice-presidents, M. Struve, of the Academy 
of Sciences of St. Petersburg; Prof. W. H. Miller, of the Royal So- 
ciety of London; Prof. Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tute of Washington ; M. Herr, Prof. of Geodesy and Astronomy 
in the Polytechnic School of Vienna ; and General Morin, of the 
Institute of France ; Secretaries, M. Tresca, sub-director of the 
Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers ; and M. Hirsch, director of the 
Observatory at Neufchatel. The commission decided that the 
question to be proposed at a future time should be of two kinds, 
the first relating to the metre itself, the second to thekilogramme. 
A committee was appointed to carry out the needful arrange- 
ments in the interval before the next meeting, consisting of Prof. 
Airy assisted by Mr. Chisholm, Baron Wrede, and MM. Wild, 
Hirsch, Ibanez, Steinheil, Forster, Lang, and Hilgard, 
WE regret to learn the death of Dr. Bolley, the celebrated 
professor of chemistry at the Polytechnic School, Zurich, which 
took place suddenly on the 3rd of August. He was a native of 
Heidelberg, where he was born in 1812, and had held positions as 
assistant and professor in the University of his native town, at the 
Cantonal School of Aargau, and the Federal Polytechnic School 
at Zurich, From 1859 to 1866 he was director of this school, and 
NATURE 361 
during that time the number of students increased greatly, being 
attracted from all the civilised countries of the world. He was 
a commissioner from the Federal Government to the London 
Exhibition of 1851 and 1862, and to that at Paris in 1867. The 
works by which he will be best known are his ‘‘ Manual of 
Technico-Chemical Research,” and his contributions to the 
most complete and valuable work on chemical technology. To 
his efforts is greatly due the foremost position which the Poly- 
technic School at Zurich enjoys among the technical schools of 
the Continent. 
THE Dutch Scientific Society of Haarlem has proposed a series 
of questions to be answered by the Ist of January, 1872, among 
which the following are the most important :—r. To define, by 
anatomical and chemical researches, the mode of origin and the 
function of wax in living plants. 2. To explain, as much as 
possible by the aid of original researches, the history of the 
development of certain malformations and excrescences produced 
in the oak by different gall-making Hymenoptera. 3. To de- 
cide experimentally whether the roots of plants give rise to par- 
ticular excretions, and in that case to establish the nature of the 
excreted matters. 4. To study the works of Huyghens, both 
with reference to the state of knowledge at his time, and with 
reference to its actual state. 5. The value of the constant of aber- 
ration, deduced by Delambre from the eclipse of the first 
satellite of Jupiter, and that which results from tie more recent 
astronomical measurements, present a difference at present inex- 
plicable. The observations respecting the eclipses of the first 
satellite of Jupiter are required to be collated, and a new deter- 
mination of the constant of aberration to be deduced. 6. To 
make a new series of researches on the influence which the 
different colours of the spectrum exercise on the respiration 
of the green parts of plants. 7. To give a monograph of the 
flora of the sandhills of Holland. 8, To give a systematic 
description of the marine Phanerogamia. 
WE have to announce that Dr. Debus, F.R.S., has been 
elected Lecturer on Chemistry in the medical school of Guy’s Hos- 
pital ; and that the practical classes of the institution will be 
under his direction. 
Dr. T. E. THORPE, of Owens College, Manchester, has been 
elected by the trustees of Anderson’s University, Glasgow, pro- 
fessor of scientific chemistry in the room of the late Dr. Penny. 
On the 1st August severe shocks of earthquake were felt, 
about two in the morning, in several provinces of Greece, and 
were attended with disastrous results in the Parnasside and in 
Livadia. The town of Galaxidi and the villages of Khrusso 
and Arakhora suffered the most. The latter are nothing more 
than a mass of ruins; six of the people lost their lives, and 
all were more or less hurt. At Galaxidi all the houses were in- 
jured and some have crumbled to ruins; six children were 
crushed to death and about 150 adults were injured. Amphissa, 
the chief town of the province of the Parnasside, also suffered, 
but in a less degree. There seem to have been additional shocks 
the next day, but the dates are indistinct. 
From official statements and from private letters received in 
London, we learn that Guatemala is suffering from the frequent 
occurrence and great destructiveness of earthquakes. The chief 
ravages are in the district of Cuajiniquilapa. The earthquakes 
have been daily from the 14th April to the last date, the 18th 
June, with the exception that after the 3rd May there was no 
shock for three days. The greatest shock was on the 12th June at 
3..M. The motion was from S.E. to N.E., preceded by hollow 
rumbling. The church and chapel of the town were nearly de- 
stroyed. The principal parochial and municipal buildings, the 
prisons and custom-houses are in ruins. All the tiled private 
houses have suffered, especially those built of adobes or sunburnt 
