A^ril^, 1874] 



NATURE 



45^ 



tation formed of a kind of nuUipore, combined with 

 pebbles and broken shells, occur in the singular veins of 

 conKlomerate traversing the rock. 



I NOTES 



f We are glad to hear that Government have consented, though 



f tardily, to give effect to the wishes of the country, by offering to 



[ defray the expenses of the funeral of Dr. Livingstone in West- 



' minster Abbey. The Times states that a merchant in the city 



of London, iu view of the inability of Dr. Livingstone's family 



to bear the expense of the ceremonial, had already volunteered 



to be at the charges of this melancholy tribute of respect, but it 



obviously would have been unbecoming the dignity of the nation 



which has been honoured by the achievements of the illustrious 



traveller for the last honours to have been rendered him at the 



cost of any private person. The Southampton Town Council 



has resolved to receive, with fitting honours, the remains of 



Dr. Livingstone, which are expected to arrive at that port very 



shortly. 



At an influential meeting held at Edinburgh on Monday, it 

 was rtsolved to extend on a large scale the University buildings 

 and to remodel those already existing, so as to suit them to 

 modern requirements. We are glad to notice that the importance 

 of Science in University teaching was insisted on at the meeting, 

 and we hope that in the extended and remodelled University 

 scientific teaching and research wUl be accorded a prominent 

 , place. Of the 100,000/. required, 55,000/. have been 

 ' already subscribed At Dundee, on the same evening, 

 Dr. Lyon Playfair, speaking on the same subject, urged the 

 importance of placing the Edinburgh University in a position 

 in which it vould be able to teach, in a thoroughly practical 

 manner, tlie sciences and the professions resting upon them. He 

 dwelt on ihe great importance of scientific education, and said 

 that any nation which bestowed more science and skill on any 

 one of their manulacturis than we did must inevitably beat us in 

 the race. He pointed to the advantages which Germany had 

 d. rived from btstowing special attention to scientific instruction, 

 and said that in Manchester we now saw the remarkable spectacle 

 of an inland trading town of England in which Germany occu- 

 pied much of the field of industry. 



The French Government have only done an act of justice in 

 cunftrring a pension of 12,000 francs upon M. Pasteur in consi- 

 deraliun of his services to science and industry. 



Colonel Stuart Wortley has been appointed by the 

 Commissioners of Patents to the Curatorshrp of the Patent 

 Museum at South Kensington, vacant by the death of Sir Francis 

 Pettit Smith. 



SiGNOR Augusto RlGHI has been appointed Professor of 

 Natural Philosophy in the Instituto Technica Reale of Bologna. 



The Council of the Society of Arts has decided to offer a 

 prize, consisting of a gold medal or 20 guineas, for the best 

 essay "On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Indian Teas." 



A MEETING of the local general committee of the British 

 Association was held in the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce 

 Bradford Exchange, on March 31, to receive a report as to the 

 reception fund. It appeared that the tutal receipts were 

 3,248/. ids. St/., and the expenditure 3,097/. 7^. 2if., leaving a 

 balance of 155/. gs. 6J. in the bank, subject to the expenses 

 connected with the winding up of the committee's duties. It 

 was agreed that the balance remain in the hands of the 

 local executive commiitee until all expenses are paid, and that 

 the amount which may remain be given to the Bradford Philo- 

 sophical Society, an institution having an object ^kindred to tha 

 of the British Association, 



M. Leverrier has been appointed president of the section 

 of Scierce at the meeting of the Delegates of Learned Societies, 

 which will be held at Sorbonne. 



From the sixth quarterly report on the Sub-Wealden Explora- 

 tion we learn that during the last two months a depth of 359 ft. 

 has been bored, making a total oi 671 ft. The borings are still 

 in the Kimnieridge clay. In this deposit indications of petro- 

 leum have been noticed, and at depths of from 600 ft. to 650 ft. 

 it w-as particularly observable. Occasional veins of carbonate of 

 lime have been met with crossing the cores obliquely, but the 

 report states that all the beds yet passed through are horizontal. 

 One of the most important results of the exploration has been 

 the discovery of gypsum and other beds which are likely to 

 prove commercially productive. Attached to the report is a list 

 of the fossils which have been found. The committee report 

 that they have sufficient funds to continue the work to a depth of 

 1,000 ft., and should it be deemed desirable to go beyond that 

 depth, a conference will be held to consider the question before 

 soliciting further contributions. The present balance in hand is 

 576/. 4s. 4,/. 



It is said MM. Croce Spinelli and Sivel will be awarded a 

 pi ize for their last aeronautical ascent, in which they took with 

 them oxygenised air. 



Another aeronautical ascent took place on Thursday week 

 from Lavillette gasworks in a new balloon called "Michel 

 le Brave," which is to be sent to Roumania. The measurement 

 is 1,500 cubic metres. It was sent up with six persons and de- 

 scended at Vic-sur-Aisne in a regular storm ; large trees were 

 uprooted, but no bodily harm was received by the balloonists. 

 It is intended to have several other ascents next spring. 



The greatest alarm has been caused in North Carolina and 

 Tennessee by the appearance of what seems to be volcanic phe- 

 nomena in the former of these states. The scene of the reported 

 disturbance is Bald Mountain, in the south-western part of 

 M'Dowell County. Rumblings were heard during several days, 

 apparently coming from the interior of the mountain, and one 

 letter, dated March 20, states that near the summit of the peak 

 an area of nearly an acre was agitated by subterranean upheavals, 

 and from which smoke and vapour issued. The people of the 

 surrounding district are reported as being in the greatest con- 

 sternation, ceasing from work and living in common, aird evi- 

 dently quite expecting that the final catastrophe is impending. 



Seismic commotions of some magnitude have been felt in 

 Algeria, at Algiers, and surrounding places. The centre of 

 commotion seems to have been somewhere in the vicinity of 

 Cherchel, where the barracks have suffered much. Tire first 

 shock was felt on March 28 at 11. 10 a.m. 



An Alpine club has been established in Paris under the presi- 

 dency of M. de Billy. The rules will be similar to those of 

 English, Swiss, Italian, and Austrian Alpine clubs. It is in- 

 tended to issue a periodical containing the papers read before the 

 Association. More than 100 members have been enrolled. 



The sittings of the Bureau des Longitudes are now being 

 held at the College de France. 



The Mexican Axolotls, which have for some time been exhi- 

 bited in one of the handsome vases in the entrance- hall of the 

 Brighton Aquarium, spawned about a month ago. As the 

 parents showed some disposition to devour their eggs, the latter 

 were removed to one of the troughs of the salmon-hatching ap- 

 paratus, where the young axolotls may now be seen, having just 

 been hatched after a period of 29 days in the egg. 



