ymic 13, 1872J 



NATURE 



129 



clone. Whether it is thought that he could have prevented the 

 cyclone does not appear. 



Reports have been received from Prof. Agassizand his party 

 on the Ilasslcr up to the iSth of March, at which time they had 

 reached tlie coast ol Patagonia. They were busily engaged in 

 dredging and carrying on explorations along the shore, with a 

 very fair measure of success. The details have not yet been an- 

 nounced, but we trust we shall have an opportunity before long 

 of presenting these to our readers. 



Tiir. Annual Report of the Trustees of the Museum of Comp.ira- 

 lii-e Zoology at Cambridge, U.S.A., for 1 87 1, has made its 

 appearance, and presents the usual satisfactory account of pro- 

 gress in the preceding twelve months. No institution of the 

 kind in America, and few anywhere, has so extensive and 

 thoroughly organised a corps of scientific assistants (amounting 

 tobetvvien thirty and forty) as that at Cambridge; and, with 

 the immense amount of material constantly coming in, the result 

 in greater part of Prof. Agassiz's indefatigable personal labours, 

 supplemented by purchases of entire collections, it is not to be 

 wondered at that the museum is rapidly occupying the foremost 

 rank among such establishments. Prof. Agassiz, the director, 

 calls attLnlion to his expected absence from the country in the 

 expedition of the Ilaish-r, gives an account of the arrangements 

 made tei\ipoiarily to supply his place, and presents the special 

 reports of the various assistants upon the work accomplished in 

 1S71, and to be continued during the year 1872. 



Among the more interesting collections lately received 

 by the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, in the de- 

 partment of ethnolog)', is a mummied human head, retaining all 

 the form and features of life, including hair, lips, &c., but re- 

 duced by some peculiar process so as not to exceed the size of an 

 ordinary fist. These heads are found among the Javaro tribes in 

 the province of Chimboiazo, In Peru, and are said to be of great 

 antiquity, there being no indication of recent preparation. They 

 are believed to be the heads of enemies slain in battle, and pre- 

 served in this way as trophies of victory. The interior of the 

 head has been entirely emptied of flesh, bones, and brain ; and 

 the skin, which alone remains, by its contraction is thickened to 

 the amount of more than an eighth of an inch. The lips are 

 closely compressed, and through them are strung a series of 

 knotted cords, which in their character call to mind the guipos 

 of the ancient Peruvians. There is also a cord which is knotted 

 inside the top of the head, by which it is suspended. No 

 satisfactory explanation of the mode of preparation has been 

 given, although there is a tradition that it is effected by intro- 

 ducing healed stones or sand into the cavity after the removal of 

 the portions of the head referred to. 



The Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' 

 Society for 1871-72 show evidence of good work being done by 

 its members. The president, in his address, speaks of the satis- 

 factory progress made in the important task which the Socieiy 

 has in hand, of compiling well-authenticated, and, as far as 

 possible, complete lists of the fauna and flora of the county ; and 

 the following papers are printed in the Report — some of them, 

 although referring to local subjects, of more than local interest : 

 — "On the Occurrence of the Ringed or Marbled Seal (P/wca 

 hisfUii) on the Norfolk Coast," by T. Southwell; " Scoulton 

 Gullery," by H. Stevenson ; " The Norfolk Broads and Meres 

 Geologically Considered," by J. E. Taylor ; " Further Notes on 

 Coast Insects found at Brandon," by C. G. Barrett; "The 

 Marine Mollusca of the Norfolk Coast," by F. W. Ilarmer ; 

 " A List of Land and Freshwater Shells found in Norfolk," by 

 J. B. Bridgman ; and " On the Spongeous Origin of Flints," by 

 K. Kitton. 



We have received from the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic 

 Society, Falmouth, a list of a large number of subjects in which 



prizes and premiums will be awarded in the course of the present 

 season. The fortieth Annual Exhibition of this Society will 

 open on Wednesday, August 21. Medals and prizes in money 

 will be awarded in the following Departments : — Mechanics — 

 M.achinery and Models ; Mechanical and other Scientific Inven- 

 tions and Improvements ; Specimens of Naval Architecture ; 

 Essays and Scientific Papers, &c. Fine Arts — Pictures and 

 Drawings by Professional Artists and Amateurs, Sculpture, 

 Architectural Drawings and Models, and Specimens of Orna- 

 mental Art. Photography — Photographs by Professionals and 

 Amateurs. Natural History — Essays, Local Observations, Col- 

 lections of .Specimens, &c. .School Productions — Mechanical 

 and Freehand Drawings, Specimens of Penmanship, ^;c. Plain 

 Needlework, &c., British Lace, and all objects of interest con- 

 nected with Science and the Fine and Industrial Arts, which may 

 be considered deserving by the Judges. List of Prizes and Pre- 

 miums, ami all further information, may be obtained from the 

 Secretary, J. H. Collins, F.G S., Polytechnic Hall, Falmouth. 



Science and Art teaching seems to be flourishing in Plymouth, 

 if we may judge from the number of papers worked at this 

 year's examinations (just concluded) by the students of the 

 Charles Science and Art Schools. Three hundred and thirty 

 papers have been sent up in the various subjects, being an in- 

 crease over 1871 of fifty-six papers, or 20 per cent. Owing to 

 tlie Department holding the examinations in several subjects in 

 one evening, students are prevented from being examined in 

 more than one of these, which will, in most cases, account for 

 the falling off in those few cases where there is a decrease. 



Mr. N. Von Maci.ay, who is in charge of a Russian scientific 

 exploration of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, reports to the 

 Academy of Sciences of St. Petersbui'g that on the passage of 

 the Witjas from the Cape de Verde Islands to Rio he made an 

 experiment on the 3rd of February for the purpose of determin- 

 ing the temperature of the sea at a depth oi 1,000 fathoms in 

 the region of calms, about 3° north latitude and 24° west longi- 

 tude. The temperature of the water at this depth was 38 '30° 

 F., that of the surface water being Si ■68° F. It is interesting to 

 compare this with the temperature obtained during the past 

 winter by the Coast Survey steamer Baclic, at about the same 

 depth, in the deep water between Cuba and Yucatan, in the 

 latter case the temperature amounting to about 39 50' F. 



It seems almost impossible to exhaust the richness of the de- 

 posits of vertebrate fossils of the Western territories of the 

 United Stales, Prof Leidy having lately added to the number 

 by the description of two extinct tapir-hke animals, one about the 

 size of a raccoon, and the other about the size of a rabbit, and 

 an insectivorous animal of the dimensions of the hedgehog. The 

 are from the tertiary formation of Wyoming Territory. 



Harper's M'eckly notes that a remarkable fact connected with 

 the interchange of animal species between Europe and America 

 is seen in the frequency with which North American birds occur 

 in England, and the scarcity of European birds in America. 

 Nearly seventy species of the birds characteristic uf the American 

 fauna have so far been detected in Great Biitain, the latest 

 announcement of this kind being that of the black-billed cuckoo, 

 which was taken at the end of September 1S71 in Antrim, ten 

 miles from Belfast. Very few of the Europe.an land birds have 

 been found in North America, with the exception of a few species 

 that are really Arctic in their distrilmtion, although less frequently 

 seen in the New World than in the Old. The water-birds of 

 Europe are more common as stragglers. Among them we may 

 mention the English green-winged teal, the widgeon, the wood- 

 cock, &c. The entire list, however, does not amount to a dozen 

 species. The causes of this difference are doubtle.-s to be nut 

 with in the comparative prev.alence of certain winds. Most of 



