72 



NA TURE 



{Nov. 27, 1873 



the winter, Mr. James McNab, curator of [the Royal Botanical 

 Gardens, delivered an address on the change of climate in 

 Scotland, which, during the last fifty years has undergone a 

 considerable lessening of the summer heat. From this cause 

 peaches and nectarines cannot be ripened to the same perfection 

 in the open air as formerly, while asparagus, mushrooms, and 

 tomatoes are gradually disappearing. The larch, in spite of 

 the enormous quantities of seed annually imported, if de- 

 clining in vigour, and there is a talk of substituting for is the 

 Wellingtonia as a nurse-tree. Mr. McNab proposes that a 

 central committee should be appointed to investigate the whole 

 subject of the change of climate in Scotland. 



The following is an ephemeris (for o'' Berlin time) of the 

 comet discovered by M. Coggia at Marseilles, on the evening of 

 the loth inst: — November 22, \i^ 51™ 25=— 6" 8'-2 ; 

 November 30, \i^ 14'" 30^—22° 43''0; December S, 14'' o'"!?^ 

 — 32° I'.S. Its elements are:— T = Dec., 4'I348, Berlin mean 

 time ; ir =94° 23' 14" ; a = 254° 14' 9" ; i = 27° 2' 7". Mean 

 Equinox, 1873-0 Io«. q. = 9-83810. 



ONEof the special results of the United States geological andgeo- 

 graphical survey of the Territories, in charge of Prof. F.V. Hayden. 

 during the past summer, has been the discovery that Coiorado 

 Territory is the centre of the greatest elevation of the Rocky 

 Mountain chain. In Central Colorado the chain proper is about 

 120 miles broad, made up of three lofty parallel ranges, running 

 nearly north-north-west, and flanked from the west by great 

 plateaus and groups of peaks. Between the ranges lie the great 

 elevated basins known as "parks. " The front range, which 

 rises abmptly from the plains, is seen from Denver in a grand 

 panorama 120 miles long. From its snowy serrated crest rise 

 many peaks between 13,000 and 14,000 ft. high. On the 

 west side of the parks is the Park Range, whose highest 

 group is at Mount Lincoln, this and Quandary Peak each 

 rising to about 14,000 ft. The survey has established a permanent 

 meteorological station at Fairplay, 10,000 fi. above th^ sea, 

 and another at Caiion Cit)', about 6,000 ft. These stations 

 are all connected by a spirit-level line, and the comparison 

 of their observations will be of remarkable interest. The National 

 Range lies east of the Park Range, and is separated fro:n it by 

 the Arkansas Valley. West of the National Range rise; the 

 great group of Elk Mountains, five of whose peaks are 14,000 ft. 

 high. So far as known, there areinthe di.strict explored during 

 the past season by tlie survey 72 peaks, ranging from 14,000 to 

 14,200 ft. in height. 



I,N the article on Local Societies (vol. ix. p. 24) we inadver- 

 tently confounded the Manchester Natural History Society with 

 the Microscopical and Natural History section of the Manchester 

 Literary and Philosophical Society. The former of these is ex- 

 tinct — having handed its collections over to the Owens College — 

 and also contributed a handsome sura of money to promote, 

 permanently, the study of Natural History in the Literary and 

 Philosophical Society. This endowment now enriches the 

 Natural History section of that society. Manchester science 

 will gain rather than lose by ihese changes. The defanct society 

 was never more than the creator and guardian of a museam. 

 That museum will still be preserved and increased, as well as 

 utiliicd, by the College, whilst the Natural History section 

 affords promise of a healthy career of scientific work. 



M. Charrel, of Marseilles, writes as follows to the Btdldin 

 International, of the Observatory of Paris, on the invention of 

 balloons : — In the literai-y history of the City of Lyons, published 

 by Father Colonnia (1S30, vol. i. p. 112), it is stated that in the 

 reign of L-JUis le Debonnaire, the Archbishop of Lyons learned 

 that some aerial navigators had fallen with their boat on the 

 banks of the Saone, and were going to be put to death as sor- 



cerers. He ordered them to be brought into his presence, and after 

 having heard them, he caused them to be nonsuited (/c- fit mtttre 

 /wis dv prods). The memoir of the prelate bears such a charac- 

 ter of authenticity as leaves no doubt of the fact. The following 

 words are taken verbatim fi'om the memoir: "Videmus exhi- 

 bere vinctos quatuor homines; tres viros et unam feminam, 

 quasi qui de ipsis navibus ceciderunt, quos . . . exhibuerunt In 

 nostra presentia tanquam lapidandos.'' It follows, then, from 

 this memoir, that already, in the ninth century, aerial navigation 

 was known ; how it was accomplished the memoir does not give 

 any indication. 



The first Annual Exhibition of the West London Entomo- 

 logical Society, established 1 868, will be held on December 2 

 and 3, at the "Mason's Arms," Tichborne Street, Edgware 

 Road. 



A Times telegram from Teheran, November 24, says that 

 Colonel Baker and Lieutenant Gill have arrived at Teheran, and 

 leave immediately for England, viA Tabreez and Erivan. Tra- 

 velling to the north from Meshed, they passed along the Turco- 

 man frontier by Kelat, Abiverd, Dereguez, Annau, Astrabad, 

 and Nissa. .Striking south, they discovered the source of the 

 Attrek at Karakazan, an extraordinary spring near Shirvan, and 

 followed the course of the river r a considerable distance north- 

 west ofBojnoord, until stopped by hostilities between Bojnoord 

 and the Turcomans. Striking into the mountains, they were 

 enabled to trace the course of the river until it fell into the 

 plains, and also to observe the great range of mountains which 

 runs along the whole Persian frontier from Sarakhs to Kizil 

 Arvat. Existing conjectural maps of this country are quite 

 mcorrect. 



Ox the 1st inst. tlie Earl of Dalhousie formally opened 

 the Art Exhibition and Museum of the Albert Institute 

 of Dundee, which, with the previously opened portions — 

 free library and lecture-hall — form one handsome block of 

 buildings. In the list of towns, with their scientific socie- 

 ties, published by us a week or two ago, we were surprised 

 to see Dundee, so rapidly advancing in population and wealth, 

 occupy so humble a j^lace. We cannot see liow towns like 

 Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester-, Glasgow, and others should 

 have their flourishing and well-equipped scientific societies, while 

 Dundee has only one small struggling society of young men, the 

 Naturalists' Field Club. The neighbouring and comparatively 

 stagnant town of Perth, with its large and efficient society, puts 

 Dundee to the blush in this respect. We shall be disappointed if 

 the opening of the Albert Institute in Dundee, a town so dependent 

 for its commercial and manufacturing success on the applied re- 

 sults of Science, does not give an impetus to the study of Science. 

 There are already Science and Art Classes in the town, and we 

 hope to hear soon of the establishment of regular courses of scien- 

 tific lectures, such as those which are found in several of the large 

 Englii-h manufacturing towns, and the formation of at least one 

 flourishuig scientific society and field club around the small 

 nucleus already existing. We hope also that the collections in 

 the museum will be made worthy of the wealthy town and be 

 really representative of the treasures of the various king- 

 doms of Nature. We feel sure that the citizens of Dundee only 

 need their attention to be drawn to the backward state of their 

 town in the matter referred to to rouse them to put it on a level 

 in this respect with the large English towns. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's collection during 

 the last weelc include an Eagle (Spiza'c'lns i) from Burmah, ]ire- 

 sented by Mr. H. Fielder ; a Macaque Monkey (Maencns 

 cynomo/gus) from India, presented by Mr. Gore ; a pair of 

 Jaguars {Fe/is onca) born in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, re- 

 ceived in exchange. : 



