April i, 1880] 



NATURE 



525 



sanctum of the Astronomer-Royal is a mystery to this day ; but 

 within a few hours of his interview with Mr. Glaisher the readers 

 of the .Yrw York Herat J printed a correct account of the mar- 

 vellous star shower, together with many interesting details of the 

 Observatory itself. 



Consul Layard sends us the following notes of literary or 

 scientific blunders, brought to his recollection by the article on 

 "Subject-Indexes" in Nature, vol. xx. p. 554. We rather 

 think the Cape story is a replica of a still older one in the mother 

 country : — " Some years ago, when we moved into the combined 

 South African Library and Museum buildings, several volunteers 

 assisted in placing the books in the shelves. One morning the 

 librarian, with an amused smile on his face, showed me a book 

 he had found among the medical works ; it was Burton's 

 ' Anatomy of Melancholy ! ' Next day it was back again ! and 

 while we were wondering who had so placed it, the culprit came 

 forward and applauded himself for mending the work of ' some 

 stupid fellow' who did not know -.'.hereto place medical books! 

 A friend sent me Miller's ' Old Red Sandstone.' It burst its 

 cover in the post-bag coming from England, and a discussion 

 arose as to whom it might have been sent. At last some one 

 suggested I was the most likely ow ner of a work of that class, 

 and I was summoned. On arriving at the P.O. with the sender's 

 letter, I accosted the P.M.G. with the remark that I believed the 

 book then in his hands was mine. ' It is,' I said, 'the "Old 

 stone," by Miller, who wrote' — I was going to adds 

 * The Testimony of the Rocks,' when my old friend cut me short 

 with — ' Yes, yes, I know, the jokes, the jokes ' ! ! Shades of 

 old Joe ! I gravely acquiesced, and walked oft' with my book." 



The observations in which Prof. Pavesi of Pavia has been 

 lately engaged on the pelagic fauna of the lakes of Te : sin and 

 of Italy have yielded interesting results (of which there is an 

 account in the Archives da Sciences, February 15). Some 

 twenty-one lakes were examined, mostly in Italy. The tables 

 show that Lcptodora is found almost everywhere. Daphnella 

 brachyura, Daphnia hyalina, D. galcata, Bosmina longiros/ris, 

 Cyclops minutus, &c, are very common ; on the other hand, Sida 

 crystallina, Daphnia i/uadrangula, Bosmina longispiua, and 

 Bytftotrcphcs sxe. rare ; lastly, Daphnia magna, and/.'. . 

 are localised in the single Lal.e of Idro. It is a curious fact that 

 of two lakes, near each other and of the same geological origin, 

 and frequented by the same aquatic birds, one may present hardly 

 any pelagic forms, while the other may have many. Such are 

 the small Lake of Candia and the Lake of Viverone (they also 

 show a difference of the opposite kind in algological flora). The 

 latter lake, indeed, is triple that of the former, and about five 

 times as deep. Still, great depth is not necessary to existence 

 of pelagic animals, though it is more favourable to their develop- 

 ment ; e.g., they multiply in the lakes of Brianza and Eudine, 

 which are only ten metres deep. Some forms, as Bytholrcphes, 

 are found only in the deepest lakes. As to the bathymetrical 

 ike fauna, Lcptodora lives generally, by day, at about 

 15m. depth. At 10 and 30m. it is generally rare, though in some 

 cases it has been found even at loom., and in shallow lakes is 

 common at 5m. Daphinra cris/ata of Lake Idro is common at 5 to 

 15m., very rare at 50m. Daphnia magna is most abundant at 30 

 to 50m. On stormy days few forms were found at 5m. depth. 

 The almost absolute absence of Crustacea in the Lake of Garda, 

 at 5 m. even in calm weather, is attributed to the great trans- 

 parency of the water. Prof. Pavesi thinks the influence of 

 temperature nil or inappreciable. He assigns a marine origin to 

 the fauna in question ; fiords changed to lakes, part of the 

 isolated species dying out, others becoming adapted to new con- 

 ditions of life, diffusion of these forms, by various means of 

 transport, to neighbouring lakes of different epoch and origin, 

 such as the lakes of Switzerland, Bavaria, and Lake Trasimeno. 



This confirms Stoppani's theory of the origin of the lakes in 

 Upper Italy. 



The Journal of Applied Science draws attention to a state- 

 ment that has recently been made to the effect that in Thuringia, 

 in Germany, over 1,000 tons of dried beetroot leaves are annually 

 passed off as genuine tobacco. Beetroot, chicory, and cabbage 

 are largely used for a similar purpose in Magdeburg and in the 

 Palatinate. The " Vevey" cigars, which are in such favour in 

 South Germany, contain no tobacco at all, but are entirely com- 

 posed of cabbage and beet-leaves, deprived of their natural smell 

 and taste by a special form of cultivation, and subsequently 

 steeped in tobacco water for a lengthened period. 



The importance of the German element in the United States 

 is evidenced by the publication of a Deulsch-A merikanische 

 Apothcier-Zcitung, the first number of which we have received. 



(THE West Kent Natural History Society present a satisfactory 

 Report tor 1S79; it contains the address of the president, Mr. 

 R. McLachlan, F. R.S., in which he finds something new to say 

 about the house-sparrow. 



The Report of the Bristol Museum and Library for 1S79 

 shows that the institution suffered somewhat in its income from 

 the general depression, though otherwise it continues to meet 

 with favour. The museum especially has received several valu- 

 able additions. 



In the last number of the journal published by the Newcastle- 

 on-Tyne Chemical Society is a paper by Mr. W. G. Strype on 

 I An Apparatus applicable to the Continuous Testing of Chamber 

 Escapes." 



Among the papers in No. 3 of the School of Mines Quarterly 

 of Columbia College, to which we referred some time ago, we 

 may mention Trof. Newberry's on "The Origin and Classifica- 

 tion of Ore Deposits ;" interesting notes on Mexican Mining, by 

 Mr. T- C. F. Randolph; "Aerostation," by Mr. J. A. Navarro ; 

 and a paper on " Soap," by Mr. A. L. Colby. 



The Rev. \V. Clement Ley asks us to state that in his letter- 

 in Nature, vol. xxi. p. 48, he wrote "the Hon. R. Aber- 

 cromby," not "Sir R. Abercromby." 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Bonnet Monkey (Macacus radialus) from 

 India, presented by Mr. J. R. Cullin ; two Striped Ilyxnas [Hycata 

 striata) from Arabia, presented by Capt. the Hon. F. G. Hay 

 and Mr. Wylde ; an American Red Fox [Cam's fuhms) from 

 North America, presented by Capt. Russell ; a Carpet Viper 

 (Echis carinaia) from India, presented by Capt. C. S. Sturt, 

 C.M.Z.S; two Golden-Headed Parrakcets from Brazil, an 

 Eyton's Tree Duck (Demirocygna eytoni) from North-\Ve^ 

 Australia, purchased ; a Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotcs) from 

 Australia, a Vulturine Guinea Fowl {Numida vu'durina) from 

 East Africa, deposited ; a Sambur Deer (Cerzus atislolelis), an 

 Eland [Oreas canna), born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN 

 The Southern Comet.— Dr. B. A. Gould, Director of the 

 Observatory at Cordoba, publishes the results of hasty observa- 

 tions of the head of the southern comet on the evening of 

 February 4. It appeared "like a coarse, ill-defined mass of 

 dull light 2' or 3' in diameter, and without visible nucleus." Two 

 determinations of position were made by placing it in the middle 

 of the field of the large equatorial and taking the readings of the 

 circles. Thus Dr. Gould obtained the following place after cor- 

 recting for refraction, and it should be mentioned thatat the 

 second observation the comet's altitude was less than 2*42' ; right 

 ascension, 22h. 24m. 10s. ; declination, - 31' 29-1 at 5h. 27m. 

 55s. Cordoba sidereal time, which corresponds to February 4 at 

 I2h. 46m. 25s. Greenwich mean time. Mr. Finlay's orbit, which 



