462 



NATURE 



\OcL 3, 1872 



A PLAGUF, of butterflies is .1 rare occurrence. A short time 

 ago, however, the town of Florence was invaded by a prodigious 

 quantity of these insects. All the distance of the Long'arno be- 

 tween the Piazza Manin and the Barriera and in all the adjacent 

 streets the jiassage was almost obstructed by an extraordinary 

 quantity of butterflies that had swarmed in such thick clouds 

 round the gaslights that the streets were comparatively dark. 

 Fires were immediately lighted by order of the Municipality and 

 by private citizens, in which the butterflies burnt their wings, so 

 tliat Iialf an hour afterwards one walked upon a layer formed by 

 the bodies of the butterflies an inch thick ! ! ! They were ol a 

 whitish colour, and some of the streets appeared as if covered 

 with snow, at least so say the Italian papers. 



Dr. Paterson, of Bridge of Allan, writing to the Scotsman 

 of September 9, says that on Saturday last he captured in his 

 garden on the flowers of Lilium auratnm a fine specimen of the 

 Striped Hawk Moth (Dcilcphila Livornka). Dr. Paterson be- 

 lieves this insect has been captured only once before in Scotland. 



The Rev. M. J. Berkeley describes in the Ganlcncrs 

 Chronicle a very remarkable instance of luminosity in fungi. It 

 occurred in the mycelium of an unknown species growing on a 

 trunk of spruce or larch, and was so powerful as to make a 

 perfect blaze of white light in the track where the trank had 

 been dragged, and vividly illuminating everything in contact 

 with it. It gave almost light enough to read the time on the face 

 of a watch, and continued for three days. 



The Brighton Aquarium has lately received t^^'o pair of beau- 

 tiful specimens of tlie Paradise or Peacock fish. This fish came 

 first from China, and has been acclimatised by M. Carbonnier, 

 the great pisciculturist of Paris ; they are very lovely little crea- 

 tures. Some of their habits are singular ; thus M. Carbonnier 

 states that "as the eggs are laid the male carries them away in 

 his mouth, and deposits them in a nest which he builds for them. 

 He will not allow the female to comc.anywhere near the nest, and 

 if sire ventures to approach he swings himself round, and drives 

 her away." 



The Secretary of the U..S. Navy has recently received, by way 

 of Copenhagen, a letter from Captain C. F. Hall, of the /'dan's, 

 written on the 24th of August, 1S71, at Tossak, North (ireen- 

 land, latitude 73° 21', longitude 56° 5' west. Although this is 

 but a few days later than the despatch brought home by the 

 frigate Congress nearly a year ago, it renews the assurance of the 

 harmony existing on board the vessel between the members of 

 the expedition, and the perfect satisfaction of all with the erjuip- 

 ment and preparations for the coming winter. It is well known 

 that no efforts were spared by the Navy department to render 

 this expedition the most perfect and complete in its equipment of 

 any ever sent to the North ; and the success of these endeavours 

 must, therefore, be a'source of gi-eat gratification to it. Governor 

 Klberg, of the Upernavik district, accompanied the Polaris as 

 far as Disco, and brought back the despatches, which have thus 

 been a year in their journey to Washington. Through his help 

 Captain Hall obtained sixty strong, healthy young Esquimaux 

 dogs, and a large supply of reindeer furs, seal-skins, &c. Aj 

 Upernavik Hans Christian, well known to the readers of Kane's 

 narrative, joined them as hunter and dog-driver, and was accom- 

 panied by his wife and three children, who with Joe, and Hannah, 

 and their child, Captain Hall's faithful companions in previous 

 years, made up quite a party. It will be remembered that 

 Captain Hall met the returning Swedish expedition at Hobtein- 

 bourg, and that its commander supplied hira with charts and 

 copies of such of his notes as promised to be of service to him. 

 Partly in consequence of the suggestions of the commander. Baron 

 Von Otter, and of other scientific men whom he met in Clreen- 

 land, Captain Hall concluded to abandon'the Jones Sound route, 



and intended to cioss Melville Bay to Cape Dudley Digge?, and 

 thence to steam directly to Smith .Sound, with a view of finding 

 a passage on the west side of the sound from Cape Isabella to 

 Kennedy Channel. Captain Hall speaks very favourably of the 

 steaming qualities of the Polaris, her passage having been per- 

 fectly satisfactory from port to port. The entire steaming time 

 from New York to Disco was twenty-seven days, seven hours, 

 and thirty minutes. 



Mr. Hull, of the Irish Geological Survey, has published a 

 letter in tlie Dnblin Mornni!; Mail in reference to the quantity of 

 coal available for use in the Irish coal-fields, in which it is stated 

 that the net tonnage available in Ireland is 182,280,000 tons — in 

 Ballycastle, County Antrim, 16,000,000 ; in Tyrone, 32,900,000 ; 

 in Queen's County, Kilkenny, and Carlow, 77,580,000 ; in 

 Tipperary, 25,000,000 ; in Clare, Limerick, and Cork, 

 20,000,000 ; 'and in Connaught (Arigua district) 10,800,000 

 tons. 



We are glad to observe from the eighth Report on the Mel- 

 bourne Observatory that the southern half of the heavens is 

 being observed to good purpose, though both the Board of 

 Visitors and Mr. Ellery think that several improvements in 

 details are much needed in order that the work may be done 

 with anything like sactisfactoriness. The great telescope con- 

 tinues to gi\'e increased satisfaction, though there seem to be 

 serious defects in the Magnet House, and a great want of clerical 

 assistance in reducing the great number of stars observed. The 

 number of star^; observed up to the period of the report was 

 48,672, the number reduced being only 36,917. It appears 

 that a large number of drawings of [nebula; and other celestial 

 objects observed with the Great Melbourne Telescope has accu- 

 mulated, and we earnestly hope that the Board's request to Par- 

 liament to supply the funds necessary to publish these may meet 

 with a favourable reply. Naturally the Board and the Govern- 

 ment Astronomer express regret that the Eclipse Expedition 

 should have turned out a faihu'e from the unfavourable weather. 

 Still the colony deserves the greatest: commendation for the 

 gallant endeavour it made. We are glad to see that vol. iv. of the 

 "Melbourne Astronomical Observ.ations " is now in the press, 

 that a General Catalogue for 1870, containing the results of all 

 the transit work at the observatory, is in preparation, and 

 that in January last the publication of a series of monthly 

 meteorological observations w,is commenced. Moreover, photo- 

 graphic pictures of the moon are being taken, and promise, we 

 are told, to be both excellent in themselves as works of art, as 

 well as useful in aiding the scientific observations now taking 

 place in Europe. Altogether the Report reflects the gre.atest 

 credit on Mr. Ellery, the Government Astronomer, and his too 

 limited staff. 



Three slight shocks of earthquake were felt on the evening of 

 July 27 at Valparaiso and at Caracas. 



A SLIGHT shock of earthquake was felt at Chopea in Khan- 

 deish on the evening of Friday, July 12, at about seven o'clock. 

 The shock lasted about a minute, and appears to have been felt 

 at the same time at Amainer, Dhurrangaon, Dhulia, and Julgaon. 

 Its course was from west to east. 



On the 15th of April a very violent volcanic eruption took 

 place from the volcano Merapi in Java, which had been quiet 

 since 1863. Gnat destruction of lives and property occurred, 

 many villages being totally destroyed. The outburst was en- 

 tirely unexpected, and the showers of stones and ashes and the 

 streams of lava were very deslnictive. At .Solo and other places 

 the showers of ashes lasted for three days, and it became so 

 dark that the lamps had to be lit. 3y the last accounts some 

 200 dead bodies had been found on one side of the volcano. 



