NA TURE 



{Dec 



-.Ti 



187: 



descriptions of a few extralimital forms," " Descriptions of New 

 American Plidainid^," "Notes on North American Moths of 

 the Families Phalrenidce and Pyralidx in the British Museum," 

 "On the Cave Fauna of Indiana," and "Record of American 

 Entomology for 1872." 



Thi; Dundee Advertiser is a daily paper of wide circulation and 

 of considerable influence in tlie nortli, and i;, there-'ore, we 

 presume, able to keep a competent "London Correspondent." 

 That gentleman, however, in writing in a recent number of the 

 Advertiser about Mr. Prestwich's paper on tunnelling the Chan- 

 nel, is made to make the extraordinaiy statement that " in order 

 to get under the chalk to the Paheo<iovie rocks the Company 

 would have to go to a dej'ili of ten miles on either side !" We 

 had recently occasion to point out thai science is at a discount in 

 Dundee. 



The Bordeaux district iiranch of the French Association for 

 the Promotion of Science has resolved to hold its meetings weekly 

 on Mondays. 



Government has sanctioned the appointment of a Professor 

 of Physical Science at the Madras Presidency College, on a 

 salary of 500 rs., rising to 700 rs. per month. 



The New York papers have lately contained quite a number 

 of articles urging the propriety of establishing an Aquarium in 

 Central Park, on the same scale as that at Brighton. 



We learn from la Rez'ue Scienlifiqite that two specimens of the 

 Ibis, a bird found only in Egypt and at the mouths of the 

 Danube, were recently shot by a hunter in the department of the 

 Somme. 



We can only briefly refer to the following new books and new 

 editions : — " Where there's a Will there's a Way ; or, Science 

 in the Cottage" (Hardwicke), is the title of a little volume 

 by Mr. James Cash, containing an interesting collection of 

 lives of persons in humble life who have to some purpose pursued 

 the study of science, especially of Natural History. — " Mountain, 

 Meadow, and Mere, a series of Outdoor Sketches of Sporty 

 Scenery, Adventures, and Natural History," by Mr. G. C. Davics 

 {Henry S. King & Co.), is a series of articles which originally 

 appeared in the Field and some magazines. The sketches are 

 generally graphic and racy, and contain information^ that, Vi-e 

 should think, would be v.aluable to sportsmen of various kinds, 

 with occasional observations on the natural history of the dis- 

 tricts referred to by the author. — Mr. John Murray has just 

 published third editions of Mr. H. W. Bates' "Naturalist on the 

 River Amazons," and Mr. J. G. Bertram's interesting work, "The 

 Harvest of the Sea, including Sketches of Fisheries and Fisher 

 Folk." The latter work, which has been the means of doing 

 good service to our fisheries, has been revised, and a considerable 

 amount of new matter added. 



A Times telegram dated Rome, Dec. 20, states that Colonel 

 Gordon, who has accepted from the Khedive the leadership of a 

 scientific expedition into Upper Egypt, is furnished by his Hii^h- 

 ness with a credit of 100,000/. 



We are glad to hear that a Section for Microscopical Inves- 

 tigation has been formed in connection with the Lteds Natu- 

 ralists' Field Club and Scientific Association, one of the most 

 efficient of local scientific socieliei. An excellent microscope 

 has been purchased by liberal subscriptions among the members. 



We have received the Report of the i6th Session, 1872-3, of 

 the Birkenhead Literary and Scientific Society, which numbers 

 134 members. The Report, among other papers, contains an 

 address by Uic President, (lio Rev. G. II. Hopkins, on "the 



Insufficiency of Facts to establish a .Scientific Law," character- 

 ised by considerable acuteness and knowledge. A pa]ier read 

 before this Society by Dr. Ricketts, F.G.S., on "Fissures, 

 Faults, Contortions, and Slaty Cleav.-ige," has been printed in a 

 separate form. 



The Annual Report for 1S72 of the Birmingham Natural His- 

 tory and Microscopical .Society, is on the whole very satisfactory. 

 Prefi.xcd to the Report is a very able and extremely interesting 

 address by the retiring President, the Rev. H. W. Crosskey, 

 F. G. S., on some of the general principles on which geology as 

 a science depends. Some of his illustrations are very forci'jle 

 and ingenious. 



The Mining Commission, consisting of Sivot Biy and Osmrn 

 Bey, sent into the district of Lom, in the Danubian viceroyalty 

 of Turkey in Europe, has been compelled, on account of the 

 winter, to bring its labours to a close. It has, however, dis- 

 covered two good coal mines, one ten and the other twenty mil?s 

 from Lom. Thero are other mines of iron, copper, and bitumen. 



. On November 26, at 11 P.M., a smart shock of earthquake 

 was felt at Prevesa, in European Turkey. Though reported to 

 have been violent, the shock only lasted a few seconds and did 

 no damage. The earthquake of November 10, in Anatolia, 

 extended to Ak Hissar, where it did some damage, and also in 

 the village of Suleimanich. On October 1 1, tiiere was a slight 

 shock at Lima, in Peru. 



The following statistics relating to Swedish Universities are 

 from the Medical Record : — In the University of Upsala there 

 are 52 ordinary and 2 extraordinary professors, 24 ordinary nnd 

 2 extraordinary assistant- professors, and other teachers, making 

 a total of log persons engaged in instruction. The number of 

 pupils is 1,607, of whom 172 belong to the faculty of medicine. 

 The University of Lund has 64 teachers, including 28 ordinary 

 and I extraordinary professor, and 28 ordiniry assistant-pro- 

 fessors. There are 545 students, of whom 33 are medical. 



The Journal of the Society of Arts mforins us that from a 

 recent report to the Congi'ess by the Inspector-general of Public 

 Instruction in Chili, some idea of the educational condition of 

 that republic m.iy be formed. There are 1,190 schools in Chili, 

 of which 726 are public and' 464 private. It appears from the 

 latest census that the population of the towns is 520,668, being 

 at the rate of one school for every 1,769 inhabitants; and in 

 the country, with a population of 1,298,560, there would be one 

 school for every 3,020 inhabitant-. In 1872 these schools were 

 attended by 82,162 children and young persons of both sexes, 

 and the amount e.xpended by the Government for education pur- 

 poses amounted to 414, 127 piastres. The number of teachers in 

 the primary schooh was 1,544, of which S9O were male and 657 

 female teachers. 



According to the " Reports of the Mining Surveyors and 

 Registrars," the jield of gold in the colony of Vi:toria for the 

 quarter ending June 30, was: — from Alluviums 123,643 oz. 

 6 dwt. ; from ipiartz reefs, 159,60402. I7divt; total 283,248 

 oz. 3 dwt. 



We have received No. 3 of Albert Miillcr's "Contributions to 

 Entomological Bibliography," up to 1862. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 last week include an Alpaca {Lama pacos) from Peru, and a 

 Plicated Parraket (Plalyccrus fileatus] from Australia, pur- 

 chased ; a Violaceous I'laintain-cutter (Miisof/ia^a violacea) hota 

 West Africa, received in exchange ; a Puma (Felis coiicolor) from 

 America, and two Tuberculated Iguanas {Iguana liiberculala) 

 from the Wc.-t Indies, de^xiiiti-d. 



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