Jan. 27, 1 881] 



NA rURE 



297 



In connection with onr rcceiit note on the Young Men's Home 

 Education Society, a lady in Cork sends us some information 

 concerning the Minerva Club, whoi-e head-quarters seem to be 

 in that city, and which aims at enabling ladies to educate them- 

 selves at home. The regulations of the Club seem well adaplcd 

 for this purpose, and the proj^ramme includes natural science. 

 The books recommended are all standard ones, and the ex- 

 examiners men of good standing in literature and science. The 

 specimens of the examination papers sent us in geology and 

 geography show that a high standard is aimed at. The hono- 

 rary secretary of the Club is Mrs. W. S. Green, The Rectory, 

 Carrigaline, Co. Cork. 



In the cour.-c of dredging operations in the bed of the Limmat, 

 at Zurich, some very interesting objects have been brought to 

 light, among others ancient coii s (including fifty gold pieces of 

 lirabant), swords, and the skeleton of a stag of a species now 

 extinct in Switzcrlard. The piers cf a Roman bridge which 

 once spanned the river have also been laid bare. All the finds 

 are being placed in the Zurich Historical Museum. 



A REPORT has reached Vienna, January 24, which has not yet 

 been confirmed, of a fresh earthquake at Agrani, attended with 

 disastrous consequences. At I.andeck (Tyrol) three shocks were 

 noticed on January 10, at 9 p.m. The first one was the most 

 violent, and the other two followed at intervals of five minutes. 

 The earthquake which was felt at 5.15 p.m. on December 25, 

 in Southern Russia, extended as far as Odessa and Kishineff in 

 south-west, Tiraspol, Kyeltzy, in Bessarabia, and the Ouman 

 district of the province of Kieff in north-east ; it was strong 

 enough in the villages Legheziiioand Vishnepolie of this district. 

 At Molokishi, district of Ualla, and at Byet/.y, it was very 

 strong. 



A METEORIC stone fell at Wiener Neustadt a few days ago, 

 near the telegraph office, and penetrated deeply into the gravel- 

 covered ro.ad. 'Ihe phenomenon was witnessed by several 

 person.s, who all declare that the meteor showed a brilliant light. 

 Upon inspection a triangular hole was discovered of J centimetres 

 width ; the pround was frozen at the time. The metefric stone 

 was excavated in the presence of Dr. Schober, director of the 

 Wiener Neustadt High School. It weighs 375 graii.mes, is 

 triangular in .shape, its exterior is crj'stalline, with curious 

 blackish, greyish, and ye!low-reddi.sh patches. Here and there 

 metallic parts give a brilliant lustre. Its specific weight is very 

 high, its hardness about 9. An analysis is now being made. 



The second series of Evening Lectures delivered at the Royal 

 College of Science, Dublin, has commenced with satisfactory 

 entries. The classes have been voluntarily undertaken by the 

 professors in order to afford a systematic course of study available 

 to beginners and to th(jsc who are e.Trning their livelihood in 

 various avocations durin^; the day. Artisans and o'hers receiving 

 weekly wages are admitted at half fees. The courses consist of 

 from fifteen to twenty lectures in each of the following subjects : 

 Kiology, Dr. McNab ; Physical Geography, I'rof. O'Reilly ; 

 Geology and Mineralogy, I'rofs. Hull and O'Reilly ; Chemistry, 

 Prof. Hartley; Physics, Prof. Barrett; and Mathematics, Mr. 

 Stewart, the Demonstrator in Physics. During the session of 

 1879-80 the numbers in attendance at the various classes were 

 336. In order to give assistance needful for the continuance of 

 this course of instruction the Worshipful Company of Drapers 

 have generously voted the sum of 100/. per annum for a period of 

 three years. The earnestness, intelligence, and regularity of those 

 attending the evening clasjes is remarkable, giving evidence of a 

 hearty desire for sound and solid scientific instruction in Ireland, 

 as well for the love of knowledge itself as for the purposes of 

 technical information. 



News from Cairo states that to the north of Memphis, near 

 Sagg.arah, two pyramids have been discovered which were con- 



structed by kings of the sixth dynasty, and the rooms and 

 passages of which are covered with ihou-sands of inscription?. 

 The discovery is said to be of the greatest scientific importance. 



The Prefect of the Seine has opened in Paris a public labora- 

 tory for the analysis of any substance used for food ; the fees 

 are very moderate, and vary from 5 francs to 20 francs, according 

 to the difficulty in the determinations. 



A MEDlCAt. gymnasium was opened on January 22 at Paris. 

 It has been built in the Chaus^e d'Antin at an expense of 

 20,000/., by a public company. About .seventy mechanical con- 

 trivances of different descriptions liave been arranged in a .series 

 of rooms. The greater number of these are w orked by a steam ■ 

 engine, and all of them can be graduated by screws, so that 

 the extent, duration, and velocity of motion can be regulated 

 according to the direction of the physicians. 



The electric steamer Pouyer-QuiHier, belonging to MM. 

 Siemens Brothers, has arrived at Havre, after having success- 

 fully repaired the French cable, which had been discovered 

 to be faulty. 



In his last repoit to the Foreign Office II.M.'s Consul at 

 Shanghai points out that the Chinese are much more disposed to 

 allow the opening of coal-mines than the construction of rail- 

 ways. Without referring to the work being done in Formosa, 

 he mentions that operations are in progre.ss under F.nglish 

 engineers for the opening of coal-pits at Kaipirg, near Tientsin, 

 and near Nganking, the capital of the Nganhwuy province. 

 Both districts have plenty of coal, but unfortunately no navigable 

 waterway, and for this reason the engineer of the Nganking 

 coal-mines intends to remove to another locality near by, where 

 there is an equal quantity of coal and better water-power. At 

 Kaiping matters are worse, for the nearest navigable stream is 

 at Lutai, forty miles away. To reach this it is expected that a 

 railway may be constructed, but, as it can hardly be a com- 

 mercial success, it would not much promote the cause of railway 

 enterprise in general. The engineers find no diffiailty at 

 Kaiping in obtaining Chinese labour, but the ICnglish workmen 

 sent there have not given satisfaction, and the Chinese are 

 getting rid of them. 



M. Magitot, a member of the Prehistoric Congress which 

 met at I-isbon last autumn, reports on a Portuguese Pompeii, 

 which he had occasion to inspect while on a tour to the territory 

 of Tertiary Silex at Otta. The place is called Santarem and 

 Citania. The latter is the general Portuguese name for ruins of 

 ancient towns, which cover entire hills in the neighbourhood of 

 Braga. The most important of these very old town-mins is the 

 Citania di Briteiros, which occupies nearly a kilometre square, 

 and is supposed to be of Celtic origin. Circular walls, streets, 

 squares, large architectural monuments, and even a number oi 

 houses have retained their typical forms. For twenty centuries 

 this Citania was buried below debris, soil, and a rich vegetation ; 

 only a few years ago a zealons archaeologist, Senhor Sarmento, 

 succeeded, by costly and troublesome efforts, in clearing away the 

 covering of centuries and to lay open to the worid an ancient 

 city in which quite a primitive state of civilisation is apparent. 

 Its architecture and plastic ornamentation point to a somewhart 

 advanced state of art and industry. Many stone monuments are 

 covered with sculptures and inscriptions, wh-'ch in their general 

 character recall those of India and China, which the well- 

 known Lyons archa;ologist, M. Guiraet, declares to be of a 

 symbolic and religious character, similar to those found upon the 

 oriental monuments. It is possible that this fact might be 

 adduced as a proof that the tribes who built these Citanias had 

 originally emigrated from Turan. 



News from Washington territory states that the volcano Mount 

 Baker was in full eruption quite recently 



