254 



NATURE 



{Jan. 13, 1 88 1 



was as likely autochthonous as of Asiatic origin, had stamped its 

 impress on the people of California. The early men of America 

 he believed were dolichocephali, and the short-headed people he 

 thought were made up of a succession of intrusive tribes in a 

 higher stage of development, which in time overran the greater 

 part of both North and South America, conquering and absorbing 

 the long-headed people, or driving them to the least desirable 

 parts of the continent. He thought that the evidence was con- 

 clusive that California had been the meeting ground of several 

 distinct branches of the widely-spread Mongoloid stock ; for in 

 no other way could he account for the remarkable commingling 

 of customs, arts and languages, and the formation of the large 

 number of tribes that existed in both U 1 per and Lower Cali- 

 fornia when first known to the Spaniards. Mr. Putnam then 

 gave a review of the arts of the Californians and the physical 

 characters and customs of the people, showing that, notwithstand- 

 ing the absence of pottery, the tribes, when first known, had 

 passed through the several stages of savagery and had reached 

 the lower status of baibaiism of the " ethnical periods " given 

 by Morgan. 



Prof. Schafer's course of eleven lectures on the Blood at 

 the Royal Institution will begin on the 25th instant instead of 

 the iSth. Mr. Francis Hueffer's course of four lectures on the 

 Troubadours will begin on the 27th instant instead of the 20th ; 

 and Prof. Sidney Colvin's course of four lectures on the Amazons 

 will begin on the 29th instant instead of the 22nd. 



Part 2 of vol. vii. of the "Natural History Transactions of 

 Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle-on-Tyne" has just 

 been issued (Williams and Norgate). The part contains an 

 interesting memoir of the late Mr. \V. C. Hewitson, F. L.S., by 

 Dr. Embleton, accompanied by a good photograph. There is a 

 long paper by Mr. Hugh Miller on Tynedale Escarpments, their 

 pre-glacial, glacial, and post-glacial features. 



Herr E. Reyer has published a little pamphlet containing 

 some interesting notes on the history of tin. 



At the meeting of the Eastbourne Natural History Society of 

 December 17, 18S6, Mr. Charles Foran read "Notes on some 

 of the Beetles of the Cuckmere District." 



The Municipal Council of Paris has given authority to the 

 Lontin Company to light the Place du Carrousel with electricity. 

 A contract has been signed by ihe Lyons and Mediterranean 

 Company for illuminating, by the Lontin light, all the principal 

 railway stations on their system. Experiments have been tried 

 at Marseilles and have been carried out successfully. 



From January i V Electricite and La Lumih-e Electrique, 

 two French electrical papers, will appear every week instead of 

 every fortnight. 



The German Society of Eastern Asia, having its headquarters 

 at Yokohama, has sent us the last four parts of \\s, Mitlheilungiii. 

 This Society is evidently doing a very useful work in collecting 

 information on a great variety of subjects connected especially 

 with Japan. The parts sent us contain pa|ers on such subjects 

 as Japanese proverbs, diseases, songs, population statistics, 

 mining, cremation, the "Go" game, coins, and ihe chalk forma- 

 tion of Yedo. Asher and Co. of Berlin are the European agents 

 of the Society. 



We find in the Journal dc Geneve the following figures as to 

 the very warm winter which is experienced during this year on 

 the shores of Lake Leman, as compared with the unusually cold 

 winter of the year passed. In December, 1S79, the maximum 

 daily temperature at Geneva was only five times above zero, and 

 the average was -J-6°'4 Cels., whilst the averape of the maximum 

 'emperatures of the remaining tnenty-six days was -4°'S Cels. 



As to Ihe minima they were only twice above zero, and their 

 average was -f2°'9, whilst the average of the remaining twenty- 

 nine minima was -9°7. In December, 1S80, the thermometer 

 was only six times below the melting-point, and the average of 

 the cold minima was - o°*7, whilst the average of the minima 

 for the other twenty-five days was H-3°'8. As to the maxima 

 they fell below zero, and their average is as high as -fg""!. The 

 greatest cold experienced during December, 1879, was - 15° 

 Cels., and only - i°'5 in 1880; the warmest temperature observed 

 during December, 1879, was -i-8°-9, and -1-13° Cels. in 1880. 



A TEA plantation was established last year by Count d'Amigo 

 upon his estates, situated near Messina. The tea plant is said 

 to thrive perfectly well there, and its leaves are said to be in no- 

 «ise inferior to those of the Chinese plant. In order to dry 

 them in a rational manner and to prepare them for export as 

 well as for home consumption, a Chinese expert is to become the 

 manager of the Messina plantations. 



The Wissenschaftliche Centralverein at Berlin held its annual 

 general meeting on December 13, 1880. The secretary, Dr 

 Max Hirsch, in his yearly report stated that the principal efforts 

 of the Society had been directed towards furthering the progress 

 of the Humboldt Academy, which was founded by the Society 

 some two years ago, and which since that time shows a total of 

 ninety-two courses of lectures, which were delivered before 3366 

 students and a still larger number of " hospitanten," i.e. casual 

 students. Apart from these lecture-courses the Society has for 

 this winter arranged for a number of single lectures by eminent 

 men of science. The establishment of a large reading-room is 

 also planned. 



A Young Men's Society for Home Study has been started iu 

 the United States. The aim of the Society is to guide and 

 encourage young men desirous of systematic study and reading 

 at home by opening to them, by means of correspondence, sys- 

 tematic courses in various subjects. Courses of reading and 

 plans of work are arranged, from which men may select one or 

 more, according to their taste and leisure, and aid is given them, 

 from time to time, through directions and advice. The courses 

 offered by the Society at present (more may be added as the 

 demand for them becomes known) are : Course I. American 

 and English History. Course 2. English Literature. Course 

 3. German Literature. Course 4. Natural Science : Sec. i, 

 Botany ; Sec. 2, Zoology ; Sec. 3, Geology. Course 5. Mathe- 

 matics. Mr. Samuel H. Scudder is head of the Natural Science 

 Department. 



The simplest post-office in the world is in Magellan Straits, 

 and has been established there for some years past. It consists 

 of a small cask, which is chained to the rock of the extreme 

 cape in the straits, opposite Tierra del Fuego. Each passing 

 ship sends a boat to open the cask and to take letters out and 

 place others into it. The post-office is self-acting therefore ; it 

 is under the protection of the navies of all nations, and up to the 

 [iresent there is not one case to report in which any abuse of 

 the privileges it affords has taken place. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 

 \Vinnecke's Comet. — Reference has been already made in 

 this column to the very unfavourable circumstances attending 

 the actual return to perihelion of the short-period comet of 

 Winnecke, and so far there is no intimation of its having been 

 detected «ven with telescopes of the greatest optical capacity. 

 Indeed, as will be seen from Prof. Oppolzer's communication in 

 the Astrott. Nach. No. 2326, though he gave an accurately- 

 computed ephemeris extending to January 24, he considered the 

 chnnce of perceiving the comet a very remote one. The peri- 

 helion passage took place on December 4, and the intensity of 

 light is now very small, not greater than half that at the date of 

 the last observation in 185S. The comet sets less than ih. 4Sm . 



