March 17, 1881] 



NA TURE 



467 



his usual eloquence, read the iloge of M. Victor Regnault, the 

 celebrated physicist. M. Reguault was born in Germany during 

 the occupation of the Rhenish provinces by France. His father 

 was killed during the invasion of Prus.'^id by France, and his 

 beloved son was killed during the siege of Paris. After the last 

 event took place Regnault's life was a long agony, which M. 

 Dumas described with touching eloquence. 



The Transit of Venus Commission established by the French 

 Academy of Sciences has resumed its labour.' under the preidency 

 of M. Dumas. A credit has been given by the Government for 

 constructing new refractors. Not less than twelve are now 

 building, to be used on the several stations which have been 

 already selected, and will be ready by the end of the year. The 

 heads of the scientific missions will soon be appointed, as well 

 as their staff. The greater number of instrumen?s built for the 

 1874 transit have been disposed of to several public institutions. 



Sir John Lubbock showed a good deal of courage in intro- 

 ducing his motion on Ancient Monuments into the House of 

 Commons in the present temper and obstructed condition of that 

 body ; nevertheless he carried his point. All he did was to 

 move that in the opinion of the House the Government 

 should take some steps to provide for the better protection of 

 ancient national monuments ; the House declared itself of this 

 opinion by a con^iderable majority, though, we imagine, some- 

 thing more must be done before Government has the power to 

 step in and prevent the destruction of any ancient monument. 

 That there is no time to be lost if we do not wish most of these 

 relics of the past to disappear entirely, is evident from the long 

 list given by .Sir John Lubbock of important monuments that 

 have already been mutilated or destroyed. Sir John suggested 

 that any owner of such a monument who contemplated its destruc- 

 tion should be compelled first to offer it for sale to 'he country. 

 This course would be both simple and effective. 



Mr. Roberts of the Nautical Almanac Office is authorised 

 by resolution of Coui.cil of the Secretary of State for India, 

 dated August 7, 1880, to make it generally known that his Tide 

 Predicter may be employed for the preparation of Tide Tables 

 (subject to the payment of a nominal fee to the India Office for 

 the use of the machine) for at.y jort for which the requisite data 

 are forthcoming on application to him. The Tide Predicter has 

 already been used for the preparation of the Tide Tables for 

 18S0 for the perls of Bombay and Kurrachee (published by 

 authority of the Secretary of State for India in Council) with the 

 most satisfactory results. It has also been used for the Tide 

 Tables for 18S1 for Indian ports, which include, in addition to 

 those of Bombay and Kurrachee, the tides also fur Aden, 01-ha 

 Point, and Beyt Harbour (Gulf of Cutch), Katwar, Beypore, 

 the Paumben Pass, and Vizagapalam. The Tide Tables for 

 1882, the preparation of w-hich is already far advanced, will 

 include, in addition to the above eight ports, the following 

 seven, viz. : — Madra", Rangoon, Moulmein, Port Blair, and on 

 the Hooghly River, Fort Gloster, Diamond Harbour, and 

 Kidderpore (Calcutta). It is anticipated that in addition to a 

 still further number of Indian ports to be predicted for 1883, 

 that Mr. Roberts will have the preparation of Tide Tables for 

 Table Bay, Port Elizabeth, East London, and Durban, tidal 

 observations at these places being now in progress, or shortly to 

 be commenced for this purpose. The observations, when a 

 sufficient series has been taken, will be placed in the hands of 

 Mr. Roberts for the determination of the requisite data for the 

 predictions. 



The Senatus Academicus of Aberdeen University have 

 resolved to confer the degree of LL.D. on David Ferrier, M.A., 

 .D., Professor of Forensic Medicine in King's College, 

 ondon 



We have received from Mr. Marsden of Regent Street, 

 Gloucester, a " List of British Birds," with, as an ajipendix, 

 "The Graduated List for Labeling Eggs." With similar lists 

 the present one compares favourably, and it is a pity that Mr. 

 Marsden, who is evidently an intelligent man, did not make his 

 catalogue still more perfect. The insertion of species like the 

 Russet Wheatear (Saxicolu slafarAna), and the Barred Warbler 

 (Sylvia nisoria), which are not entered in so recent a work as 

 Newton's edition of " Yarrell," show that the author is abreast 

 of the latest information on the subject of rare visitants to this 

 country. But the Black-winged Kite (Elanus ((eruleus) has 

 equal rights to a place in a British list, and we are sorry to see 

 the Great Black Woodpecker (Piciis martms) and the Rufous 

 Swallow [HirunJo cahirica) still allowed as visitors to Great 

 Britain. The careful researches of Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., 

 published in Sharpe and Dresser's "Birds of Europe," have 

 entirely disproved ever single supposed occurrence of the Great 

 Black Woodpecker, while the so-called Rufous Swallow turned 

 out to be nothing but a common IlininJo rustica in fine spring 

 plumage. The abbreviations of authors' names are, to say the 

 least, ingenious, but as they differ in nearly every case f om those 

 adopted by all ornithologists, we cannot perceive any real advan- 

 tages to be gained by their use, as they involve continual reference 

 to the introductory explanation to find out the author's meaning. 

 If brevity in quoting authors' names is desired, " Bp." for Bona- 

 parte is better than "Bo, "and is moreover frequently so employed. 

 "Bon" in Mr. Marsden's list mean> Bonnaterre, but in many 

 ornithological works Bonaparte is thus signified, so that wecannot 

 commend this portion of the au'.hor's labours. We were at first 

 puzzled as to the meaning of the " Graduated List for Labeling," 

 but we find on referring to it that the names of the British birds 

 are there printed in various-sized types according to the size of 

 the different bird's egg, and we are sorry to think that there is 

 still a demand fur a list of this kind whereby collectors become 

 satisfied with the printed name attached to their captures instead 

 of having, as every genuine egg should have, the full particulars 

 of Its history written upon it in ink. 



That we may still e.xpect many additions to the avi-fauna of 

 Eastern Africa has been amply proved daring the past year or 

 two by the collections sent from the East Coast by Dr. Fischer 

 to Berlin and Dr. Kirk to this country. A further contributic n 

 has recently been made by the veteran ornithologist. Dr. 

 Hartlaub, who has just published in the Alihaiullungtn of the 

 Bremen Natural History Union an interesting paper on Birds, 

 collected by Dr. Emin Bey in the region of the Upper Nile. 

 The traveller proceeded from Lado in 5° N. lat. along the Nile 

 to the Albert Nyanza, visiting the northern extremity of the 

 Coja Lake, and traver. ing the country in a northerly direction 

 to Fatico. The re-ult of this expedition considerably modifies 

 the gcner.-illy received opinion respecting the relation of the avi- 

 fauna of the Upper Nile region ; for although a large number of 

 the species obtained are, as might be expected, .\byssinian, there 

 is a certain infusion of South and West African forms, with a 

 sprinkling of pecvdiar ge..era and species. The new species 

 described are as follows : — Cislicolu hypoxantha, C. tnarginalis, 

 Eminia (g.n.) lepida, Drymocichla (g.n.) incana, Dryoscopus 

 cinerascens, Trkholais flavotorqitata, Musckapa itifidata, Hy- 

 phanlornis crocala, Hyphantica cardinalis, and SornUa emini. 

 The Whale-headed Stork (BaLsiiiceps rex) was looked for in 

 vain on the Victoria and the Albert Nyanzas, and is said to exist 

 only north of Schambe. 



Messrs. W. Eagle Clarke and William Denison Roebuck, 

 secretaries of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, are preparing for 

 publication "A Handbook of Yorkshire Vertebrata : being a 

 Complete Catalogue of British Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Am- 

 phibian=, and Fishes, showing what Species are or have, within 



