Nov. 1 8, iSSo] 



NATURE 



65 



Society and elsewhere, and for his labours, practical and theo- 

 retical, on questions relating to the antiseptic system of treatment 

 in suro-ery ; a Royal Medal to Capt. Andrew Noble, F.R.S., for 

 his researches (jointly with Mr. Abel) into the action of ex- 

 plosives, his invention of the clironoscope, and other mathe- 

 matical and physical inquiries ; the Rumford Medal to Dr. 

 William Hu-gins, F.K.S., for his important researches ni astro, 

 nomical spectroscopy, and especially for his determination of 

 the radial component of the proper motions of stars ; the Davy 

 medal to Prof. Charles Friedel of Paris for his researches on 

 the organic compounds of silicon, and other investigations. 



We regret to have to record the death of M. d'Almeida, 

 secretary of the French Sociele de Physique, and editor of the 

 foiirnal de Physique. M. d'Almeida published a "Traite 

 de Physique" in collaboration with M. Boutin. The Compia 

 rendiis of the Academy of Sciences contain a number of his 

 memoirs. 



Mr. Spottiswoode, president of the Royal Society, w.is 

 present at the sitting of the French Academy of Science; on the 

 15th iust. He witnessed expeiiments made at Meritens' work- 

 shop on the magneto-electric engines which have been ordered 

 by the Trinity House. The trials were successful. 



Sir Edward Reed writes from Corunna to the Times of 

 yesterday, pointing out, as we were able to do last week, that 

 the reports as to tlie injury sustained by the Livadui have been 

 greatly exaggerated, and were not more than a few Clyde ship- 

 wrights could have repaired in a couple of days. There was no 

 difficulty in getting the two injured compartments put to rights, 

 barring the laziness of the French shipwrights. The Livadia 

 returns to Ferrol for the winter, as her services are not required 

 by her Imperial owner. 



Further details concerning the earthquake in Austria on the 

 9th confirm the reports as to its ex'ent and severity. At Agram 

 there were three shocks— the first, at 7.24 a.m., was the most 

 formidable and lasted ten seconds; the second, also severe, 

 occurred at 7.30 ; while the third, which was much the weakest, 

 took place at 8.28 a.m. The first .'•hock is described as circular. 

 It was followed by violent oscillations from north-north-east to 

 south-south-west. After it the whole town was covered by a 

 dense cloud of dust caused by the falling down of chimneys, 

 walls, and houses in every direction. From Laibach, Marburg, 

 Ivlagenfurt, Kanizsa, Serajevo, Derwent, Brod, Pola, Trieste> 

 Cilli, and the region of the river Drave, intelligence has been 

 received of more or less severe shocks about the time of the fir^t 

 great shock in Agram. The earthquake was also felt in both 

 Vienna and Pesth, but to slightly that it attracted the notice of 

 only a few persons. The direction of the motion was every- 

 where the same, from north-east to south-southwest. As far 

 as can be judged from the information hitherto received, the 

 movement extended from the 44th to the 4Sth degree north 

 latitude, and from the 32d to the 37th degree of east longitude 

 (Ferro). From almost every di^trict on the right bank of the 

 Danube there is news of a greater or le.'S disturbance with more 

 or less damage done, while from the other side there is no such 

 intelligence from even a single place. It was aL-o felt at 

 Szegedin and on the Theiss. Slight shocks were alsj felt on 

 the night of the 9th and morning of the loth, at Agram, and at 

 noon on the nth, a shock caused a number of houses to fall; 

 the last was preceded by slighter shocks at 5.30 and 11 a.m. 

 The disturbance was continued on the evening of the nth, and 

 on the morning, afternoon, and evening of the 12th. In 

 the neighbourhood of Agram tuo mud volcanoes are said 

 to be formed and in full eruption, and several hot springs have 

 risen. The earth has also been rent in many places in the open 

 country, and c msiderable quantities of mud with hot water and 

 sulphur have been thrown out. The Vienna correspondent of 



the Times writes under the date of November 14 : " The earth 

 has been rent in many places in the open country, and consider- 

 able quantities of mud and hot water with sulphur have been 

 thrown out. One of the largest of these rents is near the village 

 of Resnik. Agram has often been visited by these earthquakes, 

 especially within the last few years. Indeed scarcely a year 

 has passed h ithout more or less violent shocks." On the night 

 of the 1 5th- 1 6th there were at least five shocks at intervals 

 between midnight and 4 a.m. Geologists have gone from Vienna 

 and Berlin to Agram to study the phenomena more closely. 



Mr. J. MuNRO has drawn our attention to the fact that in 

 Nature, vol. xviii. p. 169, there appeared a short letter signed 

 "J. F. \V." and dated from Kew, June 3, 187S, suggesting the 

 principle of Prof. Bell's photophone. The letter is as follows :— 

 " Till now I have looked in vain for any account in Nature of 

 experiments with the telephone or phonoscope, inserted in the 

 circuit of a selenium (galvanic) element (see Nature, vol xvu. 

 p. 312). One is inclined to think that by exposing the selenium 

 to light, the intensity of which is subject to rapid changes, sound 

 may be produced in the jihonoscope. Probably by making use 

 of selenium, instead of the tube-transmitter with charcoal, &c., 

 of Prof, Hughes, and by exposing it to light as above, the same 

 result may be obtained. I should be glad to know whether 

 experiments have been made in this direction ; for if the above 

 should prove true, there is no doubt that many applications 

 would be the result." 



Our entomological readers will be glad to know that Mr. 

 McLachlan will still continue his valuable services to tlie 

 Zoological Record, reporting as usual on the groups of the 

 Neuroptera and Orthoptera. Mr. Rye mil henceforth confine 

 himself to editorial work, while the groups hitherto recorded by 

 him will be undertaken by Mr. Kirby, who will also do the 

 Coleoptera. 



^ Large additions are now being made to the Museum d'Histoire 

 Naturelle in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. A new front is 

 being erected and two new sides, which, combined with the 

 form°er " Galerie," will form a hollow square. This square « ill 

 be covered with glass and used for the exhibition of skeletons of 

 whales and other specimens of inordinate dimensions. The total 

 cost of these buildings is estimated at five million francs 

 (160,000/.). 



Under the auspices of the Russian Geographical Society M. 

 Merejkovsky has been investigating the prehistoric anthi-opology 

 of the Crimea. He has explored numerous caverns and made 

 large collections of skulls, and the conclusion he comes to is that 

 the" age of stone in the Crimea may be divided into three 

 periods : I. Diluvian period, with mammoth fauna and arms of 

 large dimensions, rudely worked. 2. Alluvial period, with con- 

 temporaneous fauna and _the use of the arrow. 3. A later 

 period, remarkable for the use of stone arrows, with scarcely any 

 arms of large dimensions. lu the Ural M. Malakhof has ob- 

 tained important results, both geodetical and anthropological. 

 He believes he has discovered on the Neiva, 75 versts from 

 Ekaterineborg, traces of a prehistoric city. 



A REGULAR analysis of the air is carried on by M. I)a\7 

 at Moutsouris. It has been found that the number of 

 bacteria was twice greater than usual during the last period of 

 high mortality. 



The President of the French Republic has established tele- 

 phonic communication between the Elysee and the Chamber of 

 Deputies, as well as the Senate. The first message of this in- 

 strument was the intelligence that the Cabinet had been placed 

 in a minority. 



An interesting exhibition took place on Sunday, the 14th, at 

 the Paris Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, Rue St. Martin. 

 The portcfcinlle of Vaucauson was opened for the first time to 



