374 



NATURE 



[Sept. 5, 1872 



M. Diipont dwelt chiefly on the fact that at the epoch of 

 the Mammoth there were two perfectly distinct popula- 

 tions in Bel^'ium, one using the flint cut at Spiennes, near 

 Mons, and the other that of the Somme. The highly in- 

 teresting Museum of Archaeology belonging to the town 

 of Namur was afterwards examined by the Congress. 

 At the meeting of Thursday, M. Dupont traced the con- 

 nection of the various populations in Belgium among each 

 other at the different ages of stone ; after which a lively 

 debate arose on the question of the descent of the present 

 race of men from the troglodytes, and on the causes of 

 the difference of types. In the afternoon the problems 

 of the Tertiary age and the age of Bronze occupied the 

 Congress. On Friday morning the question of determin- 

 ing the relative remoteness of the ages of bronze and of 

 iron led to many valuable disquisitions ; and Mr. Hyde 

 Clarke gave a summary of the recent anthropological dis- 

 cussions at Brighton. 



M. de (^uatrefages summarised the results of the present 

 Congress,"and stated as the principal ones that the ele- 

 ments of the prehistoric populations— even of the age of 

 stone— are discernible in the present population, and that 

 even in the most remote ages the migrations of races 

 took place on a much more e.xtensive scale, and with more 

 frequency than was believed by any one till recently. 

 M. Vervoort, one of the Belgian vice-presidents, next 

 presented to the Congress, in the name of M. Geefs, the 

 well-known sculptor, a bust of M. d'Omalius d'Halloy, 

 who presided in person at this the last meeting of the 

 Congress. This bust is a most striking likeness of the 

 venerable savaii/, who was congratulated by M. de Ouatre- 

 fages, speaking for the Congress, on the homage rendered 

 to him by his colleagues. M. d'llalloy's services to 

 ethnography have been long and valuable, and his vigour 

 of mind and youngness of heart are astonishing in a man 

 on the verge of ninety. 



The proceedings terminated with the distribution to the 

 members of a commemorative bronze medal on the part 

 of the Belgian Government. This medal, having a di- 

 ameter of'nearly seven centimetres, bears on one side, 

 within a laurel wreath, the inscription, " Congres Inter- 

 national d'Anthropologie et d'Archifologie Pr^historiques 

 a Bruxelles. Cf Session, sous la Prcsidence de M. T. T. 

 d'Omalius d'Halloy, 1872." The obverse represents the 

 Genius of Science as a female figure, seated, and pointing 

 with her left hand to the entrance of a cavern, bearing 

 the inscription " Furfooz," and a mammoth's skull ; while 

 on the other side of the figure the geologist's shovel and 

 pickaxe are displayed. The medal is by M. J. Geerts, of 

 Brussels, and is very finely executed. M. d'Omahusthen 

 formally declared the Congress terminated, congratulating 

 the members on the scientific progress achieved, and the 

 harmony which had characterised the meetings. 



In accordance with the invitation of the Swedish 

 Government, the next assembly of the Congress will 

 take place at Stockholm in 1S74 ; the proposition to con- 

 fer the presidency on that occasion on Prince Oscar of 

 Sweden was carrie I by acclamation. On Saturday the 

 members of the Committee, Belgian and foreign, dined 

 with the King. 



THE FRENCH SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 



AMONG the subjects expected to be discussed at 

 the general meetings of the French Association 

 at Bordeaux are one on FermentitiDn, by M. Pasteur, 

 and another on Aerial Navigation, by M. Dupuy de 

 Lome. In the Mathematical Section, M. d'Abbadie 

 is expected to read a paper entitled " Experiences 

 pour constater les variations de la veiticale." In the 

 Phvsic: Section, M. Cornu reads a paper on the 

 " Velocity of Light ;" M. Mercadicr, one on " Musical 

 Intervals;" M. Poter, on the " Theory of Light." In 

 the Chemical Section, M. Berthelot is to speak o.t "Ques- 



tions of Chemical PhilosopJiy," and M. Wurtz on "The 

 Densities of certain Vapours, and particularly on the 

 Density of the X'apour of Perchloride of Phosphorus." 

 In the Meteorological Section, M. Marid Davy is ex- 

 pected to read a paper on " The Organisation of 

 Meteorological Observatories." 



Other expected papers are — In Geology, M. Daubree, 

 ''Beds of Phosphates in the South of France;" 

 M. des Cloiseaux, " Amblygonite and Martebrasite." 

 In Botany, M. BaiUon, on " K/u-inii and on the Botanic 

 Origin of Officinal Rhubarb;" M. Chatin, "Study of 

 the Development of the Ovule and the Grain in the 

 Scrophularias." In Zoology, MM. de Follin, Fischer, 

 and Perier, contribute a paper on " Recent Sub- 

 marine Explorations ; M. Chatin, " Researches on 

 the Odorous Glands of certain Mammifers ;" Dr. 

 Pouchet, on " Animal Pigments ;" M. de Ouatrefages, 

 on " Some Species of Inferior Animals of the Basin of 

 Arcachon." Anthropology, M. Broca, on " The Occipital 

 Angles." Geography, M. Gustave Lambert, on "An Expe- 

 dition to the North Pole." 



The Excursions are : — i. To the embouchure of the 

 Gironde, to inspect the encroachment on the coast. 2. To 

 Arcachon, to visit the oyster-beds, dredge the sea for 

 molluscs, &c. 3. To Les Eyzies, to inspect pre-historic 

 remains and bone-caves. 4. To Roueyre, to inspect the 

 iron of the Landcs, cS:c. 5. To Bidassoa, on the Spanish 

 frontier, to inspect a rich bed of iron ore. 6. To Medoc, 

 on a visit to the celebrated vineyards of Chateau-Margaux 

 and Chateau-Monjrose. Besides these excursions, visits 

 will be made in Bordeaux itself, to M. Gintrao's estab- 

 lishment for rearing silkworms in the open air ; to the 

 docks, dockyards, &c., and the artesian wells of Vigan 

 In our last number we gave a list of the public lectures. 



TEMPERATURE OF THE SEA BETWEEN 

 GREENLAND, NORTHERN EUROPE, AND 

 SPITZBERGEN 



PROF. H. MORN, Director of the Norwegian Meteoro- 

 logical Institute at Christiania, publishes in Pvter- 

 mnnris Mitlhi-iln/tgeii some important facts regarding the 

 variations of temperature in the North Atlantic. The 

 yearly variation of temperature of the surface stratum 

 amounts to 9" Fah. and more ; it becomes less as we go 

 down, the decline, however, being not everywhere the 

 same. Deep sea strati reach their lowest and highest 

 temperatures a little liter than the surface stratum, the 

 changes offering two very distinct aspects for summer and 

 winter. Deep-sea observations in several of the deep 

 fjords along the Norwegian coast, w-hich are protected 

 against the great depth of the Atlantic by submarine 

 ridges lying before them, show that the water in them is 

 denved from the Gulf Stream, and that they are filled 

 with it from top to bottom, even if the latter lies deeper 

 than the icy bed of the Gulf Stream outside the coast 

 region ; were this not so, the temperature of the water in 

 the fjords would be a much lower one, and Norway would 

 not enjoy such a happy union of land and sea climate. 

 In summer, near the coast of Norway, and in its fjords, 

 at a depth of from 100 to 300 fathoms, we find a uniform 

 tempeiature of about 44° Fah.; farther out to sea, how- 

 ever, at the same depth, only about 39 Fah. The deep- 

 sea temperatures in winter are less known, but it is almost 

 certain that at great depths the same temperature reigns 

 all the year round, although a continual cooling from the 

 surfice downwards necessarily takes place in winter. In 

 the north-western part of the Greenland Sea, and below 

 the depth of the Gulf Stream, exclusively icy water is 

 found, which somewhat compresses the latter on that side, 

 at any rate on the surface, where the water cooled during 

 the winter nights remains over the warmer waters beneath. 

 Along the coast of Norway the cold from the land acts on 

 the surface and the upper strata of the sea, increasing 



