)74 



NATURE 



[August 20, 1908 



■metres, Villcneuve St. Georges at 20 kilometres, and M^lun 

 at 50 kilometres. The Daily Chronicle correspondent at 

 Milan states that Prof. Majorana is engaged in installing 

 liis system of wireless telephony between Rome and 

 Sardinia, after a successful series of experiments between 

 Montemario, the military fortress in Rome, and the Porto 

 'd'Anzio Lighthouse, during which communications were 

 distinctly heard over the intervening distance of thirty-six 

 miles. The Central News Agency reports that three 

 French naval officers have succeeded in constructing an 

 apparatus by which they claim to be able to hear sing- 

 ing and speaking distinctly between Paris and Dieppe, a 

 ■distance of 100 miles. This is announced as a remarkable 

 achievement, but we learn from the Electrician that effec- 

 tive wireless telephonic communication was established 

 some time ago between Syngby, near Copenhagen, and 

 Weissensee, near Berlin, a distance of 260 miles. 



In the Times of August 15 Dr. R. Munro records the 

 discovery of a second lake-village in the neighbourhood 

 of Glastonbury, where excavations have been in progress 

 since 1892 under the supervision of Mr. A. Bulleid. The 

 village recently discovered is situated at Meare, about two 

 miles north-west of Glastonbury. It is clear that the area 

 occupied by these villages was originally a sheet of water, 

 the overflow from which found its way into the Bristol 



'Channel fourteen miles distant. The objects hitherto dis- 

 covered at Meare consist of long-handled weaving combs, 



day sling-bullets, and a few articles of bronze, including 

 a curious finger-ring, with bones and teeth of domestic 

 animals. The manufactured specimens belong to what has 

 been termed the " late Celtic " period, of which sporadic 

 " finds " have occurred in various parts of the country ; 

 but Glastonbury is the first inhabited site which has 

 furnished evidence of the entire social life of a late Celtic 



•community. Dr. Munro appeals for funds and the assist- 

 ance of arch^eologists in the excavation of this interesting 

 site. 



Prof. Milne reports to the Daily Hail the occurrence 

 of a seismic storm at the end of last week. On August 13 

 he recorded three earthquakes at Shide ; and on August 14 

 there was a fourth, which commenced at 1.8 a.m. and 

 attained its maximum twenty-six minutes later. The 

 records indicated that the origin of the disturbance was 

 at a distance of 3800 miles. A message from Prof. Michie 

 Smith to the Daily Mail states that at the Kodaikanal 

 Observatory on August 17 an earthquake was recorded 

 commencing at 11.3 a.m. (Greenwich Time). The long 

 waves began at 11.35 a.m., and the maximum was reached 

 at 11.38. At 6 a.m. on August 18 a violent earthquake 

 occurred at Terni, in the province of Perugia. Very strong 

 shocks were also felt at Messina, in Sicily, and the 

 surrounding country. It is also reported that fissures half 

 a mile in length were caused by an earthquake which 

 occurred at the town of Eureka, California, on the morn- 

 ing of August 18. 



The French expedition to .-Xntarctic regions, under the 

 command of Dr. Francois Charcot, left Havre on 

 August 15 in the Pourqiwi Pas. The French Parliament 

 made a grant of 32,000!. for the expedition, and the Prince 



•of Monaco, the Paris Geographical Society, and other 

 scientific bodies have assisted in its organisation and equip- 

 ment. From the Paris correspondent of the Times we 

 learn that Dr. Charcot expects to be absent about two 

 years. One of his objects in returning to the regions of 

 the South Pole is to bring back specimens of the fossils 



'to which Dr. Nordenskjold has already directed attention. 

 He intends to transport them to one of the open ports of 



NO. 2025, VOL. 78] 



the Antarctic continent, either Port Lockroy or Port 

 Charcot, and then to go on to Loubet Land to begin his 

 exploration of the regions to the south. He has taken 

 with him provisions for twenty persons for more than two 

 years. The Poiirquoi Pas is expected to arrive face to face 

 with the southern ice about December 15, at about 800 

 kilometres south of Cape Horn. Dr. Charcot's staff 

 includes M. Bougrain, who will make the astronomical 

 observations ; M. Rouch, specialist in meteorology and 

 oceanography ; M. Godefroy, who will study the hydro- 

 graphy of the coast and the tides; M. Gourdon, geologist; 

 and Dr. Jacques Liouville, marine zoologist and botanist. 

 Six automobile sleds will, it is hoped, enable the expedition 

 to make its way well into the interior along the glaciers, 

 and supplement the services rendered by the skis. The 

 Poiirquoi Pas is 41 metres long, 920 broad, and has a 

 tonnage of 800. 



The surviving members of the Denmark Greenland 

 Expedition arrived at Bergen on August 15, and Lieut., 

 Trolle, master of the Denmark, the vessel of the 

 expedition, has given further particulars of the lament- 

 able death of the leader and his two companions. 

 It appears from a Reuter message that a harbour 

 for the ship was found in latitude 76!°. Mr. 

 Erichsen, Lieut. Hagen, and Mr. Bronlund perished in 

 November, 1907, in an attempt to return from the north 

 coast of Greenland over the inland ice, having been obliged 

 to remain on the north coast through the summer, owing 

 to the state of the weather. A sledge expedition was 

 organised in the spring of 1907, under the command of 

 Mylius Erichsen, to explore the unknown part of the north- 

 east coast of Greenland. The expedition consisted of ten 

 sledges in four batches. Three of these returned before 

 the beginning of summer, and in .September, 1907, an 

 expedition was sent out to find the fourth party, which 

 had not returned. .At 80° the expedition found open sea 

 close to the coast. In the course of the autumn numerous 

 sledge expeditions started, and in March, 1908, a fresh 

 rescue party set out, which brought back definite news of 

 the fate of the missing sledge party. During the spring 

 several other sledge journeys were made on the inland ice i 

 towards the south, as far as Ardencaple. The coast of l 

 Greenland was explored as far as Cape Bridgman, 835°, I 

 and into Peary Channel to Cape Glacier. The coast line • 

 took a much more easterly direction than was expected, 

 and connection was made with Peary's landmark on Peary 

 Land. At Cape Glacier the Danish flag was hoisted, and 

 the country taken possession of for Denmark, and called 

 King Frederic VIII. Land. No living people were 

 encountered. Scientific expeditions were continuously made 

 into the district surrounding Port Denmark, and also from 

 the ship. On the road large collections were made, and 

 a mass of scientific material was collected ; numerous 

 sketches, paintings, and photographs of the country were 

 also made. 



A LITTLE pamphlet entitled " Die neuere Tierpsycho- 

 logie," by Dr. Otto Zur Strassen, has been received from 

 Mr. B. G. Teubner, of Leipzig and Berlin. The essay, 

 though general in form, contains numerous references to 

 experimental results. The author cannot, however, be con- 

 sidered to have proved the conclusion which he eventually 

 reaches, viz. that a physicochemical explanation of animal 

 behaviour is possible and sufficient from the protozoa to 

 the primates. 



In a paper on the variations and genetic relationships 

 of the American garter-snakes, forming Bulletin No. 61 

 of the U.S. National Museum, Mr. A. C. Ruthven ex- 



