April i6, 1 8 74 J 



NATURE 



471 



ters in the classification of the higher mammalia. In Clwlixpus 

 Iwffmaiini the placenta is dome-like, multilobate and genuinely 

 deciduatc, more like that found in the Primates and Man than 

 in any other order, so much so that the author remarks " from 

 the point of view of the descent hypothesis, it is possible that 

 lietween the Sloths and the Lemurs genealogical relations may 

 exist," and " now that I have called attention to the evidence of 

 affinity with these higher mammals it is not improbable that 

 other features of resemblance may in time be recognised." 



Besides the ornithological papers which the late Mr. II. D. 

 Graham contributed to the Naiui-alid, he left in the form of manu- 

 script notes the larger and more interesting portion of the orni- 

 thological work which he liad undertaken in the islands of lona 

 and Mull during the latter part of his life. These, together with 

 the papers referred to, are being prepared for publication by Mr. 

 R. Graham, to whom the whole of Mr. Graham's ornithological 

 correspondence was originally addressed. 



We learn from the Times that M. Giard, Professor of Natural 

 History at Lille, has been making an interesting inquiry into the 

 zoology of the French shore of the Straits of Dover. Many un- 

 common species of crustaceans, ascidians, and mollusca have 

 been obtained, which will be fully described before the Scientific 

 Congress which is to be held at Lille during the ensuing 

 summer. 



We are glad to see that Government have at last begiw to 

 carry out their agreement with the Trustees of the Bethnal Green 

 Museum, by laying out the vacant space around the Museum in 

 gardens for the recreation of the people. 



In the House of Commons, on Tuesday, Mr. Cowper-Temple 

 obtained leave to bring in a Bill to remove doubts as to the 

 powers of the University of Scotland to admit women as stu- 

 dents, and to grant degrees to women. 



The month of April is a famous one in the annals 

 of the French Academy for centenary anniversaries. M. 

 Biot was born in April 1774, almost the same day when 

 Louis XIV. died. M. Biot was a member of the Academy of 

 Sciences and Academy of Inscriptions. It was also in this month 

 that Maupertuis published the first French mathematical essay in 

 which the Newtonian theory of attraction was accepted. 

 Lavoisier was engaged in making observations on solar heat with 

 an immense lens at the cost of one of the richest financiers of the 

 time. 



The last (received) number of Annnlcs Hydrographiqucs, 

 contains details of the navigation of the Magellan Straits by 

 the corvette VAtalante, with tabulated meteorological observa- 

 tions made during tlie 13 days of the passage. 



The continuation of Adolph Schaubach's "Deutschen Alpen" 

 (pp. 641 to 850) is brought up to the end of the Trias. The 

 writer is Dr. H. Emmrich. 



The last number of the Animlcs dcs Sciences Gt'oloi;iques con- 

 tains a continuation of M. Oustalet's researches on the fossil 

 insects of the Tertiaries of France. This second instalment of 

 112 pages is devoted to Aix-en-Provence. 



The recently published Report of the Department of Mines of 

 Nova Scotia shows that the total produce during the year from 

 collieries was 1,051,467 tons. Of these 264,000 tons were sold 

 to the United States, 6,000 to Great Britain, 214,000 were used 

 in Nova Scotia, and the rest were sold to Quebec, New Bruns- 

 wick, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, West Indies, and 

 South America. 



A STAINED glass window has just been placed in the parish 



church of Folkestone to the memory of Dr. William Harvey, 

 the discoverer of the circulation of the blood, who was born in 

 the town in 1578. It is the gift of the medical profession, more 

 than 3,000 of whom have contributed towards the cost. 



In view of the great economical value of the fur seals 01 

 Alaska, and of the importance of a thorough knowledge of their 

 habits and movements, with reference to the command of the 

 market of the world, it is proposed by the United States Trea- 

 sury Department to send some one to the North Pacific Ocean 

 for the purpose of obtaining materials for an exhaustive report 

 on the subject. It will be remembered that these seals, almost 

 to the number of millions, visit the St. George and St. Paul 

 islands of the Pribylov group every summer season for the pur- 

 pose of bringing iortli tlieir young, and that on this occasion a 

 company chartered by the United Stales is allowed to capture 

 100,000 annually. What becomes of these seals after they leave 

 the islands is entirely unknown, although congregated there in 

 such numbers for several months. A few are taken in the spring 

 and fall as they pass along the coast of British Columbia and 

 Washington Territory, but whether these are related to the Pri- 

 bylov army or not is uncertain. The same species is found to a 

 limited extent on the Asiatic side of the ocean, but no very exten- 

 sive captures are made. Should this commission be appointed, 

 it is to be hoped that some of these problems may be solved, and 

 that we may not remain longer in ignorance of the general na- 

 tural histoiy of so important an animal, which furnishes a 

 revenue to the United States of about 300,000 dols'. a year, while 

 a profit of almost millions is made by the company which has 

 charge of the interest. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 last week include a Vigne's Sheep (Ovis vignei), from Asia, 

 presented by Capt. Archibald ; a Sambur Deer ( C'ei~vus aris/otclis) 

 and an Axis Deer [Cervits axis), from India, presented by the 

 Hon. Justice Jackson ; two Cut-throat Finches (Ainadina fasci- 

 atiis) and two Paradise Whydah Birds ( Vidua paradisea) from 

 West Africa, presented by Lieut. J. H. Plearne, R.N. ; a 

 Rufous-necked Weaver Bird [IJyphantoniis iexlor) from West 

 Africa, presented by Mr. Hincks ; two Negro Tamarins {Midas 

 nrsuliis) from Rio de Janeiro ; a Common Rhea (Jihea a??:cricand) 

 from Buenos Ayres ; a Brazilian Teal (Qiierqiiedula brasiliensis), 

 and a Bahama Duck {Pacilonetta bahamciisis') from South 

 America, purchased. 



THE PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE RHINE* 



"T^HE attempt to unravel geological history, as far as the strati- 

 -*■ fied rocks are concei'ned, and all the igneous rocks 

 connected with them, simply resolves itself into this : — an 

 effort to realise the physical geography of different geological 

 epochs, to make out the relations of the sea and of the land with 

 its plains and mountains during tliese periods, llie history of the 

 rivers and lakes of the time, and to know as much as may be 

 known of all the creatures and of all the vegetation which in- 

 habited the water and the land. 



I am now going to attempt to explain the history of that 

 great historical river tlie Rliine. Every river has a definite his- 

 tory, if we could clearly make it out. Every river has had a 

 beginning, and it is quite possible— if we have the skill — to find 

 out when, by special changes in physical geography, such and 

 such a river began to flow, and why it flows in such and such a 

 direction. 



In various publications I have attempted to show what 

 is the history of some of the rivers of England ; as, for 

 example, the history of the Severn and of the Thames, and I 

 tliink I have been able to prove that tlie Severn is a much older 

 river than the Thames ; and, on similar principles, I now propose 

 to attempt to reveal to you the history of the Rhine and its 



* A Lecture delivered .-it the Royal Institution on Friday evening, March 

 27, by Prof. A. C. Rnms.iy. L.LD., V.P.R.S., Director-General of the 

 Geological Survey of the Ujiited Kingdom, Ac. 



