84 



NATURE 



\_Nov. 25, 18S0 



Railway, it was looked upon as an exaggeration to attract Sunday 

 excursionists. It is now, however, confirmed that the lava is 

 flowing over the side to« ards Naple?, and, after having destroyed 

 the outworic bnilt to protect the upper station of tlie railway, is 

 running rapidly in a \ivid streak of fire parallel to the line, but 

 at a distance which does not thus far imperil its safety. The 

 spectacle is described as magnificent, and crowds were oat 

 watching the course of the lava and speculating on the fate of 

 the Funicular Railway." 



An International Congress of Electricians accompanied by an 

 International Exposition of Electricity will be held in Paris 

 during the autumn of 18S1. This Exposition is to be opened 

 (under the patronage of the Government, though at the pecuniary 

 risk of private parties) on August i, and to continue until 

 November 15 following. The Congi-ess of Electricians will 

 meet on November 15 in the rooms of tlie Palace of the Troca- 

 dero. Opportunity will be given for exhaustive research in all 

 the various branches. The Exposition will remain open each 

 evening until eleven o'clock to afford opportunities of testing the 

 practicability of tlie different systems of electric lighting. The 

 Congress is to assemble under the presidency of the Minister of 

 Posts and Telegraphs, and the vice presidency of three Frencli 

 and three foreign delegates. 



On February 10, 1S79, a few gentlemen interested in the study 

 of man met in the Smithsonian Institution to devise a method 

 of mutual improvement. The effort resulted in the formation of 

 the Anthropological Society of Washington, with Major Powell 

 for president, and Dr. Reynolds and Prof. O. T. Mason as 

 recording and corresponding secretaries. Twenty-four papers 

 have been read, which, if one might judge from their title=, are 

 most interesting and valuable contributions. We learn from the 

 American Naturalist that it is not yet decided whether a journal 

 will be published, inasmuch as the Smithsonian Institution and 

 the Bureau of Ethnology "afford ample opportunities of pre- 

 serving all papers of permanent value." Without doubting this 

 fact, we still liope that this young and vigorous society may not 

 only have its own publication, but also that a long career of 

 activity may ensue to provide the material for filling the pages 

 of the same. 



Herr V. Bergsu, in a recent work, " Fra Mark og Skov," 

 has given some interesting data in regard to the habits of the 

 Tarentula, Lycosa tarcnttda, Latr., whose nests he has traced 

 and examined on the Roman Campagna. He found that the 

 nest, whicli was well rounded and smooth, was approached by a 

 tunnel which, after running about a foot straight down below 

 the surface of the ground, made a sudden short turn before it 

 finally descended for about another foot into the spider's abode. 

 The entrance to the tunnel is concealed by an arched covering 

 made by the interlacing of grasses and leaves. The eggs are 

 inclosed in a spun bag, and the young appear in the autumn, 

 when they immediately seat themselves on the body of the 

 mother where they remain till about April, neither parent nor 

 offspring seeking food during their hybernation. As many as 

 291 individuals were on one occasion removed in February from 

 the body of an emaciated tarentula. The superstitious error of 

 assuming that the bite of the animal induces an irresistible desire 

 of dancing is due to the fact, that dancing having been originally 

 employed as a remedy against the poison, which is believed to 

 be eliminated by profuse perspiration, the action of the poison 

 ■was confounded with the means of its eradication. 



Exotic butterflies have long, from their beauty, engaged the 

 enthusiastic attention of wealthy collectors, some of whom, as 

 notably the late Mr. Hewiston, have also enriched entomological 

 literature with works containing coloured figures of their favourite 

 insects. M. C. Oberthiir of Rennes, who, with his brother 

 Rene, is the possessor of a very extensive entomological museum. 



in which is contained the late Dr. Eoisduval's collection of 

 Lepidoptera, has just published his Quatrieme livTaison of a 

 work, "Etudes d'Entomologie," which has more or less regularly 

 appeared during the last few years. The present part is devoted 

 to the " Papilionidx " of his collection, and six coloured plates 

 illustrate the species and varieties which he considers it necessary 

 to describe. 



Much interest has been excited in Norway by the recent 

 appearance of a colony of beavers on the Voldifjord, a branch 

 of the Frierfjord, which is at a considerable distance from the 

 beaver-station still remaining at Omli on Nedences. 



Under the title lagttagcher over Nordlys aiutittede i Norge, 

 Sverige og Danmark, bearbeidede af Sophus Tromholt (Chris- 

 tiania), we have the results yielded by 839 observations of the 

 aurora borealis, at 132 Scandinavian stations, on 154 nights, be- 

 tween September iSyS and April 1S79 on which the northern light 

 was visible. These observations are arranged under four heads 

 in accordance with (i) longitude and latitude of stations ; (2) time 

 of year and age of moon ; (3) colour, form, and altitude of 

 streamers ; (4) sound. Herr Tromholt considers that it may be 

 accepted as certain, that the aurora is a local phenomenon, 

 circumscribed by narrow limits, and manifested at inconsiderable 

 distances from the earth's surface ; that the light is generally 

 white, and less often red or green, but that in latitudes higher 

 than Bergen it not unfi'equently presents spectral colours ; and 

 that the accompaniment of sound is an indisputable fact in 

 relation to the auroral phenomenon. We learn from Natiireii 

 that Herr Tromholt has resumed his observations of the 

 aurora borealis, to which he has devoted his attention for many 

 years. It is his intention to make a catalogue of every recorded 

 manifestation of the northern light in Norway ; and for this pur- 

 pose he requests the co-operation of other observers, and will be 

 grateful for reference to any foreign sources of information, 

 such as ships' logs, journals, weather tables, almanacs, S:c., 

 which might yield materials towards the better elucidation of 

 this phenomenon. 



In a letter addressed to Mr. Cust by Prof. F. W. Newman, 

 and just published in the Jou7iial of the Royal Asiatic Society, 

 on the Libyan languages, the writer remarks that St. Augustine 

 in his own day attested that one language prevailed in Roman 

 Africa, and that it was quite natural to suppose the same to be 

 the case now, when a large and striking similarity was found in 

 the leading nouns and verbs. The changes however induced in 

 1500 years have broken up the original unity, and Prof. Newman 

 states that we are now forced to admit at least four languages, 

 each differing from the other more than German from Dutch, or 

 Portuguese from Spanish. 



The annual course of five lectures in connection with tlie 

 Brow n Institution will be delivered by Dr. W. S. Greenfield, 

 Professor-Superintendent, in the tlieatre of the University of 

 London, Burlington Gardens, W., on December 13, 15, 17, 20, 

 and 22, at S-30 p.m. Subject : Further Investigations on An- 

 thrax and Allied Diseases in Man and Animals. Microscopic 

 specimens will be exhibited on December 22 from 4.30 p.m. 



We learn from Fiyche that Miss Emily A. Smith, a well- 

 known entomologist of Peoria, Illinois, has gone to Leipzig, 

 where, if the university authorities will allow it, she will pursue 

 a general course of zoological work in the new laboratory of 

 Prof. Leuckart. This lady was recently elected a member of 

 the Entomological Society of London. 



Capt. H. King, R.N., writes with reference to the instances 

 of fascination mentioned at p. 56, vol. xxiii., that liaving heard 

 that the American ostrich might be enticed within gunshot by a 

 person lying upon his back and kicking his legs and arms in the 



