252 
NATURE 
[¥uly 16, 1885 
collected during the whole of the cruise, till at last the 
voyage ends at Spithead, on May 24,1876. From the 
start on December 7th, 1872, till that date the vessel had 
traversed 68,890 nautical miles, and at intervals as nearly 
uniform as possible had established 362 observing sta- 
tions. 
The final chapter gives a summary of the results 
obtained by the officers of the Expedition, and by experts 
subsequently employed in the investigation of the density 
of sea-water, the composition of the salts of the ocean, 
the geographical and bathymetrical distribution of specific 
gravity, the carbonic acid, nitrogen, and oxygen present 
in sea-water, and a discussion of meteorological observa- 
tions in their bearing upon oceanic circulation. 
In this notice we have endeavoured merely to convey 
to the general reader some notion of the contents of the 
two portly volumes which contain the official narrative of 
been accomplished. They are not light reading, but they 
abound in material of general interest and form a fitting 
record of the great Expedition which they chronicle. 
the most important scientific expedition which has ever 
Fic. 7.—Tooth of a Shark (Carcharodon megalodon) from a depth of 2385 fms. 
been despatched by any Government for the investigation 
of the depths of the ocean. The materials are not yet 
ready for a complete digest of the whole work achieved. 
But it would have been an important addition to the value 
of the Narrative had the authors endeavoured to give 
such a digest as far as the materials are now in their 
hands, marking those portions regarding which the final 
reports had not been received. Such a summary, Care- 
fully arranged in subjects and with precise references to 
the detailed Reports for fuller information, would have 
been of great service to those who cannot follow all the 
technical details of the Reports, as well as to the special- 
ists who wish to learn to what source they have to turn 
for their own requirements. Let us hope that in a future 
edition of the narrative this want will be supplied. 
Meanwhile no one can rise from the perusal of these 
volumes without an admiration for the solid, painstaking, 
and conscientious way in which their compilation has 
NOTES 
THE fourteenth meeting of the French Association will take 
place on August 12 at Grenoble. M. Verneuil, Member of the 
Academy of Medicine, will be President. The public lee- 
tures will be ‘‘On the New Gallery of Palzontology of the 
Paris Museum,” by M. Cotteau, ex-chairman of the Geological 
Society of France, and by M. Rochard, General Inspector of the — 
Marine, on ‘‘The Victualling of France.” A large number 
of medical questions will be dealt with in the several sections of 
the congress. The Ferran cholera experiments are sure to be 
discussed at full length. Numerous excursions will take place in 
the Alps under competent guidance as far as Chambery. 
IN the course of the present summer the Geological Magazine 
will be twenty-one years old. During that period Dr. H. 
Woodward has been one of its editors, and for almost the whole 
time the principal editor, on whom the burden of the* work has 
fallen. Further, the arrangement made with the publishers, in 
order to secure the continuance of the Magazine, would have 
actually resulted in pecuniary loss, but for illustrations presented 
by authors. Of the ability with which the Magazzme has been 
conducted, and of its value to geologists, there can be no ques- ~ 
tion. A committee has been formed, with Prof. Bonney as 
chairman, to give expression to their sense of the services which 
he has rendered to geology by presenting him with a testimonial, 
of which a piece of plate will, at any rate, form a part. The 
secretary and treasurer of the committee is Mr. G. J. Hinde, 
11, Glebe Villas, Mitcham, Surrey, to whom subscriptions may 
be paid, or to the ‘‘ Woodward Testimonial Fund,” at the 
London and Westminster Bank, Limited. 
ELABORATE preparations have been made in the neighbour- 
hood of Niagara Falls for the formal transfer to-day to the 
Government of New York State of the strip of land adjoining 
the Falls on the American side. This strip will be thrown open 
for the future, free to the public, as ‘‘ The Niagara International 
Park.” Officials and troops representing both New York State 
and Canada will attend the ceremonies. This transfer attracts 
much attention, as it renders America’s great cataract free hence- 
forth to the world. We have already alluded at some length to 
the acquisition of the Falls and immediate neighbourhood by the 
State 
THE annual meeting of the Royal Archeological Institute will 
be held at Derby from Tuesday, July 28, to Wednesday, August 
5, inclusive. The presidents of the three sections will be :— 
Antiquarian, the Rev. J. C. Cox, LL.D. ; Historical, the Dean 
of Lichfield; Architectural, the Right Hon. A. J. Beresford- 
Hope. 
THE observations made at the Ben Nevis Observatory have 
been received to the end of June. During the twelve months 
ending with June the rainfall, snow, and hail have been measured 
with all possible care every hour. During the year the whole of 
the rainfall, inclusive of melted snow and hail, amounts to 152°15 
inches. Averaging the monthly falls from June, 1881, the mean 
annual rainfall on the top of Ben Nevis is 145°73 inches, which 
is thus the largest mean annual rainfall of any place at which 
rain has been observed in Scotland. The largest rainfall in any 
single month was 25°30 inches in December, 1884, and the 
smallest 4°85 inches in April, 1885. Falls of an inch a day, or 
upwards, are of comparatively frequent occurrence, having been 
recorded during one day in seven out of the 365 days. On two 
of the days upwards of four inches of rain was measured at the 
Observatory. 
in 
2 
