244 
NATURE 
- [Dee. 30, 1869 
moment educating in its classes more than a hundred young men 
in chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and mining, they will not 
suffer so important an institution to die out or languish for want 
of funds. Mr. Robert Hunt, F.R.S., keeper of the Mining 
Records, is the hon. general secretary of the association. The 
Report for 1869 is published at Truro (Heard and Sons), and is 
to be had for a shilling. 
BeNzOL has been applied to a somewhat noyel purpose. 
If poured on a piece of ordinary paper, immediate trans- 
parency is produced, to such an extent as to enable one to 
dispense entirely with tracing-paper. On exposure to air, or, 
better, a gentle heat, the liquid is entirely dissipated, the paper 
recovers its opacity, and the original design is found to be quite 
uninjured, 
WE are glad to learn that the acceptance, by Dr. Czermak, of 
an honorary professorship in the University of Leipzig is likely 
to lead to a departure from the rule hitherto observed in the 
German universities, of treating physiology as an integral part of 
the medical course. No doubt lectures on general physiology, 
with a mote particular view to the special requirements of the 
medical student, will always be necessary ; but the claims of the 
general student to a sound knowledge of the principles and 
methods of this science can no longer be ignored. Independently 
of the fact that physiology deals with subjects of the highest 
possible general interest, it must not be forgotten that in its 
present stage of development it can hardly be looked upon 
otherwise than as an extension of the physical and chemical 
-sciences. The lectures which Prof. Czermak contemplates giving 
for the general benefit of the University of Leipzig are not 
intended to be of a so-called popular nature. They will be of 
the same general character as the ordinary lectures on physics, 
logic, or general history. The Professor insists very strongly 
upon the absolute necessity of direct observation for a thorough 
understanding of the subject; and it is solely the want of a 
suitable theatre and apparatus for enabling large audiences to 
view physiological experiments, that prevents his entering upon 
the promised course of lectures this winter. Dr. Czermak spoke 
so eloquently and so thoroughly in earnest on this subject on the 
occasion of his recent installation as Honorary Professor, that we 
make no doubt he will be able to carry out his plans successfully 
during the ensuing summer term. 
WE have a fresh illustration of the intimate alliance between 
science and commerce. Mr. Winwoode Reade recently set out 
from Sierra Leone to explore the interior, the funds of the expe- 
dition being defrayed by the munificence of Mr. Andrew Swanzy, 
a London merchant. Communications have been recently received 
stating that Mr. Reade, travelling on a line to the south-east of the 
routes of Park and Caillie, has reached a point farther south than 
any of his predecessors. The solitary trayeller, after surmounting 
many difficulties, was rewarded by reaching a hitherto unknown 
~town named Farabana, situate about 10° N. lat. and 10° W. long. 
He had crossed several rivers, flowing we presume from the 
watershed of Mount Loma, and was among the head-waters of 
the River Niger. The town, Farabana, contains about 10,000 
inhabitants, well-disposed, and eager for trade. Mr. Reade 
mentions his having experienced protection and help from the 
Sultan of Bornir; we suppose, by orders issued to his subordi- 
nate chiefs and headmen, in this outlying district of his kingdom, 
We may hope that Mr. Reade’s discoveries will enrich our 
maps with accurate geography of the country to the north of the 
Cong Mountains, as marked on the maps, and of the Niger from 
its source to the point where previous travellers have struck 
its stream. 
THE theory of the derivation of the primitive population of 
Western Europe from an African source is likely to receive 
some confirmation from recent researches in Algeria, A Mr. 
Faidherbe, who has examined a necropolis of 3,000 Megalithic 
graves at Roknia, in the province of Constantine, reports that 
the skulls obtained have led him to the conclusion that thé 
Berbers were the original people of the Atlas ; and that they do 
not resemble any African or Semitic race, but rather the earliest 
inhabitants of Western Europe. 
THE ‘‘Transactions of the Swedish Academy of Sciences for 
1868” contain a paper proposing the use of the reindeer moss 
and various other species of lichen as a material for the manu- 
facture of sugar and alcohol. By means of dilute sulphuric or 
muriatic acid, the cellulose of the plant is turned first into dextrine, 
and then into grape-sugar. No experiments on a large scale have 
as yet been made, but the author of the paper is sanguine as to 
the economic success of such an undertaking. Of the other 
papers printed in this volume of ‘‘Transactions,” we may mention _ 
the following :—‘‘On a remarkable species of sponge living in 
the North Sea,” by Professor Sven Loven, and ‘‘Swedish and 
Norwegian Diatoms,” by P. T, Cleve. These communications ~ 
are illustrated by drawings. The other papers, with the ex- 
ception of three by Edlund, detailing researches in reference to 
the electric spark, relate chiefly to the fauna and geology of 
various parts of the Swedish kingdom. The Memoirs of this 
Academy for the year 1868, containing the more important papers 
presented, have not yet reached us. 
Tue Native Guano Company, now successfully treating the 
sewage of the town of Leamington by the A.B.C. process, have 
applied to the Metropolitan Board of Works to enter into a_ 
treaty with them for the concession of the sewage on the south 
side of the Thames. The question has been referred to the Works 
Committee. Should the concession be granted, the movements 
of the company will be watched: with great interest, as their 
success or failure will tend greatly to settle the question of the 
possibility of making the purification of the sewage of great towns 
a commercial success. 
HERR KARL BRUHNS, director of the Berlin Observatory, is 
preparing for publication a scientific life of Humboldt, to which 
several illustrious German scientific men have promised to con- 
tribute. The first portion, from the pen of Dr. Ave Lallemand, 
will contain the life, properly so called, of Humboldt. The 
second part will be devoted to an account of his researches and 
discoveries. This latter part will occupy eight chapters, and 
will be confided to writers possessing special qualifications for 
the task. Persons having in their possession unpublished mate- 
rials relative to the life or labours of Humboldt are requested to 
transmit them to Herr Bruhns. 
OYSTERS are now so dear in London that we may reap some 
contentment by learning that they are sold wholesale in San 
Francisco, at the rate of six shillings a dozen, These oysters are 
said very much to resemble our ‘‘natives;” being round, fat, full- 
flavoured, and very good ; but they do not suit the taste of those 
who have long enjoyed the luxury of the large, delicate molluscs 
of the Atlantic seaboard. There are fine beds of the long- 
shelled oyster in the Gulf of California, and as they will not grow 
in the Pacific, they are transported 1,700 miles by steamer to 
“Frisco ;” about half the cargo dying on the passage. Notwith- 
standing all the oyster controversy and oyster literature of recent 
years, it is still very hard to understand why they should be so 
dear in London. At Van Laar’s shop, in the Kalverstraat, at 
Amsterdam, the very finest oysters, thought by many to be much 
superior to the “natives,” may be eaten at the rate of 50 cents 
(102.) the dozen. F : 
THE first part of a Hand-List of Genera and Species of Birds, 
by Mr. G. R. Gray, has just been issued from the British Museum. 
It includes the Accipitres, Tenuirostres, and Dentirostres, and 
forms an octavo volume of 400 pages. All the recognised genera, 
sub-genera, and species are enumerated, and not merely the 
