Dec. 3, 1874J 



NATURE 



93 



His party were all well, He had circumnavigated the Tan- 

 ganyika Lake, and found the effluent south of Speke's Islands, 

 which the natives reported to be Congo, identical with Living- 

 stone's Lualaba. He hopes to reach Jellala Falls and Loanda. " 



South Australian papers record with the utmost satisfaction 

 the success of Mr. John FoiTest in crossing from the western 

 coast of Australia to the Overland Telegraph, througli the very 

 heart of the only extensive region in Australia which remains 

 unexplored. He and his companions travelled nearly 2,000 

 miles, keeping close to the 26th parallel of south latitude. They 

 left Champion Bay on April I, and reached the telegraph line 

 on Sept. 27. Much of the territory passed over was of the 

 poorest possible description, and for 600 miles the travellers had 

 to force their way through a spinifex desert scantily supplied 

 with water. Tliey had several times to fight the natives. Mr. 

 Forrest has narrowed down, within very moderate limits, the 

 unexplored territory lying between the settled districts of South 

 and Western Australia. His achievement leaves only the direct 

 and more southern route to Perth to be traversed in order to 

 complete the data requisite for giving to the world a fair general 

 insight into the character of the West Australian Continent. 



The American Academy of Sciences held its half-yearly session 

 at Philadelphia on Nov. 3, 4, and 5 l^st, when a number of 

 valuable papers were read. We have only space for the titles of 

 tile more important : — "Results derived from an examination of 

 the U.S. Weather Maps for 1872 — 3," by Prof. E. Loomis ; 

 " The Composite Nature of the Electric Discharge," by Prof 

 A. M.Mayer; "The Decay of CrystaUine Rocks," by Prof. 

 T. Sterry Hunt ; "Geological .Survey of Colorado," by Dr. F. 

 V. Hayden. Dr. Hayden exhibited photographs of ruined cities 

 and villages discovered by his party in the caiions leading into 

 tlie Colorado River and upon the plains in the vicinity, supposed 

 t) have been built more than 1,000 ye.ars ago by the ancestors 

 of the present Moquis Indians. The important fact established 

 Ijy these discoveries is, that there once existeil in what are now 

 tlie arid plains and savage gorges of South-eastern Colorado a 

 race so far civilised that they built large cities, constructing their 

 houses of well-hewn blocks of stone, with timber floors, well- 

 formed windows and doorways, and smoothly plastered w.alls, 

 and that they possessed the art of making glazed pottery. — 

 " Nervous System of Limulus," by Mr. A. S. Packard, jun. ; 

 " Measuring Minute Changes in Atmospheric Pressure," by Prof. 

 A. M. Mayer ; " Effect of Wind on Sound Waves," by Prof. 

 Joseph Henry ; " Removal of Ammonia from Illuminating Gas," 

 by Prof B. Silliman ; " Physical Measurement of the Horizontal 

 Pendulum," and " Effect of Magnetism on Iron," by Prof. 

 O. N. Rood ; " Pala;ontological Evidence of the Ages of Strata," 

 by Prof. Theodore Gill. 



If adulteration in England has become one of the arts, it is 

 ceitain that we are not looked down upon by all nations as being 

 beyond compare in this nefarious practice. A large trade has 

 hitherto existed between Aleppo and England in^extract of scam- 

 mony ; but we are told that comparatively little is now exported. 

 " On account of its mixture with other substances," only twenty 

 cases in all, weighing 2, 100 lbs., were shipped during the past 

 year, the value of which was 1,680/., and the whole of this came 

 to England. In the previous year, 737 cases were exported, 

 showing that adulteration alone is rapidly driving this article 

 out of the import market, for the roots are produced as abundantly 

 as ever, and are dug up and sent to England, the extract being 

 procured from them in this country. 467 cases, weighing 

 93,340 lbs., and valued at 362/., were shipped from Aleppo to 

 England in 1873. Considering the bulk and weight of the roots 

 as compared with that of the extract and the consequent increase 

 of the cost of freight, it would seem that this exportation of the 

 roots themselves can scarcely be a profitable trade to the 



shippers, inasmuch as 467 cases are valued only at 362/., while 

 twenty cases of the extract are worth i,6So/. 



We learn from a report on the trade and commerce of Maine 

 U.S., that the quantity of lobster packed in cans in the factories 

 of the coast in 1873 was 1,600,000 lb., mostly in i lb. cans. In 

 addition to these, the same finns packed at their establishments 

 in Nova Scotia over 2,000,000 cans, making the total amount 

 packed by Portland houses in the past year, 3,600,000 cans of 

 lobster. Besides other products which are packed in tins in 

 America, as well for home consumption as for exportation, 

 green maize is one of the most important ; 4,000,000 cans of 

 this maize were packed in Maine during the past year. In 

 California a large and increasing trade is carried on in curing or 

 drying fruits, which at one time was done by exposure of the 

 fruits to the air. This, however, has been superseded by the 

 process of desiccating with a blast of hot air. By this means 

 the fruits retain all then: freshness of flavour. 



The scarcity of oysters, which is now attracting renewed 

 pubUc attention, is a question which intimately affects a large 

 number of people. The point is quite as important to the public 

 as that of the scarcity of salmon, which was taken up by the 

 Legislature thirteen years ago. Whether, as two rival parties of 

 theorists maintain, the failure is due to natural causes or to over- 

 dredging, the result to the public is the same, and it will only be 

 by some systematic investigation that the doubts will be set at 

 rest. That unfavourable weather should be the sole cause of the 

 scarcity of oysters, for a dozen successive years, is very hard to 

 believe ; and though it is only natural that weather should have 

 some effect upon the produce of these bivalves, it is more probable 

 that overdredging is equally if not more to blame. In such a 

 case some restrictions are necessary, and these restrictions cin 

 only be enforced by the action of Parliament. 



A FEW weeks ago we alluded to the suggestion made by the 

 Government of Newfoundland for the establishment of a close 

 time for seals. We are glad to see that our own Government 

 are also alive to the necessity for some steps being taken to pre- 

 vent the annual slaughter of thousands of young and immature 

 and breeding seals which takes place at present. The first step 

 will be to take the opinions of the owners of sealing vessels on 

 the advisability of such a course, and with this object we under- 

 stand that the officials of the Board of Trade have already 

 arranged to visit the principal sealing ports of Scotland. 



The Dailv NrM of Tuesday has a letter from its corre- 

 spondent with the Egyptian Transit Expedition, dated Thebes, 

 Nov. 9, from which we learn that the astronomers have located 

 themselves on an island to the south of Karnak. So far every- 

 thing has gone well, and if the weather only prove favourable 

 the work is likely to be successful. To the east the horizon is 

 unobstructed by anything except a distant range of hills, whicli 

 cannot measure more than one angular degree. 



A CORRESPONDENT,! " H. B. P.," writes to coirect Dr. 

 I 'etermann's statement quoted in last week's article (p. 61) that 

 the Ashantee War " cost nine millions sterling." " The utmost 

 cost of the Ashantee expedition," our correspondent states, and 

 he writes from the War Department, Woolwich, "was seven- 

 teen or eighteen hundred thousand pounds, and this includes 

 stores innumerable, which were returned unshipped, and which 

 have depreciated but little in value." This, however, in no way 

 invalidates the force of Dr. Petermann's statement so far as 

 concerns the purpose for which we adduced it. 



Mr. J. V. Jones, of University College, London, has been 

 elected to the Brackenbury Natural Science Scholarship in con- 

 nection with r.-illiol Collrge, nxfovJ. 



