Dec. 9, 1869] 
NATURE 
171 
we learn that the corps of observers appointed to watch the 
November star-shower was duly in the Marseilles district as pre- 
viously arranged. On the night of the 12th, 210 stars were 
catalogued at Barcelonette, 116 at Marseilles, 120 at Montpellier, 
and only 31 at Orange (these last being merely sporadic). On 
the 13th, 130 stars were noticed at Orange. At this place the 
centre of the shower seems to have been much obscured by 
clouds, to the great disappointment of the observers. But else- 
where, especially at Turin, Marseilles, Valence, and Toulon, 
there was a magnificent display. The work of uniting the 
manifold results obtained, and deducing the distance of the 
bolides from the earth, as well as their radiant point, will shortly 
be commenced. 
FATHER SECCHI writes to Zes Aondes that the meteors of the 
14th November were splendidly seen at Rome during half an 
hour when the sky was quite clear.. Although this half-hour 
was not the time for the maximum display, no less than 183 
meteors were observed. On the evening of the 13th, the 
meteors had already commenced to be visible in greater numbers 
than ordinary. 
THE Rainfall Committee for 1860-69, in their report presented 
to the British Association at Exeter, remark that, as they are 
now on the eve of completing their decennial return for 1860-69, 
it behoves them to consider how they may best secure for the 
ensuing period the attainment of the objects for which they were 
originally constituted. They state that, even to those least 
acquainted with the subject, it will be apparent how much more 
desirable as well as easy it is to compare simultaneous observa- 
tions than those wherein the observed values and their times are 
different. The number and distribution of the existing observa- 
tion stations, though incomparably superior to that which existed 
some years since, is still capable of improvement ; tracts of land, 
the rainfall of which as water-supply is of high importance, re- 
maining without adequate observations, while other places are, 
if possible, too well provided. Mr. G. Symons requests us to 
announce that any persons who may be recording the fall of rain, 
or intending to record it, will oblige by forwarding to him, at 62, 
Camden Square, N.W., their names and addresses, in order that 
duplicate gauges may not be started unnecessarily near to them, 
AT a recent meeting of the Ethnological Society some photo- 
graphs of the great megalithic monuments in Wiltshire were 
exhibited. We understand that a scheme is now in progress to 
obtain funds for the purpose of procuring a series of photographic 
representations of the megalithic monuments found in England 
and France, and, if possible, in Europe and Algeria. Such a 
series, in which the compass-bearings and accurate dimensions 
would be given, ‘would be invaluable to the student of archz- 
ology. Any of our readers interested in the work, who wish to 
know more of the details, are requested to communicate with 
the librarian, Royal Geographical Society, 15, Whitehall Place. 
WE have been favoured bya correspondent with an account of 
a lecture given by Dr. Hector, at the New Zealand Institute, on 
the subject of Mining in New Zealand. The lecturer, in consi- 
dering the mineral substances excavated from the superficial 
deposits, proceeded in the first place to give a short account of 
the building material. According to his statement, the number of 
building stones already worked in New Zealand is verylarge. They 
are generally divided into granites, limestones, and sandstones. 
There is a granite quarry at Adele Island, in Blind Bay ; and 
the valuable stone also exists in unbounded quantities on the 
west coast of Otago, under circumstances most favourable for 
excavation and shipment. There is also very great variety in the 
colour and grain, whilst the quality is generally admitted to be 
excellent. Pure siliceous varieties of sandstones occur with the 
coal formations. The freestones are chiefly in the tertiary forma- 
tion of New Zealand, from sandstone, to clay sandstones, and 
argillaceous sandy limestones, and pure limestone. The finest is 
the Oamaru stone, which, the lecturer stated, excelled most 
ordinary building stones in other parts of the world. There are 
no roofing-slate mines in New Zealand being worked, but there 
is no doubt that they exist. After reviewing the building ma- 
terials, Dr. Hector passed on to the consideration of the valuable 
sands, the character and distribution of which were thoroughly 
explained. 
WE have received the following note on the subject of the 
Holborn Valley Viaduct :—‘‘ From the position of the cracks in 
the columns it is evident that they have been bodily strained 
over towards the roadway. This may be accounted for by the 
great difference in weight between half the arch over the road- 
way and half the arch over the footway. Taking one girder and 
its load in each case, the weight of that over the roadway would 
be about eighty-five tons, and that over the footway only twenty- 
five tons ; the additional weight over the column is eight tons, 
making therefore in all one hundred and eighteen tons supported 
by each column, and resting on a cap of the column which is five 
feet wide. Consequently, the centre of gravity of these weights 
is considerably out of the centre line of the column, and so tends 
to “cant” it over towards the roadway. Now, since a removal 
of the centre of pressure only one-sixth of the width of the cap 
from the centre line will double the strain on the edge nearest to 
the centre of pressure, the extra strain imposed on the side of 
the column nearest the roadway may be easily conceived. If in 
addition to this we assume the joints to be badly made (which 
appears probable), the cause of failure can no longer be a matter 
of surprise. For if the joints were made with convex faces 
no force would affect the outside filaments of the column, unless 
the whole column were crushed; but if concave, it is obvious that 
the edges would have to sustain the whole load. In the case of 
the Viaduct, as the load is unequally applied, the evil of the 
concave faces would be greatly exaggerated, and the column 
would necessarily be crushed on the faces nearest the roadway 
which support (as stated above) the greater weight. The report 
of the engineer may be shortly expected.” 
We haye received the following notes from our Dublin corre- 
spondent :-— 
Professor Jellett, B.D., has been almost unanimously elected 
as President of the Royal Irish Academy, One vote was recorded 
for Sir Robert Kane, F.R.S. 
The Botanical Gardens at Glasnevin are known to the majority 
of the visitors to Dublin; they are beautifully situated on the 
banks of the little river Tolka, and contain a large collection of 
rare plants. Some years ago the Committee of Botany of the 
Royal Dublin Society, acting on the advice of the director of the 
gardens, purchased a large iron shed, in which they displayed 
portions of a collection of plants and their products useful to 
man. ‘This structure was from the first quite unfit for preserving 
the valuable collection placed in it; the specimens were neces- 
sarily crowded together, and any arrangement was impossible. 
Still, the large numbers that visited this room to study the 
contents of the cases, and oftentimes to take notes of the history 
of the specimens, as told on their labels, testified to the great 
and intelligent interest that was taken in the collection by the 
public. 
The special function of the Science and Art Department 
appears to be to provide for the improvement of the people in 
science and art, and they placed on the estimates for the four years 
between 1865 and 1869, a sum of 4,000/. for building a museum at 
the Botanical Gardens, close to the front entrance gate, through 
which so many thousand visitors pass in the course of each year. 
This sum, small though it may appear, would have been sufficient 
to have built and cased a large plain building, which would have 
contained all the present collection, and the additions to it, for 
many years; but though the money was voted by Parliament for 
