> % 
Fuly 23, 1885] 
to mark the conclusion of the work of the session. The pro- 
gramme was of a very varied character, including, in addition 
to a large number of scientific items, a concert given in the 
Chemical Lecture Theatre, and a play and dance in the large 
hall of the Middle Class Schools in Cowper Street, which had 
been kindly lent for the occasion. The evening’s entertainment 
proved most successful in every way, great credit being due to 
the secretaries of the various Committees, and especially to Mr. 
H. Newman Lawrence, the general and organising secretary, 
for the efficient manner in which all the arrangements were 
carried out. Most of the rooms were filled with exhibits of 
apparatus, the whole building being lighted by electricity, 
and the machinery, workshops, &c., in full action. In the 
course of the evening a lantern exhibition of polariscopic objects 
was given in the Physical Lecture Theatre by Prof. S. P. 
Thompson, who had also lent for exhibition various telephones, 
a phonograph, an “‘electric light compass” for detecting the 
direction of a current in a wire, a “‘ cymatograph” (an instru- 
ment for compounding the resultant of two parallel, simple, 
harmonic waves), and a collection of historical electric-telegraph 
apparatus. In the Chemical Department Prof. Meldola ex- 
hibited a series of new organic products obtained in the course 
of recent researches. Messrs. Hopkins and Williams exhibited a 
series of chemical preparations. A large number of microscopes 
with objects were exhibited in one of the rooms by Mr. Beck. 
Amongst the electrical exhibits were a model telpher line by the 
Telpherage Company, the valve telephone lent by the New 
Telephone Company, Cardew’s voltmeter lent by Messrs. Pater- 
son and Cooper, a selection of ammeters, switches, incandescent 
lamps, &c., lent by Messrs. Woodhouse and Rawson and by 
Mr. Swan; and accumulators, dynamos, &c., made by the 
students of the Electrical Engineering Department. In the 
Trade Classes Department Mr. C. T. Millis exhibited some 
new geometrical models and students’ paintings ; models, and 
drawings were exhibited by the Applied Art Department. It 
is proposed to form an ‘‘ Old Students’ Association ” in connec- 
tion with the College, and the success which attended the first 
attempt at a public entertainment has encouraged the professors 
and students to make an annual institution of it. 
Mr. HELE SHAW has been unanimously appointed to the 
new Chair of Engineering in University College, Liverpool. 
Mr. Shaw began his career by taking the Senior Whitworth 
Scholarship in 1876, which was followed by many other honours 
while pursuing his engineering studies, In the present year he 
was awarded the Watt Gold Medal and Telford Premium by the 
Institution of Civil Engineers. 
ACCORDING to the 7imes Roman correspondent an interesting 
discovery, illustrating the commerce and the luxury of ancient 
Rome, has been made close to Monte Testaccio and the English 
cemetery. The whole of the district to the west of the Aventine 
outside the Porta Tregemina was occupied by granaries and 
warehouses for the storage of imports of all kinds. Between 
the northern side of Monte Testaccio and the Tiber there still 
exist colossal remains of the great emporium built by Marcus 
Emilius Lepidus and Emilius Paulus nearly 200 years before the 
Christian era. In the year 1868 a considerable portion of the 
quays was discovered, together with some 600 blocks, many of 
them of large size, of rare, variegated marbles of all kinds, lying 
just where they were landed from the galleys which had brought 
them from Numidia, the Grecian Islands, and Asia Minor 
fifteen centuries ago. Now, in the course of the building opera- 
tions in this locality, two warehouses have been discovered, one 
filled with elephants’ tusks and the other with lentils. It is 
curious to find such products stored side by side ; but as bags of 
lentils were sometimes shipped as ballast, they may have served 
that purpose. The discovery would have been a very valuable 
one if, unfortunately, the ivory had not been much decayed. 
NATURE : 
279 
WE have received from the Bureau des Longitudes ephemer- 
ides of circumpolar and moon culminating stars for the present 
year and an account of the determination of longitude between 
Paris and Bregenz, a town situated near the western boundary 
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’; a high value is claimed for 
the result. 
Mr. CLEVELAND, the President of the United States, has given 
his assent to the nomination as American Ambassador at Rome 
of Mr. Stallo, a German by birth, but long since a naturalised 
American citizen. He devoted himself exclusively to scientific 
pursuits in his younger years, but was persuaded by his friend 
Draper to join the Bar, where he distinguished himself without 
relinquishing his former avocation. He is the author of several 
scientific works ; the last was on ‘‘ The Concepts and Theories 
of Modern Physics,” noticed in NATURE, vol. xxiv. p. 321. 
Ow1nc to the frequency of tornadoes in some parts of the 
valley of the Mississippi, we understand that a number of caves 
have been bored in some parts of the country to afford shelter to 
trayellers chancing to meet such dangerous phenomena on their 
way. 
On July 10, at about noon, a wonderful mirage was seen on 
Lake Wettern, in Sweden, by a number of people between the 
villages of Fogelsta and Vadstena, A small island in the lake 
appeared as if covered with the most gorgeous flora and tall 
gigantic trees, forming great groves, between which buildings 
having the appearance of the most splendid palaces were seen. 
The Sandé, another little island, seemed to rise out of the sea 
many times its actual height, its sandy shores looking like lofty 
castellated walls. It had the exact appearance of a medizyal 
fortress enclosed by four walls. Two other little islands, 
Aholmen and Risén, appeared also as lofty towers above the 
water. The mirage lasted for nearly half an hour, when it dis- 
appeared somewhat rapidly. 
Mr. CLEMENT L, WRAGGE is arranging for the establishment 
ofa meteorological station in Northern Queensland and New 
Guinea. He hopes to establish an observing station at Port 
Moresby. An assistant will carry on the work of the Torrens 
Observatory. Mr. Wragge is also arranging for the continuance 
of his observatory on Mount Lofty. 
On Tuesday morning last week an earthquake occurred in 
Eastern and Central Bengal which is said to have been the 
severest one experienced by the inhabitants for forty years. The 
shocks lasted for nearly a minute. In Calcutta the houses rocked 
and cracked and the plaster fell in large quantities. There was 
general consternation, the people all rushing out of doors. A 
wave was raised in the river like a bore, causing some anxiety 
with respect to the shipping. Luckily no accident occurred, and 
no damage was done beyond the cracking of the walls of some 
old houses ; but had the shocks lasted some seconds longer the 
city would probably have been laid in ruins. Some of the up- 
country stations were less fortunate. At Serajgunge a chimney 
belonging to some jute mills fell. In many other places some of 
the houses fell and people were killed. Twenty-five deaths are 
reported to have occurred at Aheripore, five at Bogara, eleven 
at Azimgunge, and several at Dacca. The following morning 
another shock was felt in Cashmere which did some injury. 
According to the latest reports the earthquake caused altogether 
seventy deaths in Bengal. 
A sHock of earthquake occurred at Velez-Malaga on Monday 
night last week, but no damage was caused. A smart shock 
of earthquake occurred at Smyrna at 1.30 a.m. on July 15. The 
vibration was also slightly felt at Chesmé. 
ON June 30, at about 10 a.m., after a severe thunderstorm 
with heavy rain had passed over Stockholm, a little bright 
