
: 
: 
Dec. 8, 1870] 
nourished, by smoke ; the abode, however, it had relinquished, 
I visited and examined by the aid of the scalpel of the anatomist. 
What did I observe, you ask? It appeared to me that I was 
passing into the very house of Pluto himself ; even the entrance- 
doors were tinged of a black colour, and the tongue, imbued, 
as it were, with the poisonous juice, was in a state of tumefac- 
tion. What as to the windpipe? It was like the inside of a 
chimney, coated completely with black grime. The lungs were 
dry, sapless, and scarcely at all friable. The liver, as if it, be- 
yond all the other organs, had attracted the fire, was altogether | 
inflamed ; from the flames of this fire not even the bile in its 
receptacle had been safe, for its colour had changed from purple | 
to green (ex purpureo virescentent). In the intestines, however, 
the drains of the body, the carbonaceous matters from the 
WaATURE 

whole combustion had become concentred, for they were full of | 
a black substance which exhaled no milder stench than that of 
Hell itself. Such, of this frequent suction, are the medicinal 
fruits !”” 
At the meeting of the Geologists’ Association, on Friday 
evening last, Mr. R. Etheridge read a paper on ‘The 
British Islands Past and Present, Physically considered.” 
After making some remarks on the intense interest and im- 
portance of the subject, he proceeded to describe the distributi n 
of land and water at different geological epochs, and to show 
that England, Ireland, and the Continent, were once united, 
and that the many and great changes which have taken place 
have arisen from the elevation or depression of the land, not 
from alteration of the sea level. Mr. Etheridge then referred to 
the changes which have taken place in the relative positions of 
land and water during the historic period, giving instances of 
towns and ci'ies that in the time of their prosperity stood some 
distance from the sea, but have been gradually submerged, and 
other places, whose importance arose from their contiguity to the 
ocean, now left high and dry inland. The paper was illustrated 
by a splendid collection of diagrams, 
Tue Seventh Annual Report of the Belfast Naturalists’ Club 
shows that this useful Society is making good progress. By 
the kindness of the Council of the Natural History Society, 
members of the Club have been permitted to re-arrange the 
valuable local collections in the Museum ; and a large sum 
has been granted by the Council for cases, &c., in which to 
exhibit a complete local collection. The local land, freshwater, 
and marine shells have been named and arranged ; the Herbarium 
is in progress ; and the Geological collection selected and named, 
ready for mounting. The Committee have also considered it 
desirable that the Club should prepare complete lists of the 
fauna, flora, geology, and archzology of Ulster, by publishing an 
annual contribution to such a work in addition to the ordinary 
report. The Appendix in the present issue consists of a list of 
the Irish Liassic Fossils, with notes on new and critical species, 
by Ralph Tate, Esq., F.G.S. The number of species enume- 
rated is 189; of which the following are new to science :— 
Chemnitzia punctata, Solarium thompsont, Tornatella robinsoni, 
Pleurotomaria tectaria, Hinnites angularis, Avicula pattersoni, 
Leda v-scripta, L. quenstedti, Cucullea griingert, Mytilus 
sublulis Thracia @quata, Anatina myacina, Pollicipes alatus. 
Figures of many of these are given in an accompanying plate, 
and the paper is a valuable contribution to local geology. We 
congratulate the Belfast Club on having successfuily started a 
work which will give a permanent value to their annual reports, 
and trust that their example will be widely followed by other 
local societies. 
IN the Chittagong district the Government of India has dis- 
continued explorations for coal at present, as the samples found 
are of an inferior and unpromising quality. 

115 

BALLOON ASCENTS FOR MILITARY PURPOSES 
AS soon as the war broke out, balloons, which had been so 
long forgotten by statesmen, were recalled to their memory 
by hundreds of projectors. Some of the schemes suggested were of 
the wildest description ; and scientific men took advantage of this 
circumstance to reject everything connected with aéronautics, But 
Surprises and reverses became so frequent in the French army, 
that it became evident that any apparatus able to carry observers 
would be considered as a preserver from such disgraces. As soon 
as it was clear that the Prussians were intending to besiege 
Paris, the Minister of War issued orders for the construction of a 
captive balloon, intended to watch the movements of any be- 
sieging army moving round the capital; but instead of having 
recourse to Mr, Giffard, the constructor of so many magnificent 
balloons, it was resolved to employ MM. Godard and Nadar. 
Paris was divided into aérial districts, the first being given to 
Nadar and the other to Godard. Nadar then received orders to 
establish his balloon on the foot of Buttes Montmartre, and 
Godard close to the Montsouris Meteorological Observatory on 
the banks of the small streamlet Biévre, where it crosses the 
fortifications. The balloons intended to be attached were not made 
on purpose, they merely used old ones which were worn out ; the 
gas-pipes were also not sufficiently large, and the gas-pressure was 
very low, so that when the first attempts at inflating were made, 
the Godard balloon took more than three days to be filled ; ‘and, 
when filled, was tossed so heavily by the wind, that it was neces- 
sary to let the gas escape. Nadar was still more unfortunate, 
and could not arrive even at the inflating of his balloon, except 
after immense labour, by laying a pipe along the ground for aspace 
of more than 300 yards. Moreover, when the first balloon was 
floated, it was as late as the 4th of September. I then ordered 
Godard to continue his inflating process. Many scientific 
bodies met, and deliberated upon the modes of improving captive 
balloon ascents ; but none of the members had ever ascended, and 
hence their practical knowledge was so small as to amcuat 
practically to nothing. 
I tried to improve in some respects the construction of cap- 
tive balloons, by using the process of fixing to the rope in- 
vented and practised by the aéronauts of the First Republic, and 
offered to the State a balloon, which had been given to me by my 
friend, Mr, Giffard, and which had, unfortunately, onlya capacity 
of 28,000 cubic feet. I had already used this balloon for an 
| ascent, executed for the benefit of the Aréne de la Rue Monge. 
That balloon was fitted up in a more scientific manner, the 
appendix being also firmly attached with rope, so that the pres- 
sure of the wind could not let a single puff of gas escape. The 
equatorial ropes were attached together and connected by means 
of little pulleys, the pulleys being connected by ropes, and so on 
till the whole of the network ended in three large ropes. This 
machinery worked admirably well, but the material of the 
balloon was not fit for the purpose. After two or three weeks’ 
standing, the company was dissolved, and the balleon was sent 
free into the air. Captive observations were not so useful as had 
been hoped ; that partial failure was owing to the. unfitness of 
officers entrusted with the duty of making observations, and of 
the men employed in the drawing of the ropes. Nothing of the 
kind would have happened if Government had accepted the offers 
made by Mr. Giffard before the beginning of the war. That 
great engineer had offered to spend 40,000/. in the construction of 
a large balloon of 15,000 cubic metres capacity, able to carry 40 
persons to the height of a full kilometre, but the Government had 
refused this proposal because Mr. Giffard asked for a place in 
the Champs Elysées, where it would have been necessary to dis- 
place a few shrubs. 
When the investment of Paris was completed, the question 
naturally arose of using balloons for carrying messages, the reso- 
lution having been taken by the minister, M. tampont, Post- 
office Director, to summon to his office several a€ronauts, Nadar, 
Artoise, myself, and a few gentlemen supposed to be acquainted 
with aérostatics ; and the ascent was decided upon in a long dis- 
cussion. 
The first who ascended, was Durioff with his own balloon, 
famous from several ascents. Durioff started up into the air early 
in the morning, and employed an immense lifting power, the wincl 
blowing strongly besides, and Durioff disappeared like a dream, 
He was alone in his car, carrying a bag of letters, with plenty 
of ballast; I protested in the most urgent manner against send- 
ing into the air a single man unassisted, but without any success. 
The advice was neglected in consequence of the success of the 
