l82 



NATURE 



{.Dc 



1880 



number of members, is the minute investigation of tlie Thuringian 

 flora, and the making of botanical collections. 



A GENERAL meeting of the Mineralcgical Society of Great 

 Britain and Ireland will be held at the Museum of Practical 

 Geolo_jy, Jermyn Street, to-day, at 8 p.m. The following 

 papers will be read : — " On Tyreeite," by Prof. M. F. Heddle, 

 F.R.S.E. ; "On Minerals New to Britain," [by Prof. M. F. 

 Heddle, F.R.S.E. ; "Note on Gilbertite," by J. H. Collins, 

 F.G.S.; "On Erochantite," by Wm. Semmous; "On a 

 Remarkably Fine Crystal of Euclase," by M. Guyot ; "On the 

 Action of Organic Acids on Minerals," by Prof. H. C. Bolton, 

 communicated by J. \\. Collins ; " On Strontium from West- 

 phalia," by Joseph J. Acworth, F.C.S., communicated by F. 

 W. Rudler, F.G.S. 



Under the common name of " Guaco " many plants are 

 known belonging to different natural families, which have a 

 reputation for curing snake-bites. In a recent number of the 

 Pharmaceutical yoiiriial particular attention is drawn to one of 

 these guaco-yielding plant?, the Mikania guaco, a composite 

 plant of South America. The paper referred to is the substance 

 of a letter received at the Royal Gardens, Kew, from a corre- 

 spondent at La Salada, New Grenada, in which the writer gives 

 his personal testimony as to the value of the remedy, and says 

 that it forms the basis ot all the preparations of the snake-bite 

 doctors of the district. Notwithstanding that there are several 

 species of snakes in the country whose bite is considered mortal, 

 some killing in a very few hours, it is asserted by the writer of 

 the letter, who has resided in snake-infested regions for many 

 years, that properly and promptly administered the guaco is a 

 sure cure for the bite of the most venomous. An infusion or 

 tincture of the leaves is used internally, and hot poultices of the 

 bruised leaves and stem are applied externally. 



The Report on the Botanic Gardens, Georgetown, Demarara, 

 for the half-year ending June 30 last has just been received. Its 

 matter is mostly of local interest. We note however that Mr. 

 Jenman, the superintendent, refers in one part of tlie Report to 

 the rapid growth of some introduced plants. "This," he says, 

 " is more particularly shown by the roses obtained from England. 

 The hybrid perpetnals from average-sized nursery plants have in 

 the three months whicli have elapsed since they were put out, 

 grown into bushes from six to seven feet high, and the other 

 hard-wooded things have hardly done less well; while herbaceous 

 plants such as Colcus, Altcrnanlhcra, Ircsine, Amaranthus, &c., 

 appear to rush up to maturity in two or three weeks. Much of 

 this luxuriance is due however to the very moist season experi- 

 enced, as vegetation soon suffers and becomes stagnant with 

 even a short period of drought in the stiff, tenacious soil of the 

 coast land of the colony." 



A PLANT recently introduced to Queensland by accident is 

 reported to be giving some trouble in the colony in consequence 

 of its poisonous effects upon cattle. The plant is Xaut/iium 

 strumarium, and it is said to have been introduced along with 

 cotton seed. From experiments made with the plant by admini- 

 stration of the extract to some animals it seems at first that no 

 particular symptoms were apparent, but after a period of about 

 half an hour the animal becomes torpid and unwilling to move 

 about. " The torpidity gradually increases, and without notable 

 struggling or excitement the breathing ceases, after which the 

 heart's action becomes feeble and stops. In weaker doses 

 recovery of the functions of life takes place, and the animal 

 appears little tlie worse for the experiment. The animals poisoned 

 retained their intelligence to the last. An extract prepared from 

 the common Bathurst Burr, Xanthium spinosum, gave similar 

 results, though the stubborn character of this plant does not 

 ofier a tempting food for cattle, and they are not therefore 



poisoned by it." Both species are found as casual weeds in this 

 country, though they are not considered to be indigenous. 



On the 7th inst. the distinguished Vienna anatomist, Dr. Hyrtl, 

 reached his seventieth birthday. He received numerous addresses 

 from medical bodies in Austria, and congratulatory telegrams 

 from all parts of the world. 



In Banjaluka (Bosnia) a distinct shock of earthquake was felt 

 on the 6th inst. at 9. iS p.m., direction north-east to south-west, 

 duration four seconds. In Agram, on the nth, a violent shock 

 was experienced about 5 a.m., and one less violent about 7.14 a.m. 

 Since the 12th there have been no shocks there. The entire 

 number of shocks at Agram during the earthquake period — 

 November 9 to December 10 — is (according to official data) fifty- 

 nine. In Gurkfeld (Styria) shocks of brief duration were felt on 

 the nth inst. at 5 and 7.12 a.m., direction south-east to north- 

 west. 



A SLIGHT shock of earthquake was felt at Charleville, Ireland, 

 on Saturday morning. It passed from the north-west to the 

 south-east, and lasted for five seconls. 



The new "Year-book of Photography" contains a nice 

 portrait of Dagfuerre, the father of photography, from a daguerro- 

 type taken in 1S46 by Mr. J. E. Mayall. 



In a moor of the Canton of Vaud (Switzerland) a well-pre- 

 served boat, dating from the age of pile-dwellings, has been 

 found. It measures eleven metres in length and one metre in 

 breadth, and has been conveyed to Lausanne. 



The ruins of a once magnificent bahing establishment have 

 been recently discovered by Prof. Giuseppe Novi not far from 

 Herculaneum. They are covered with a layer of ashes and lava 

 of ten metres thickness. What has been brought to light up to 

 the present is said to eclipse all previous discoveries of a similar 

 nature both in Herculaneum and Pompeii. The fountains and 

 tanks of these " Terme " are made of oriental granite and adorned 

 with sculptures. The floors are of coloured glass mosaic; un- 

 fortunately it is but badly preserved. The walls of the various 

 buildings are elegantly ornamented with paintings and stucco- 

 work. The excavations are to be continued. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 



Swift's Comet. — The evidence in favour of a period of about 

 55 years instead of about 1 1 years for this comet is apparently 

 strengthened by an able note from Mr. S. C. Chandler, jun., 

 which we find in an advance number of the Boston Science 

 Observer. He brings the two periods to bear upon the repre- 

 sentation of the observations of 1S69. Starting with Prof. 

 Bruhns' parabolic elements in Asl. Nach. No. 1788, he computed 

 an ephemeris and compared therewith all the published observa- 

 tions, thirty-five in number, after taking into account parallax 

 and aberration. The residuals were found to be considerable 

 and systematic, and with the view to obtaining a nearer approxi- 

 mation to the orbit before proceeding with the determination of 

 final elements, he formed three normals, using for the first all the 

 observed places, six in number, from November 29 to December 

 I inclusive ; for the second all the places from December 8 to 10 

 inclusive, eleven in number ; and for the third six observations 

 between December 26 and 31 : these observations were made at 

 Hamburg, Ktinigsberg, Kremsmunster, Leipsic, Manheim. and 

 Vienna ; he thus gets for the foundation of his subsequent work 

 the following normal positions : — 



Washington M T. App. R.A. App. DecL 



h m. s. . , // 



1S69, November 29-82475 - 23 i 5'20 ... 4- "S 51 577 

 December 8-81453 -• ° 3 37'28 ... 20 55 f' 

 December 29-43628 ... 2 39 22-08 ... -f 26 30 56-8 



From these data Mr. Chandler calculates elements upon three 

 different hypotheses : (i) that the orbit is a parabola; (2) that 

 it is an ellipse with a period of 4006 days, or about 11 years 

 (3) that it is an ellipse with a period of 2003 days, or about 5i 



