ytily 1 6, 1874] 



NATURE 



213 



NOTES 



Thf, statue of Dr. Priestley will be unveiled at Birmingham on 

 .Saturday, Aug. i (the centenary of his discovery of oxygen). 

 Prof. Huxley will make the presentation to the town, on behalf 

 of the subscribers, and %\ill deliver an address in the Town 

 Hall. 



We understand that the recently established Stricklandian 

 Curatorship in the Cambridge University Natural History Mu- 

 seum has hecn offered to and is likely to be accepted by Mr. 

 Osbert Salvin, F. R.S., one of our most distinguished ornitho- 

 logists. 



Lord Lili'ord has just returned from a natural history cruise 

 in the Mediterranean, and amongst the most interesting speci- 

 mens he has brought hon.e with him is a pair of Audouin's Gulls 

 {Lams audoiiiiii) from the small island of Toro on the coast of 

 Sardinia, which he has deposited in the gardens of the Zoological 

 .Socie'.y. Tlie rareness of these birds makes them cf peculiar 

 interest. 



A LARGE collection of giraffes, .antelopes, and other African 

 mammals has lately been imported into Hamburg by Mr. C. 

 H.igenbeck, the well-known dealer iu animals of that city, from 

 the .\tbara district of Upper Nubia. Three of the fmest giraffes 

 have been secured by the Zoological .Society, and are daily ex- 

 pected to arrive in London. 



A REPORT Is said to be current at .St. Petersburg that the 

 Auslrisn Polar Expedition, of which nothing has been heard for 

 a considerable time, and respecting the safety of which appre- 

 hension is accordingly entertained, is lying off the coast of Novaya 

 Zemlya. 



Tin; Caen Acndeniy of .Science and Art proposes as the 

 subject of the Le Sauvage prize, of the value of 4,000 francs, to 

 be awarded in 1876, the question of the Function of Leaves in 

 the Vegetation of Plants. The Academy does not want simply 

 an expositiun of the present state of Science on this important 

 question ; it requires, besides, from ccmpetitors, exact experi- 

 ments performed by themselves, and new facts tending to throw 

 light upon, invalidate, confirra, or modify doubtful points in the 

 theories at present accepted. The memoirs ought to be sei t 

 to the Academy before Jan. I, 1876. 



A FIETII " sub-edition " of Dana's " Mineralogy " has been 

 issued, with an appendix, by Prof. Brush. 



Joshua Hoores, the last survivor of the old school of the 

 botanists of Chester County, Penn., of which Darlington was the 

 chief, and the "Flora Cestrica " the memorial, died on May 11 

 at the age of 86. 



Mr. Herbert Spencer has published in a separate form, with 

 some additional correspondence and comments, the correspon- 

 dence which was carried on in Nature between himself, the 

 "Quarterly Reviewer," Mr. R. B. Hay ward, and others. 



M. Leverrif.r has presented to the Council of the Observa- 

 tory a new set of regulations for the better working of the 

 establishment. In drawing out these regulations the illustrious 

 astronomer took advantage of the visit he recently made to 

 Greenwich Observatory. 



Magnetic instruments are to be erected on a piece ot ground 

 situated between the Boulevard Arago and the Observatory Gar- 

 dens, Paris. This land belongs to the French Government, 

 which has given it up for the purpose mentioned. 



M. FAYEhas been nominated President of the Bureau dcs Longi. 

 tudes. M. Janssen, who was a member of the Section of Geography, 

 has been appointed by the Minister a member of the Section of 

 Astronomy. There will be an election to fill up the place thus 



vacated. This is the first time that a member has been trans- 

 ferred from one section to another. 



Dr. Garrigou, of Bagneres de Luchon, has established, at 

 his own expense, a laboratory for analysing the mineral waters 

 of the Pyrenees. The laboratory is open to men of science for 

 their own researches. 



The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers has founded a 

 " Professorship of Textile Industries " in connection with the 

 Yorkshire College of Science, with a stipend of 300/. a year and 

 two-thirds of the students' fees. The stipulated qualifications 

 for the post have been just announced. The selected candidate 

 Mill be required to have a practical knowledge of all materials 

 used in the woollen and worsted manufactures, and the selection 

 of material; for special kinds of goods ; to be alle to give in- 

 struction in every department of weaving, including the practi- 

 cal handling of the loom; plain drawing, and analysis of patterns; 

 to apply the laws of colour to the production of coloured designs, 

 and to finish coloured designs on paper, prefiguring the woven 

 fabric ; to make all the calculations required in the manufacture 

 cf woollen or worsted goods ; to explain and illustrate the pro- 

 cesses of carding, combing, and spinning ; and to give practical 

 illustrations of scouring, fulling, and finishing. The chemistry 

 of dyeing will be taught by the Professor of Chemistry. It will 

 be a condition of appointment {intir alia) that the Professor is 

 to give lectures at stated times upon improved modes of manu- 

 facture at oilier of the chief towns connected with the clolh- 

 working ind".stry both in Yorkshire and the west of England. 



The result of the Sandwell Park trial sinking for coal being 

 that a seam 20 ft. 6in. has been found at a depth of 418 yards, 

 it is proposed to furnish an account of the fossils met with and 

 the general character of the red rocks passed through. Vtaf. 

 Ramsay and others have promised their assistance for this woik. 



Uriah A. Boydon, of Boston, has deposited with the 

 Franklin Institute the sum of i,ooo dols. to be awarded as a 

 premium to "any resident of North America who shall determine 

 by experiment whether all rays of light, and other physical rayi, 

 are or are not transmitted with the same velocity." The raemoii's, 

 which are to describe in detail the apparatus, mode of experi- 

 menting and results, are to be sent in to the secretary of the 

 Institute by Jan. i, 1875. The Institute is to appoint three 

 judges, and has reserved to it the power to decide whether or not 

 the recommendation of the judges shall be carried out. .Should 

 the judges think proper, they may require the experiments 

 described in any of the memoirs to be repeated in their presence. 



The report of the State Board of Health of Massachusetts, 

 1S74, says that a large part of the 450 analyses there given were 

 performed by a lady in the laboratory of the Massachusetls 

 Institute of Technology. 



The Geological Society of France intends to hold its annual 

 session this year at Mons, immediately on the conclusion of the 

 session of the French Association for the Advancement of 

 Science. The meetings com.nience on August 30, and will last 

 about a week, during which some interesting excursions have 

 been arranged for. ; 



In the Engineering Department of King's College the follow- 

 ing Physical Science Exhibitions will be given in October next. 

 The Tre.ake Entrance Exhibition of 20/., also two Exhibitions 

 of 30/. and 21/. will be given by competitive examination among 

 the students matriculating in this department at that time, pro- 

 vided a satisfactory degree of proficiency is shown by the candi- 

 dates. The examination will consist of four papers, two in 

 mathematics, one in elementary mechanics and physics, and one 

 in chemistry, and will take place on Thursday, October I, and 

 two following days. 



