yan. lo, 1884] 



NATURE 



245 



thick and persistent fog. — Earthquake shocks were also felt 

 during Sunday week in various parts of France. At Argeles 

 (Hautes Pyrenees) there w.ts one in the early morning, a second 

 at nine o'clock, and a third about mid-day. At Dorignies, an 

 industrial hamlet near Douai (Nord), the shock was sufficiently 

 strong to cause real alarm. It occurred between six and seven 

 in the evening. Houses shook, their timbers cracked, and glass 

 and earthenware in cupboards were shattered. 



The Hungarian astronomer, Herr von Konkoly, who is men- 

 tioned as the future director of the Brussels Observatory, is ex- 

 expected to arrive there in about a week, for the purpose of 

 explaining to the Science Department of the Belgian Academy 

 his recent discovery relative to the cometary spectrum. 



We under.stand that Messrs. McLachlan and Fitch, having 

 been appointed by the Entomological Society of London a com- 

 mittee for the purpose of examining, and reporting upon, certain 

 vine-roots forwarded by the Government of Victoria, through 

 Kew, find as the result of their examination that the Phylloxera 

 is present in considerable numbers on the roots, which were those 

 remaining in the ground after the vines themselves had been 

 destroyed. 



A TELEGRAM has been received from Prof. Hull, F.R.S., 

 the chief of the Geological Expedition to the Holy Land, 

 announcing the safe arrival of himself and his party at Gaza, 

 where they are at present detained in quarantine. A letter, 

 dated December 2, w as also received from him a few days ago, 

 which has been brought by camel post vid Naklhl from Akabah, 

 where the party arrived on November 27. In this letter Prof. 

 Hull writes: — " We had every reason to be satisfied with the 

 conduct of our Towarah Arabs. We spent three days in the 

 neighbourhood of Jebel Musa, and made the a cent of the 

 mountain, from the top of which Major Kitchener toDk angles 

 to .several prominent points: while on the same day Mr. Hart 

 ascended Mount Catharina, a feat hitherto unperformed in one 

 day, and was rewarded by finding several plants— represen- 

 tatives of colder climates. From Jebel Musa to Akabah we 

 took the upper route, partially explored by Palmer. This 

 has enabled us to add considerably to the accuracy of the 

 geology and topography of the district ; we have also taken 

 a considerable number of photographs. On Saturday week 

 we traversed a magnificent gorge cut through granite cliffs and 

 extending for several miles, which, we believe, has not hitherto 

 been described. It commences at the head of the Wadyel Ain. 

 We found the escarpment of the Tih much more broken and 

 indeterminate than is represented in the maps, owing to the 

 existence of several large faults or dislocations of the strata which 

 traverse that district in a generally northerly and southerly direc- 

 tion, and we have finally determined the position of the leading 

 line of fracture to which, at least, this po lion of the Wady el 

 Arabah owes its existence. Our course through to the Dead 

 Sea by the valley is barred, owing to a blood feud between two 

 tribes. We have, however, contracted with one of the tribes to 

 be escorted as far as the Wady Musa and Petra, after which we 

 shall strike o(f w-est across Tih Plateau to Gaza. This will 

 enable us to do the greater part of the work in the Wady 

 Arabah which we proposed. We are all in good health, and 

 have made excellent collections to illustrate the botany, geology, 

 and zoology of the district." 



The budget of the Ministry of Public Instruction in France 

 reaches the unprecedented sum of six millions sterling. Half 

 of this sum is absorbed by the primary and infant schools. The 

 dotation for astronomy and meteorology is 40,000/., exclusive 

 of municipal credits voted by Marseilles, Toulouse, Bordeaux, 

 Lyons, for their astronomical observatories ; Besan9on, Cler- 

 mont, Paris, and Toulouse, for Besan^on, Puy de Dome, Mont- 

 souris, and Pic du Midi meteorological establishments. The 



National Library of Paris receives 30,000/., and other public 

 libraries in Pari=, 11,000/; National Archives, 8000/. The 

 pecuniary grants given to learned men amount to 8000/.; voyages 

 and missions, 11,000/. ; College de France, 20,000/. ; Superior 

 Normal School, 20,000/. ; National Institute, 28,800/. ; Aca- 

 demy of Medicine, 3000/. ; School of Hautes Etudes, 19,000/. ; 

 Faculte d'fitat (Universities), 400,000/. ; Grammar Schools 

 (Lycees), 319,000/. ; Museum (Jardin des Plante-), about 

 40,000/. 



The following arrangements have been made for the meetings 

 of the Society of Arts. The papers to be read at the ordinary 

 meetings will be : — Electric Launches, by A. Reckenzaun ; 

 Science Teaching in Elementary Schools, by William Lant 

 Carpenter ; Coal Gas as a Labour-Saving Agent in Mechanical 

 Trades, by Thomas Fletcher ; Sanitary Progress, by B. W. 

 Richardson, F.R.S. ; The Progress of Electric Lighting, by W. 

 H. Preece, F.R.S. ; Forest Administration in India, by Dr. 

 Brandis, F.R.S. ; Reclamation of Land on the North-Western 

 Coast of England, by Hyde Clarke ; Water Regulation in 

 England, by General Rundall ; Telpherage, by Prof. Fleeming 

 Jenkin, F.R.S.; New Process of Permanent Mural Painting 

 (invented by Adolph Keim, Munich), by Rev. J. A. Rivington ; 

 Slate Quarrying, by W. A. Dariiishire. At the meetings of 

 the Sections the following papers will be read :— Foreign and 

 Colonial Section— Canada as it will appear to the Briti>h Asso- 

 ciation in 1884, by Joseph G. Colmer, Secretary to the High 

 Commissioner for Canada ; The Portuguese Colonies of West 

 Africa, by H. H. Johnston ; Reflections on Chinese History, 

 with reference to the present situation of affairs, by Demetrius 

 G. Boulger ; Borneo and its Products, by B. Francis Cobb ; 

 The Rivers Congo and Niger as Entrances to Mid- Africa, by R. 

 Capper. Applied Chemistry and Physics Section — Manufacture 

 of Gas from Limed Coal, by Prof. Wanklyn and W. J. Cooper ; 

 The Upper Thames as a Source of Water Supply, by Dr. Percy 

 F. Frankland ; Cupro-Ammonium Solution and its Use in 

 Waterproofing Paper and Vegetable Tissues, by C. R. Alder 

 Wright, F.R.S. ; Economic Applications of Seaweed, by 

 Edward C. Stanford. Indian Section — State Monopoly of 

 Railways in India, by J. M. Maclean ; The New Bengal Rent 

 Bill, by W. Seton-Karr ; Trade Routes in Afghanistan, by 

 Griffin W. Vyse ; The Existing Law of Landlord and Tenant 

 in India, by W. G. Pedder. The courses of Cantor lectures will 

 be on Recent Improvements in Photo-Mechanical Printing 

 Methods, by Thomas Bolas ; The Building of London Houses, 

 by Robert W. Edis, F.S.A. ; The Alloys used for Coinage, by 

 Prof. W. Chandler Roberts, F.R.S., Chemist of the Royal 

 Mint ; Some New Optical Instruments and Arrangements, by J. 

 Norman Lockyer, F.R.S.; Fermentation and Distillation, by 

 Prof. W. Noel Hartley. 



The Portuguese explorers, Senhores Capello and Ivens, have 

 just sailed for West Africa. They proceed first to Loanda, 

 thence northward to Zaire. It is expected that they will be 

 absent for about two years. 



M. Achard's continuous electric brake has been worked suc- 

 cessfully in competition with the Westinghouse and other systems. 

 The electricity is obtained by a dynamo worked by the train 

 itself, and can give light for .signals and other purposes, when 

 worked by the engine. The sliding valve of locomotives for 

 admitting steam has been replaced by a piston, which renders 

 similar service. A large diminution of friction and wear results 

 from this improvement. The economy in coals is stated to have 

 been 5 per cent. 



Dr. Nachtigal, the well-known African traveller, who is 

 now German Consul-General at Tunis, has received the gold 

 medal for Art and Sciences from the Grand Duke of Mecklen- 

 burg-Schwerin. 



