476 



NATURE 



[April IS, 1875 



15. On Electricity and Magnetism (continued), and on Heat, by 

 Mr. Trotter, Trinity College, commencing April 14. OnChemistry 

 (continuation of the course begun in the Lent Term), by Mr. 

 Main, St. John's College, commencing April 13. Instruction 

 in Practical Chemistry will also be given. On Pal.-eontology 

 (the Mollusca), by Mr. Bonney, St. John's College, commencing 

 April 15. On Geology, by Mr. Bonney, St. John's College, 

 commencing April 14. There will be excursions every Saturday, 

 beginning April 17. Elementary Geology, commencing April 

 15. On Botany, by Mr. Hicks, Sidney College, beginning 

 April 1 7. The Lectures this Term will be on Vegetable Physio- 

 logy, and on Ci7ptogams. On Elementary Biology : a Practical 

 Course at the Physiological Laboratory by the Trinity Prrelector 

 in Physiology (Dr. M. Foster), beginning April 15. On Animal 

 Histology, by Mr. Martin, Christ's College. 



At St. John's College, Cambridge, J. E. Marr, from Lan- 

 caster Grammar School, has been elected to an Exhibition for 

 Natural Science, of 50/. per annum, tenable for three years. C. 

 Slater, from Clifton College, has also been elected to one of 

 33/. ds. SJ., tenable for the same time. 



A CORRESPONDENT informs us of an interesting discovery in 

 the Rhietic beds at Westbury-on-Severn. A party of students 

 from Gloucester, in examining the Cardium shales, found a few spe- 

 cimens of a st.irfish, which Dr. Wright of Cheltenham, to whom 

 specimens were forwarded, has pronounced to be his Ophiolipis 

 Damesii, first found in the Rh^tic beds at Hildesheim, and 

 described by Dr. Wright in the Zdlsclirift der Deii'.schen geolo- 

 gischcn Gesellschnft, Jahrgang 1874. The specimens do not 

 quite correspond with the plate (xx'x.) of the Transactions 

 alluded to, though the plate scarcely answers Dr. Wriglu's 

 description. 



Among the various kinds of fish which might with advantage 

 be introduced into this country from Amtrica, perhaps none 

 offer such good results as the Shad (Alosa sapidissi.-na and A. 

 pseudD-harengus). These American Shad are very much superior 

 to any European species ; and one of their chief merits is in the 

 enormous shoals in which they enter the rivers. Some idea of 

 this may be gathered from the fact that 5,000,000 pounds of the 

 Shad and the closely allied " Alevvife " were inspectei as food for 

 the market of Washington alone during the months of May, 

 , June, and July, 1874. No greater boon could be conferred upon 

 Great Britain than the transfer of these two species of fish into 

 its waters. An attempt has been made to transport this fish into 

 Germany, but failed, owing to the length of time involved in the 

 voyage. Very little difficulty is anticipated in such an experi- 

 ment in regard to this country ; the young fish could, in the 

 opinion of American fish culturists, be easily ^brought over. 



In connection with the recent meeting of the French learne"i 

 societies, Mr. G. J. Symons writes from Paris as follows : — 

 " M. Michel threw out a suggestion which appears to me likely 

 to, or at any rate possibly may, be the means of averting the 

 principal source of danger in crossing the Atlantic. I refer, of 

 course, to icebergs in foggy weather and the total wrecks which 

 occur from running on to them. It is well known that the 

 proximity of icebergs is indicated by a diminution in the tem- 

 perature of the sea. M. Michel's proposal is very simple : it is 

 merely that Transatlantic steamers should carry a submerged 

 electric thermometer, which might easily be arranged to ring a 

 bell in any part of the vessel on the occurrence of whatever 

 change of temperature might be decided upon." 



A RECENT letter in the 7»«cj states that a cross halo was seen 

 on the night of the 14th March. On the same night at sunset a 

 halo was observed by M. de Fonvielle, and described by him in 

 his daily meteorological article in the Paris Temps. It was a 

 circular halo, no trace of the cros; being seen. U does not 



appear that the phenomena were produced by the same cloud, 

 as the clouds were drifting southwards. But halos were very 

 frequent about that time. On the 12th a solar halo was seen by 

 M. de Fonvielle, and noted in Nature, vol.xi. p. 395. The 

 same cirrus may present, when seen from different altitudes, 

 different appearances ; this is proved by the variations of aspect 

 observed by M. Tissandier in his last ascent. 



At the conversazione of the Quekett Club to be held at Uni- 

 versity College to-morrow night, Mr. J. F. Tafe will exhibit some 

 specimens of the Colorado Potato Beetle. 



The large refractor (fourteen inches) of the Paris Observatory, 

 which was damaged during the Communal disturbances, is now 

 being restored. The roof, which had been perforated by 

 hundreds of balls, will be put in working order. This refractor 

 will be exclusively devoted to celestial photography. 



The publishers ot the " Instructions for the Observation of 

 Phenological Phenomena," referred to in a recent number 

 (p. 40S), are Williams and Strahan, Lawrence Lane, Cheapside. 

 We believe that forms for recording observations may be ob- 

 tained by application to the Secretary of the Meteorological 

 Society. 



Til! Colonies is the title of a fortnightly journal published by 

 Silver and Co., which gives the cream of the news from the 

 colonial possessions of Great Britain. Each issue contains one 

 or more papers of a sc'entific nature on subjects connected with 

 the colonies. The subjects are well selected, and the informa- 

 tion is generally accurate and valuable. Tlie number for April 3 

 contains two interesting papers ; one on the races of man inha- 

 biting New Guinea ; and the other on the Lie insect and its 

 commercial products (illustrated). 



The Natal Colonist for Feb. 26 contains an interesting paper 

 on " The Bee-tailor and the Crane or Windlass Spider : Instinct 

 or Reason?" The Natal Colonist deserves to be commended for 

 the interest it has aUv.ays shown in scientific matters ; it has 

 ever been ready to open its columns to contributions on sub- 

 jects of scientific interest. In a note prefixed to the paper the 

 editor states that he wishes to enlist the "sympathies and the 

 aid of those readers who are observers and students in the 

 various branches of Natural History," so as to follow up the 

 paper referred to with a succession of similar records of observa- 

 tions. We hope the invitation will meet with a response from 

 many quarters. To quote the words of the preliminary note, 

 " We feel assured that there are many throughout the colony 

 whose observations of the habits of animals, of the charac- 

 teristic products of their own localities, whether animal or vege- 

 table, and the like, would be of great interest to others, and 

 possibly very materially conduce to the advancement of science, 

 and we should be glad indeed to make our journal the vehicle 

 of communicating such records to the public." The Town 

 Council of Durban, we are glad to see, contemplate setting apart 

 a portion of the new buildings for the purposes of a museum. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Green Monkey {Cercopithectis callitric/ius) 

 from West Africa, presented by Mrs. Lange ; a Vervet Monkey 

 (Cercopithecns lalandii) from West Africa, presented by Miss 

 Emily Sissison ; a Golden Eagle {Aqiiila elirysactiis) from Spain, 

 presented by Mr. J. Arthur Wright ; two Leadbeaters Cockatoos 

 {Cacatiia leadbeateri) from Australia, presented by Mr. G. L. 

 Prendergast ; two Shoveller Ducks (Spatula clypeata), European ; 

 a Blue-faced Green Amazon (Chrysotis boiiqucti) from St. Lucia, 

 West Indies, purchased ; an Ocelot {Felis pardalis) from South 

 America; a Porto Rico Pigeon (Coluinba corensis) from St 

 Vincent, purchased. 



