Feb. 17, 1 881] 



NATURE 



369 



complicated ; it is provided for only six lines, but on each shorter, and radiate only in the quarter which surrounds 

 of these may be placed several clocks. The lines are I the horary centre ; but they are special to the service of 



■B RMaaud«r«nntB«at'h«i 



Fig. 3,— Telegraph for ihe Unification <,i 1 i 



clock?, and are not subject to the complicated operation 

 which is necessary on the circuit of the mairics. This 

 service has been organised under the direction of the City 



Enfjinecrs, and docs them the highest credit ; no doubt 

 it will be gradually developed, so as to include the whole 

 of the mairies of Paris.' 



NOTES 



The honour of knighthood is to be conftned on Dr. James 

 Risdon Bennett, F.R.S., President of the Royal College of 

 Physicians. 



M. Marcel Desprez, the well-known electrician, has been 

 created a Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour. 



The first volume of the U.S. Geological Survey, issued under 

 the headship of Mr. Clarence King-, is a magnificent quarto by 

 Prof. O. C. Mar^h : — " Odontornithes : a Mmograph on the 

 Extinct Toothed Birds of North America"; with thirty-four 

 beautifully executed plates and forty woodcuts. We hope to 

 refer in detail to Prof. Marsh's work very soon. 



In the House of Commons on Tuesday Mr. .Shaw-Lefevre 

 said that both the botanical and mineralogical collections have 

 been already removed from the British Museum to the new 

 Museum of Natural Pli-tory at South Kensington, and are now 

 being arranged there. It is expected that these collections will 

 be open to the public on the next bank holiday — namely, Easter 

 Monday, Aprd 18. 



The Paris Exhibition of Electricity will contain a number of 

 curiositie"-'. M. .Salignac will present to the Director-General a 

 plan for cooking by electricity in the grill-room of the restaurant. 

 This plan should provide useful work during the day for the 

 magneto - electric machinery, and tot its warming power. 

 M. Michel', an American residing in Paris, has patented 

 a revolving carbon which can be rolled like an ordinary 

 conductor. 



We have now more detailed information about the earthquake 

 which was felt in the Swiss Jura on January 27 at 2b. l8m. 

 p.m. There were two shocks at an interval of five seconds. 

 They were felt especially at Berne, where several chimneys 

 were thrown down, the bell of a church sounded, and the 

 ceiling of a school fell down. At St. Imier the shocks were 

 also rather strong. They were felt also at Ntufchatel, Cor- 

 celles, Fontaines, Colombier, Auvernier, and Chauxde-Fonds to 

 west ; at Morges (but not at Lausanne) to south-west ; at Solo- 

 thurn, Basel, and Zurich to north and north-east ; and at Signau, 

 Iluttwyl, Berthoud, and Thoune to south and south-east. Two 

 smaller shocks were felt : one on the same day at six o'clock in 

 ' From an .-u-ticle in La Nature, by M. A. Niaudct. 



