36 

production, that it is more than probable there will be for some 
years to come an annual increase in the quantity imported of at 
least ten per cent. 
In the State of Santander, Colombia, one of the most im- 
portant sources of state revenue is the manufacture of so-called 
straw hats. These hats are chiefly made in the Bucaramanga 
district, and are of a very fine and white material, but still not 
equal to the celebrated Panama hats, as they soon become dirty, 
owing to the plait not being drawn sufficiently tight. The weekly 
sale of hats in the above district averages from 600 to 800 dozen, 
the lowest quality of which fetch about 1/. 4s. the dozen, and 
the finest quality often realising as much as 1/. Ios, to 1/. 16s. 
each. These latter are principally made near Zapatoca, which 
also has a large trade, but not to the same extent as Bucara- 
manga. They are for the most part exported to Havana and 
the United States, where there used to be a great demand for 
them, but now the trade seems to have somewhat diminished. 
In the first half of last year 250 cargoes were exported, and as 
each cargo contains 1,200 hats, some idea may be formed of the 
large quantities manufactured. The above is gathered from a 
report on the industrial resources of the State of Santander, The 
hats referred to are described as being made of a white kind of 
“© straw.” We have not seen any of the actual material, but 
think, in all probability, the so-called straw may be the split 
leaves of some palm, perhaps 7/rvinax argentea, which was im- 
ported in considerable quantities some years ago, and manu- 
factured at St. Alban’s into ‘‘ chip” hats. 
THE astronomical and meteorological observations made at 
the United States’ Naval Observatory during 1867 have just been 
published in a large quarto volume, There is an appendix of 
reports on the observations of the total eclipse of the sun of 
Aug. 7, 1869, the various phases of which are beautifully illus- 
trated by chromo-lithographs, and the various instruments made 
use of are particularly described. 
A PiECE of meteoric iron fell on the 18th of September last 
near Santa Clara, California, in the barn-yard of Michael Sanor, 
where it set the straw and dééris on fire. When picked up it 
was exceedingly hot, and hissed when thrown into water. The 
meteorite which fell in October 1869 in Stewart County, 
Georgia, will be analysed, and a full description of its fall and 
accompanying phenomena given in the next number of Si//i- 
mans Fournal, by Prof. Willet. 
In consequence of the depression caused by the war, the 
private enterprise for working coal near Manita in Asia Minor 
has been postponed, but the Government is taking measures at 
length for working the coal formations near Constantinople for 
the artillery factories, carried on under the direction of Messrs. 
Siemens. This coal was known and worked seventy years ago, 
as described in old books of travels, and then abandoned. The 
Heraklea coal mines are going on slowly. 
TuE Government of India is now cooling in its reduction fit, 
consequent on the supposed deficiency in the Budget, and is 
paying more attention to the discharge of its duties. The ap- 
pointment of an assistant curator for the Geological Museum of 
India has been authorised, and an increase allowed for the 
literary purposes of the department. 
Ir is reported from that interesting region, the Argentine 
States, that two enormous fossil skeletons have lately been dis- 
covered at Fray Bentos, but they are so large as to be beyond 
the local means of transporting them with safety. 
A GREATearthquake has taken placein the town of Santo Tomas, 
the capital, and in the district, of Chumbivilcas, department of 
Cuzco, Peru. On the roth of July, about 1.30 P.M., it was felt 
as the people were coming out from mass. The upper part of 
the two side towers of the church fellin, the vaulted roof was 
NATURE 



[Nov. 10, 1870 

ot 
rent, as well as the walls, and much more damage done. Other — 
damage also took place in the town and district. On that same — 
day the River Santo Tomas, which runs abo:.t a league to the — 
west of the town, suddenly rose and overfluwed its banks, pro- 
ducing great destruction to the farms, horses, and cattle, but no — 
lives were lost. It was afterwards ascertained that by force of — 
the shock the waters of the Lake Quenacocha had broken out — 
into the river. The lake is about 20 miles in circumference, — 
and lies at the base of the western chain of the Andes. In the ~ 
town of Ccolqquemarca, the tower and body of the church were — 
injured, and many houses overthrown. Up to the 12th the ~ 
earthquakes were felt every few minutes, at least every quarter — 
of an hour, and the river was still flooded. On the 13th August © 
there was a slight earthquake in the evening at Lima. On the 
27th August an earthquake was felt in Chile—we presume at Val- 4 
paraiso, : 
EFFORTS are being made to obtain improved instruments and 
to extend the observations at the Meteorological Observatory at — 
Durban, in Natal. i 
IN continuation ot our comments on the caution necessary in 
dealing with scientific statements in the Indian press, we may 
advert to a case in which the Welsh fasting-girl is eclipsed. Ag 
correspondent of the Judian Daily News at Nuddea affirms that — 
a Sudra woman, forty-five years old, has abstained from food — 
twenty-five years. She bathes twice a day. Of course it is to 
be added that many natives have satisfied themselves of the cor- 
rectness of this statement, as many Welshmen did with regard to 
their fasting-girl. 

THE Jnverness Courier of October 13 states that a number 
of hollow glass globes of a dark colour, and measuring about 
eighteen inches in circumference, have lately been found washed — 
ashore at various parts of the coast on the west side of the 
Island of Lewis. They are hermetically sealed, and have certain ~ 
characters, such as IV or VI impressed on the sealed part. 
Some of them are partially filled with a colourless liquid. The 
question is asked: ‘* Have these been used for some experiment 
made for the purpose of ascertaining the course of some ocean — 
current?” Can any of our readers throw light on this subject ? 
In a recent number of the Pharmaceutical Journal a paper 4 
appears, by Mr. Cooke, on the Guarana, the} seeds of a tree — 
termed the Paulina sorbilis, belonging to the order Sapindacee, 
and abundant in the province of the Amazonas. The fruit is 
scarcely as large as a walnut, and contains five or six seeds, which 
are roasted, then mixed with water and moulded into a cylindrical 
form resembling a large sausage, and finally dried in an oven, — 
Before being used it is grated into a powder, very like powdered _ 
cacao in appearance. Two spoonfuls of the powder are mixed — 
in a tumbler of water, and this drink is regarded as a stimulant 
to the nerves, and like strong tea or coffee is said to take away 
the disposition to sleep. The active chemical principle is an — 
alkaloid which Dr. Stenhouse has shown to be identical with — 
theine. Guarana contains more than double as much of this 
alkaloid as good black tea, and five times as much as coffee, the 
proportion being 5°07 per cent in Guarana. It is rather a singular 
coincidence that the same alkaloid should prevail in all the © 
principal substances employed in a similar manner as beverages : 
in different parts of the world, in the tea of China and India, ~ 
the coftee of Arabia, the cacao of Central America, the maté of 
South America, and the guarana of Brazil. Guarana is a nervous — 
stimulative and restorative. 
Mt ey 
AN attempt is again being made, with hope of success, to work 
the quicksilver mine of Punitaqui, in Ovalle Department, Chile. 
It was worked for the crown in the Spanish times, but the war 
of Independence and the Indian incursions stopped it, as the latter 
did again in 1$30, iD 

