Feb. 25, 1875J 



NATURE 



333 



Kingsley Memorial," be founded for the encouragement of 

 Natm'al Science, to be n^cn to residents and students within 

 the district embraced by the society, subject to sucli regulations 

 as may be hereafter agreed upon. 2. That if a sufficient fund 

 be raised, a medal may from time to time be given by the 

 Chester Society of Natural Science, for original research within 

 the district of the aforesaid society, and that the medal be called 

 "The Kingsley IWemorial Medal." 



We are glad to see from the report of the Syndicate appointed 

 by the Senate of Cambridge , University to organise and super- 

 intend courses of lectures' and classes at a limited number of 

 populous centres, that the scheme is working well and is em- 

 bracing a rapidly widening area. In the first term of 1873-4, the 

 number of towns which took advantage of the scheme was three — 

 Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester. This number increased to 

 seven in the following term, and to twelve in the first term of 

 1874-5. During the present term lectures and classes are being 

 carried on in the following sixteen centres : — Nottingham, Derby, 

 Leicester, Lincoln, Chesterfield, in the Midland district ; Leeds, 

 Bradford, Keighley, Halifax, Sheffield, in the Yorksliire dis- 

 trict; Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley, Burslem, Newcastle-under-Lyme, 

 in the South .Staffordshire district ; Liverpool and Birkenhead 

 in the Liverpool district. The subjects on which the lecturers 

 are giving instruction during the present term are Political Eco- 

 nomy, English Constitutional History, English Literature, Logic, 

 Physical Geography, Geology, Astronomy, Physical Optics and 

 Spectrum Analysis. A course of lectures is generally concluded 

 in one term, though occasionally it extends over a longer period. 

 The term's course comprises the delivery of twelve weekly lec- 

 tures and the holding of twelve weekly classes. During the 

 present term the number of lecturers employed is thirteen ; the 

 total number of pupils attending the courses is about 3,500 ; and 

 the sum payable to the University for the teaching, examination, 

 and certificates is 1,150/. The Syndicate recommend the adop- 

 tion of a standing Syndicate for the organisation and superinten- 

 dence of the lectures. A gentleman in Nottingham has offered the 

 sum of 10,000/., to be placed in the hands of trustees, towards 

 the furtherance of this object in that town, provided the Corpora- 

 tion of Nottingham will erect buildings for the accommodation of 

 the University lecturers, to the satisfaction of the S)'ndicate of the 

 University of Cambridge. 



A SERIES of (Davis) Lectures upon zoological subjects will be 

 given in the New Lecture Room, in the Zoological Society's 

 Gardens, Regent's Paik, on Thursdays, at 5 p.m., after Easter : — 

 April 15, "Monkeys and their Distribution," by Dr. P. L. 

 Sclater, F.R.S. ; April 22, "Sea-Lions," by J. W. Clark, 

 M.A. ; April 29, " Seals and the Walrus," by J. W. Clark, 

 M.A. ; May 6, "Deer and their Allies," by Prof. Garrod ; 

 May 13, " Sheep, Oxen, and Antelopes," by Prof. Garrod ; 

 May 27, "Camels and Llamas," by Prof Garrod; June 3, 

 "Elephants," by Prof Flower, F.R.S. ; June 10, " Kangaroos," 

 by Prof. Mivart, F.R.S. ; June 17, "Pheasants and their 

 AlUes," by Dr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S. ; June 24, "The Loco- 

 motion of Animals," by Dr. Pye Smith. The lectures will be 

 free to Fellows of the Society and their friends, and to other 

 visitors to the Gardens. 



William Parkinson Wilson, Professor of Mathematics at 

 the Melbourne University, died suddenly on Dec. 11. He was 

 Senior Wrangler in 1847, and a Fellow of St. John's, Cambridge, 

 and arrived in the colony in 1S55 as a member of the first pro- 

 fessorial staff of the University, which he has zealously served 

 ever since. The Professor was everywhere respected. He was, 

 the Times correspondent states, at the head of all scientific 

 movements, devoting himself energetically to anything which 

 promised to promote the intellectual progress of the colony. 

 The selection of his successor at the University is entrusted to 

 Prof Adams, of Cambridge. 



A MUNIFICENT gift has been made to Melbourne University. 

 Mr. Samuel Wilson, of Ercildoun, who recently gave i 100/ 

 to the Acclimatijation Society, has sent 30,000/. to the Chan- 

 cellor, intended for the erection of a hall, but free of conditions 

 and to be othervs'ise applied if the authorities think fit. 



The Khedive has instructed Dr. Schweinfurth to organise an 

 African Geographical Society in Egypt. 



A GRANT of 50/. has been made from the Worts Travelling 

 Scholars' Fund (Cambridge) to Arthur Marshall, B.A., of St. 

 John's, to enable him to visit Naples for the purpose of using 

 Dr. Dohrn's zoological station and making researches in natural 

 history, with the understanding that he; send specimens to the 

 University, accompanied by reports. 



Alpha Fibre, or Esparto Grass (Machnchloa tenacissima 

 Kth. ), the closely compressed bundles of which are so familiar 

 to us either in stack at wharves or in barges on the Thames in 

 course of transit to the various paper-mills, has created more 

 than usual interest of late, owing to the report that the supply 

 was becoming exhausted. In contradiction to this it is satisfac- 

 tory to note, on the authority of Col. Playfair, the Consul- 

 General at Algiers, that enormous tracts of land on the high 

 plateaus in [all the" provinces of Algeria are covered with the 

 plant. Thus, in the province of Algiers it covers an area of about 

 2,500,000 acres. In the province of Oran the extent of the Alpha 

 growth is'almost unUmited. In the circle of Dtiia it is stated to 

 cover a space of about 900,000 acres, whde in the subdivision of 

 Mascara there is an immense field for its exploration. In the 

 several divisions of the province of Constantme it is estimated 

 that a total of about 570,000 acres are under growth of this sub- 

 stance. These figures alone show an aggregateof some 3,970,000 

 acres of Esparto known to exist in Algeria. The difficulty, 

 however, is in the want of proper roads or easy means of trans- 

 port by which the material could be brought to the sea or a rail- 

 way station. Col. Playfau- says that practically there is no limit 

 to the supply of Alpha procurable from Algiers ; all that is 

 required is the establishment of railway communication, and the 

 Government of the colony is prepared to sanction the construc- 

 tion of lines, either by French or foreign capitalists, on the most 

 liberal terms. Several companies have been formed for the pur- 

 chase and exportation of this fibre, which is becoming more 

 SDUght for in proportion to the increasing demand for paper. 

 The Algerian authorities are quite alive to the necessity of 

 encouraging aU such commercial enterprises as may tend to 

 develop this important branch of commerce. 



In a communication to the Hiarmacist (Chicago) for last month, 

 Mr. H. H. Babcock says he is convinced that CyprHciUnm sfcc- 

 taHle and C. pubescens are capable of producing poisonous effects, 

 on himself at least, similar to those caused by Rhustoxicodciidroti. 

 He bases this statement upon the fact of his having experienced 

 such symptoms after gathering the plants in question several seasons 

 in succession.. It seems scarcely possible that these plants, which 

 have long been in cultivation in this country, possess the noxious 

 properties attributed to them ; the general properties of the 

 family to which they belong are so different. However, one 

 direct experiment might settle the question. 



Dr. Alleyne Nicholson, Professor of Biology in the Col- 

 lege of Physical Science in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has been 

 offered and accepted the chair of Natural Histoiy in the Univer- 

 sity of St. Andrew's. 



Prof. Gabb reports continued progress in his geological and 

 ethnological survey of the Talamanca district in Costa Rica. It 

 may be remembered that Prof Gabb was invited several years 

 ago> by the Government of Costa Rica, to take charge of an 

 investigation into the resources of the country, and certain 

 reports o' his operations from time to time have shown very 



