54 



NA TURn 



[May 21, 1874 



Nickol Bay, passing over 800 or 900 miles of ground never before 

 trodden by the foot of white man. Tlie expedition has been 

 useful only in a scientific point of view ; the country for nearly 

 the whole distance is utterly worthless. Barren, scrubby, and in 

 the last degree wretched, the explorers had the utmost difficulty 

 in forcing their way through. With poor food for the greater 

 portion of their dreary journey, with water often scarce, and little 

 game, the brave band were reduced to the utmost extremities. 

 For three months they had nothing to live on but dried camels' 

 flesh, and as much roots and bulbs as they were able to gather. 



It is said that the king of Sweden has conferred upon Mr. Leigh 

 Smith, the Arctic explorer, the Order of the Polar Star. Mr. 

 Smith succeeded last spring, at his own expense, and with much 

 difficulty, in rescuing the Swedish expedition, which had been 

 caught by the ice in the preceding winter. 



The Albert Gold Medal of the Society of Arts has been 

 awarded for the present year to Dr. C. W. Siemens, F.R.S. 



The German Emperor a few days ago at Wiesbaden, received 

 Herr Rohll's, the German explorer, who has just returned from 

 the Lybian desert. It was by the Emperor's special command 

 that the well-known traveller repaired to the palace and gave 

 his Majesty an interesting account of his latest travels. The 

 Emperor, as a further distinction, desired Ilerr Rohlfs to dine 

 that day at the imperial table. 



We are glad to learn that, in accordance with the wish ex- 

 pressed at the Meteorological Congress held at Vienna in 1S73, 

 ;'. commission has been nominated by the Imperial Academy of 

 Sciences at St. Petersburg and by the Imperial Ministry of 

 Marine, to prepare a project for the establisliment of a central 

 office for Maritime Meteorology in Russia, including a system of 

 meteorological telegraphy and storm warnings. Prof. 11. Wild, 

 Director of the Central Physical Observatory, and Capt. M. 

 Rikitcheff, Assistant in" the same establishment, are appointed 

 mea.bers of the commission. 



M. Prjew.\i.sicv, a staff-officer of the Russian army, is about 

 to publish an account of a journey in which lie has successively 

 explored Dzangiria, Koukou Noor, and Moupin. Like Armand 

 David (Nature, vol. x. p. 32), he brings back with him exten- 

 sive collections. Insects hold a large place in both ; those of Pcre 

 David, said to be exceedingly interesting, have been presented 

 to the Musee National, at Paiis, where they have remained un- 

 noticed by the French entomologists, one of whom says, that now 

 "they will probably always remain unknov\n." 



M. J. IJAGRE has been elected Perpetual Secretary of the 

 Belgian Academy of Science, in succession to the late M. A- 

 Quetelet. 



A Geological excursion on a somewhat extended scale has 

 been proposed, to those localities in the Swiss Alps which have 

 become household words amongst those who have studied the 

 changes of the earth's surface, and the action of ice and water 

 more especially. A gentleman whose local knowledge is un- 

 doubted has been requested to act as cicerone to the party, and 

 to deliver discourses upon the more interesting spots. He has 

 rccepted the first task, but wishes to secure the kind offices of an 

 indigenous geologist for the second. It is hoped to arrange for 

 a large parly of ladies and gentlemen to start early in August 

 ar.d be absent for a month. This is the first time the interests of 

 Sc ence will be added to the enjoyments of a summer's holiday, 

 with the exception of the short excursions near home of the 

 Geologists' Association. 



The President of the Institution of Civ'l Engineers and Mr;. 

 Harrison held a reception on Tuesday evening in the western 

 gallery of the International Exhibition, at which over two thou- 



sand guests were present. In addition to the picture galleries 

 and rooms containing machineiy in motion, the west quadrant 

 was open, and in it were placed illustrations of recent scientific 

 inventions specially lent for the evening. With the exception 

 of Mr. Crook's experiments showing attraction and repulsion 

 accompanying radiation, and Tisley and Spiller's compound 

 pendulum apparatus, all were applications of scientific inven- 

 tions to the wants of life, if wicked war may be included among 

 our wants, for Sir W. Armstrong, and other firms, sent models 

 of appliances for the hydraulic mounting of large guns, whereby 

 they can be placed in position with ease. One of the most 

 recent applications of electricity is to a self-recording " way- 

 bill" of omnibuses. An apparatus brought out by Messrs. 

 Whitehouse and Clark counts up once every minute the number 

 of passengers in the omnibus and prints this number and the 

 exact time in plain figures. Each seat is separate, and the weight 

 of the passenger on the seat brings the wire from that seat in 

 communication with the recorder. The instrument also records 

 the speed of the omnibus at every moment of the journey, and 

 shows the exact time of arrival_and departure from each station. 

 The cost is said to be but a few shillings a week, but it does 

 away with the need of a time-keeper. A sample was exhibited of 

 bills made May 15, in Liverpool, showing that the invention is 

 practicable as well as ingenious. Nearly all other models were 

 of docks, lighthouses, or railway appliances. 



At a meeting of the Sedgwick Memorial Committee held at 

 Cambridge on the 12th inst., the treasuiers, Mr. Vansittart of 

 Trinity, and Mr. Ewbank of Clare, announced that more than 

 10,000/. had been promised, of whicli 9,000/. had been received. 

 The money is to be expended in the erection of a Geological 

 Museum, to be called the Sedgwick Museum. After discussion 

 it was agreed that the time had arrived when it is desirable that 

 the University should take the subject into consideration. The 

 chairman. Prof Humphry, was desired to communicate the re- 

 solution to the Vice-Chancellor, with a request that he would 

 bring the subject under the consideration of the Council of the 

 Senate. 



On Thui'sday last in the House of Commons Lord E. Filz- 

 maurce gave notice that in the event of the Royal Commission 

 reporting on a sufficiently early day before the close of the ses- 

 sion, he would call attention to the subject of University reform, 

 and move a resolution. 



Count Wilczek, we learn from the Geographical ALi.a'Jiif, 

 has announced his readiness to give a reward of I, coo fiorins 

 (100/.) to anyone who will bring home any news of the 

 Auslro- Hungarian Arctic Expedition. The Te^clhoff' steamer, 

 with the members of the Expedition on board, was last heard 

 of on Aug. 21, 1S72, on the north-west coast of Novaya Zem- 

 bya, in about 76° N. lat., when Count Wilczek himself parted 

 company with them and sailed southward in his yacht Jihjbni. 



A LETTER from the Dally Nr^iis correspondent with IT. M.S. 

 Challenger gives some account of the work done by that ship 

 between Simon's Bay and Melbourre. The usual sounding, 

 dredging, and trawling operatiorts were carried on with excellent 

 results ; many new specimens have been obtained by the dredge. 

 The ship was at Kerguelen's Island on January 7, ai.d stayed 

 about the island during the month of January, making careful 

 surveys and observations, and collecting specimen^ both from 

 the sea and land. Previous to the ship's departure from Christ- 

 mas Harbour, Kergue!en, a cairn was built, and papers of in- 

 struction, &c. for the Transit of \'enus party left m it On 

 February 11 the first iceberg was seen «hen making fir Heard 

 Island, and from this time ttll the l;c^inning of next nioiuh, ice 

 beigs and drifi-ice were met v.\Ca in large quautliie', the ship 

 making one or two narrow escapes ; on Feb. 24 the ship was 

 quite close upon the so-called " Teriiiinatioo Isljind," but no sign 



