March 6, 1884] 



A^A rURE 



437 



The latest official report on the condition of the districts over- 

 whelmed by the KraUatoa eruption states that the surviving 

 inhabitants of the va'iois vilUges have reassembled under their 

 headmen, and are erecting their luits. The volcanic a-he^ did 

 little harm to the soil, the growing crops all pre enting a luxuriant 

 appearance. The trees, however, have suffered greatly, as had 

 some of the coffee plan'ations. Two bays, Lampong and 

 Semengka, which were blocked up by the fields of pumice, were 

 free by the middle of December. 



On a summer night of 18S2 a woman in Hogsby parish, in 

 Sweden, saw a shining object fall from the sky, disappearing 

 behind a stable. Search was made for the meteorite, according 

 to the statements of the w'oman, but without success. Last 

 autumn it was, however, accidentally discovered near the spot 

 indicated, and has now been forwarded to proper quarters in the 

 town of Oikarshamn. The surface of the meteorite appears as 

 if it had been welded from various substances ; it is about the 

 size of a billycock hat, very thick, and weighs a little over 

 14 lbs. 



M. W. DE FoNViELLE WTites : — " I took the liberty of sug- 

 gesting in one of the last issues of the VilU de Paris a scheme 

 for discovering clock-work in parcels deposited in luggage- 

 rooms. All the luggage should be laid flat on wooden tables 

 supported by iron feet, and not nailed to them ; the least noise 

 within the parcels would be made audible if a microphone of 

 proper construction were placed on each table. The charge for 

 keeping should be made heavier to diminish the number of 

 parcels, and the right of opening optional with the railway 

 companies." 



The Commission for Montsouris Observatory held its annual 

 sitting at the end of February. It was resolved to ask from the 

 Municipal Council an increase of the annual allocation, which 

 is somewhat less than 1200/., exclusive of some extra charges. 

 But it is not supposed the request will be granted, and a diminu- 

 tion is rather expected. It must be remembered that meteoro- 

 logical observations are now cinducted at Montsouris, at Pare 

 Saint Maur, and at the Paris Observatory, almost on the same 

 principles and with analogous instruments. It is curious to see 

 this triple working by almost independent administrations. 



The long isolated kingdom of Corea having now been defi- 

 nitely opened by treities to European trade and residence, we 

 may soon expect Englirh scholars to take their part in exploring 

 its language, literature, and history. For the benefit of those 

 abiut to study in the new field, it may be well to recall the fact 

 that, so far, we are entirely dependent on French priests for the 

 meagre knowledge we possess of the country. There is a paper 

 in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Sue icty, by Mr. Aston of 

 Japan, on the Corean language, but the two works to which for 

 some years to come European students must first resort are the 

 Grammar and Dictionary edited by Msgr. Ridel, and published by 

 LeN'y of Yokohama. The latter appeared m 1S79, and is a 

 large volume of some 700 pages, containing about 30,000 word'. 

 The native words are accompanied not only by a French trans- 

 literation, but also by the Chinese characters representing them, 

 so that the work can be used by a Chinese as well as a European, 

 and, to those who already know Chinese or Japanese, an addi- 

 tional explanation is thus supplied. All that is known respecting 

 the country to the priests— its fauna, flora, arts, manners, and 

 customs — finds a place in the volume. An appendix gives a 

 brief sketch of the grammar, whil : another contains the geo- 

 graphy, the names, and position of the provinces, mountains, 

 rivers, and chief towns. The Gramnar was published last year, 

 and contains an introduction on the character of the Corean 

 language, and a comparison of it with Chinese, as well as appen- 

 dices on the divisions of time, weights, measures, the mariner's 

 compass, &c. Throughout the East the Catholic missionaries 



have been the advanced guard of European science and methods 

 of study. The volumes which they produced nearly a hundred- 

 years ago on China are still as necessaiy to thorough study of 

 that country as they were then. The student who cannot refer 

 to the original authorities, as, for instance, Chinese history, had, 

 until the recent publication of Mr. Boulger's work, to go to the 

 long series of volumes published towards the close of the last 

 century by the Societe des Missions Etrangeres under the editor- 

 ship of de Mailla, Amyot, and other missionaries. 



We learn from Science that at 7.24 p.m. on January 25 earth- 

 qua'ie waves v.ere indicated by the delicate levels of the astro- 

 nomicil in truments of the San Francisco Observatory. The 

 amplitude of each vibration was three seconds of arc in three 

 seconds of time, and they continued for twenty minutes. 



At the last meeting of the Sociological (Spencerian) Section 

 of the B rmingham Natural History Society it was decided to 

 commence making an index to the study of Sociology. Letters 

 were read from Mr. Spencer approving of the system about to 

 be adopted, and stating that time and health had alone prevented 

 him commencing such an undertaking previously. 



The Westphalian Provinzial Verein for Science and Art is 

 about to publish a large work entitled " Westphalen's Thierleben 

 in Wort und Bild." The Society also intends establishing a 

 Provinzial Museum. 



At Berlin a branch of the German Meteorological Society was 

 fjunded on January 29 last. 



We are pleased to learn that a complete catalogue of the 

 Reference Department of the Nottingham Free Library is in 

 course of preparation, but as that will be the work of some time, 

 class lists have been issued for public use in the meantime. The 

 publication noticed in these columns on January 31 was one of 

 these, already supplemented considerably. 



At the suggestion of the Austrian Crown Prince, a work on 

 the ethnography of the Empire is about to be written. Maurus 

 Jokaj, the well-known Hungarian, has been intrusted with the 

 task of editing it. 



A SEVERE shock of earthquake, lasting two seconds, was felt 

 at 4 a.m. on February 25 at Chios, Tchesme, and Vourla. So 

 far as is known at present no damage has been done. An 

 earthquake-wave, lasting about fifteen minutes, and inundating 

 part of the town, was noticed at Montevideo on January 14, at 

 7.30 a.m. The weather was fine ; the directionof the wave was 

 from the Patagonian coast. Several people were drowned on 

 the south s'de of the town. 



The death is announced of Prof. Heinrich Karl Berghaus, the 

 well-known geographer and historian. Born at Kleve on May 

 3, 1797, he died at Stettin on February 17 last. 



An Engineering Exhibition will be held at Breslau from June 

 9 to II next. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Grey Ichneumon {Herpestcs griseus) from 

 India, presented by Mr. J. B. Drew ; an Arabian Gazelle 

 (Gazdla arabica 9) from Arabia, presented by Lieut. Brown, 

 R.N. ; two Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), European, pre- 

 sented by Mr. G. D. Macgregor ; a Ring-necked Parrakeet 

 (Pal(Coniis torquatus) from India, presented by Mr. J. Biehl ; a 

 Black-headed Gull {Larus riciibundiis), European, presented by 

 Miss Eli -e Cooper ; eight Hoary Snakes {Coronella canci) from 

 South Africa, presented by Mr. C. B. Pillans ; aRobben Island 

 Snake [Coronella phocarum) from South Africa, presented by 

 Mr. R. A. Robert-on ; a Common Heron (Anlea cincrea), a Cirl 

 Bunting {Emberiza cirlus), British, a Banded Parrakeet (Palcr- 

 ornisfasciatiis) from India, purchased ; three Mute Swans [Cygnus 

 olor), European, received in exchange ; eight Brown-tailed Ger 

 billes [Gerbilliis cryHiyru'tis), born in the Gardens. 



