Sept. 3, 1874] 



NATURE 



361 



vibration lasted two minutes. No report of the extent of damage 

 done has yet been received. 



An eruiJtion broke out in Mount Etna on Sunday evening last. 

 The lava issued from the crater by three mouths, all of which, 

 however, are happily some distance from human habitations. 



The Times of India states that the report which M. Victor de 

 Lesseps and Mr. C. Stuart will have to make on their return to 

 Europe on the feasibility of the great Central Asian Railway 

 scheme will be of a character to render it likely that preliminary 

 funds will be subscribed to enable the first surveys to be effected 

 with a view to definitely settle the route which it would be desir- 

 able to follow. 



We ha,ve receired from Mr. Stanford the Alpine Club Map of 

 Switzerland, edited by Mr. R. C. Nichols, the preparation of 

 which we noticed in vol. vi. p. 205. It is a very fine specimen 

 of map making, and a credit to English cartography. We hope 

 soon to notice it in detail. 



If the observations recorded by Mr. F. M. Balfour at the 

 recent meeting of the British Association, on the development of 

 the notocord from the hypoblastic, instead of the mesoblastic 

 layer of the embrj'o in the shark, are confirmed, they will shake 

 to the foundation the importance of the elaborate arguments 

 wh'ch have been, of late, so frequently based upon the origin of 

 the different morphological elements of the living frame. 



We are sure many of the recent visitors to Belfast must have 

 found an invaluable aid in their wanderings about the town and 

 district, which so abounds in varied interest, in the very excellent 

 "Guide to Belfast and the Adjacent Counties" (Belfast, Ward 

 and Co.), which has been brought out under the care of the 

 members of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club. Great pro- 

 minence is of course given to the scientific aspects of the districts 

 embraced in the Guide, but a fair portion is also devoted to the 

 ordinary objects of interest, to trade, C(-)mmerce, manufactures, 

 &c. The Guide is well arranged under the various headings of 

 Physical Geography, Geology, Botany, Zuulogy, Topography, &c., 

 and is amply illustrated with forty-si.x roughly executed but very 

 useful plates, mostlyof objects of antiquarian interest. We heartily 

 recommend the book to any visitor who wants an intelligent 

 guide to the counties of Down and Antrim, a good map of which 

 is appended. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during 

 the past week include a Cassowary {Casuariiis?) from N.E. 

 New Guinea, presented by Capt. Maisby ; 'a Javan Chevrotain 

 ( Tra^ulus javanicus) from Java, presented by Mr. G. Mannings ; 

 a Formosan Deer (Cervus psmdaxis) from the Island of For- 

 mosa, presented by Mr. Abel A. J. Gower ; two Black Swans 

 ( Cy^nus alralus) from Australia, presented by Mr. R. H. Bower ; 

 an Indian Python (Pyllion inolunts) ; a \^ervet Monkey {Ccrco- 

 fithaiis lalandii) from South Africa, presented by Mr. C. 

 Hassam ; two Black-eared Marmosets (Ilafale pfnicillala) horn 

 Brazil, presented by Mr. J. P. Harrison. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 



THE Belfast Session of the British Association was 

 brought to a conclusion on Wednesday, the 26th ult., 

 with mutual congratulations between all concerned. In 

 our animadversions on the high charges for sleeping ac- 

 connnodation charged from some of the members of the 

 Association, we of course meant in no way to rellect on 

 the local authorities or local committee, who exerted 

 themselves to the utmost to render the meeting in every 

 way a success. The vote of thanks to the Mayor was 

 thoroughly deserved, as was also |the tribute of praise 



awarded by the Rev. Dr. Henry to the " unflagging zeal " 

 of Dr. Andrews in behalf of this meeting of the Associa- 

 tion. One very pleasing result of the meeting, and of a 

 discussion in the Economical Section, was the sudden 

 termination of the e.xtensive strike which had existed in 

 Belfast for a considerable time. The various excursions 

 organised on Thursday were a decided success. 



The next meeting opens at Belfast on August 25, 1875. 



The Committee, among other things, have recom- 

 mended, and their recommendation has been adopted, 

 that the Council of the Association be requested to take 

 such steps as they may think expedient to urge upon the 

 Government of India the desirableness of continuing 

 solar observations ; that the Council of the Association 

 be requested to take such steps as they may think desir- 

 able with the view of appointing naturalists to vessels 

 engaged on coasts of little-known parts of the world ; 

 that they be requested to take such steps as they may 

 think desirable to promote any application that may be 

 made to her Majesty's Government by the Royal Society 

 to promote physiological and biological explorations in 

 the seas round the British Isles ; that they be requested 

 to take such steps as they think desirable for supporting 

 a request to her Majesty's Government to undertake an 

 Arctic expedition on the basis proposed by the Council 

 of the Royal Geographical Society at the beginning of 

 the present year, and which will be made again by that 

 body. 



The following is a. synopsis of grants of money appro- 

 priated to scientific purposes by the General Committee 

 at the Belfast Meeting : — 



Mathematics and Physics. 



/■oo 



*Cayley, Prof. — Printing Mathematical Tables 



*Balfour Stewart, Prof. — Magnetisation of Iron ... ... 20 



♦Brooke, Mr.— British Rainfall 120 



*Glaisher, Mr. J. — Luminous Meteors ... ... ... 3° 



Maxwell, Proi. C. — Testing the Exactness of Ohm's 



Law 5° 



Stokes, Prof.— Reflective Power of Silver and other 



Substances 20 



'Herschel, Prof. — Thermal Conducting Powers of Rocks 10 



*Tait, Prof. — Thermo-Electricity (renewed) 50 



Chemistry. 

 *Williamson, Prof. A. W.— Records of the Progress of 



Chemistry 100 



Roscoe, Prof. — Specific Volumes of Liquids 25 



Allen, Mr. — Estimation of Potash and Phosphoric Acid 10 

 ■'Armstrong, Dr.— Isomeric Cresols and their Derivatives 



(renewed) ... ... ... ... ••• •.■ 20 



Geology. 

 *\Villett, Mr. II.— The Sub-Wealden Exploration 100 

 *Lyell, Sir C, Bart. — Kent's Cavern Exploration ... 100 

 *Lubbock, Sir J.— Exploration of Victoria Cave, Settle... 50 

 *Brycc, Dr.— Earthquakes in Scotland (renewed) ... 20 

 Hull, Prof. — Underground Waters in New Red Sand- 

 stone and Permian •■■ •■• lo 



Biology. 



Dresser, Mr.— Report on Ornithology 10 



RoUeston, Prof.— Development of Myxinoid Fishes ... 20 



*Stainton, Mr.— Record of the Progress of Zoology ... 100 



*Fox, Col. Lane.— Forms ot Instruction for Travellers... 20 



*Brunton, Dr.— The Nature of Intestinal Secretion ... 20 



Geography. 



Wilson, Major.— Palestine Exploration Fund 100 



Statistics and Economic Science. 



*Houghton, Lord.— Economic Effects of Trades' Unions 25 



Mechanics. 

 Froude, Mr.— Instruments for Measuring^ the Speed of 



Ships (renewed) 5° 



Tot.al 



■ ■■£i,ii 



Reappointed. 



