November 26, 1886.] 



SCIENCE. 



477 



with the studies. Visitors who wish to see the 

 work of the school will find the studios open each 

 day from nine until twelve in the morning, and 

 from one until four in the afternoon. The free 

 classes are taught from half-past seven to half -past 

 nine, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings 

 of each week. Emma Moffett Tyng. 



RIO DE JANEIRO LETTER. 



The scientific movement of Brazil can afford 

 but little matter of interest to the outside world. 

 Within the last few years a few isolated workers 

 have succeeded in making their names known be- 

 yond the limits of the country, but for the pres- 

 sent they are too few to have established any 

 noteworthy centres of scientific thought, either in 

 the way of societies or periodicals. Outside of 

 the medical profession, which maintains a very 

 creditable society and one or two special journals, 

 the spirit of association has taken the direction 

 mainly of organizing geographical societies, of 

 which Rio de Janeiro boasts of three, — the old 

 and highly reputable though decidedly fossilized 

 Historical, geographical, and ethnological insti- 

 tute, the more recent Rio de Janeiro section of the 

 Lisbon geographical society, and the Rio de 

 Janeiro geographical society. Each publishes its 

 review, mainly valuable en account of the inser- 

 tion and discussion of old and little-known docu- 

 ments, recent contributions of importance rarely 

 appearing. This abundance of geographical so- 

 cieties is not due to a superabundance of active 

 workers, but to a sudden outburst of enthusiasm 

 and. fraternal good feeling, awakened by a visit 

 from the Portuguese explorer of Africa, Major 

 Serpa Pinto. On this occasion Brazilians and 

 Portuguese united in founding a section of the 

 Lisbon society to commemorate his visit. Na- 

 tional rivalries soon appeared, however, and led 

 to the withdrawal of a portion of the Brazilian 

 element to found the Rio de Janeiro society, 

 which, of the three, appears at present to possess 

 tlie most vitality and promise of usefulness. 



The other scientific publications are the Archivos 

 do museu nacional, of which six volumes have 

 been issued, containing articles on archeology, 

 anthropology, zoology, and geology, contributed 

 mainly by the officers of the museum; the Annals 

 da Escola de minas de Auro Preto, of which the 

 four volumes published are mainly devoted to 

 metallurgy and mineralogy ; and the recently es- 

 tablished monthly Revista do observatorio, which 

 is taking a very useful direction in the collection 

 of meteorological observations from various points 

 of the empire. Private enterprise in the publica- 

 tion of scientific journals has taken the direction 



of technical reviews for engineers and architects, 

 of which three are published. In the absence of 

 other organs, articles of general science are some- 

 times inserted in these, particularly in the oldest 

 and best estabhshed of them, the Revista de en- 

 genharia. The last number of the Archivos do 

 museu, issued near the end of last year, contained 

 profusely illustrated articles on the extraordinary 

 ornamented pottery of the mounds of Marajo. 

 The next volume, to be issued shortly, will be de- 

 voted to a memoir by Dr. C. A. White of Wash- 

 ington, on the Brazilian cretaceous fossils, and 

 will undoubtedly be the most important contribu- 

 tion ever made to South American invertebrate 

 paleontology. 



Since the beginning of the present year, three 

 official commissions have been organized, from 

 which results of some value maybe expected, and 

 of which notice has already been given in Science. 

 The first in point of time is for a geographical 

 and geological survey of the province of San 

 Paulo, on the plan of the U. S. surveys of the 

 territories, under the charge of Prof. O. A. Derby 

 of the national museum. The first work under- 

 taken was the exploration of the second largest 

 river of the province, the Paranapanema, tributary 

 of the Parana. The party, consisting of Dr. Theo- 

 dore Sampaio, geographer, with Dr. J. W. Aguiar 

 as assistant, and Dr. Paula OUveira geologist, 

 embarked on the upper river May 23, and has 

 only just returned, having traversed about 900 

 kilometres of difficult river in a sparsely populated, 

 almost desert region, and about 500 kilometres by 

 land, all in a region that had never before been 

 scientifically examined. The river was found to 

 be full of dangerous falls and rapids in its middle 

 section, of the extension of about 120 kilometres,, 

 but comparatively free from obstruction in an 

 upper section of 200 kilometres, and a lower sec- 

 tion of 309 kilometres. The latter section prom- 

 ises to become an important link in the system of 

 internal communications Avith the distant province 

 of Matto Grosso. For over half its course, the 

 river flows through a region of bedded traps, pre- 

 sumably of triassic age. The chief of the com- 

 mission has been engaged in the examination of 

 a remarkable development of nepheliue sienites, 

 occurring in several points of the province, and in 

 such intimate association with typical volcanic 

 rocks, tuffs, phonoUtes, trachites, nepheline^ 

 leucite, and olivine basalts, as to establish the vol- 

 canic character of the whole group. The pas- 

 sage of nepheline sienite to phonolite is clearly 

 demonstrated, and leucite rocks are reported for 

 the first time in South America. 



A second commission, appointed by the minis- 

 ter of agricultm-e, is for a study of the disease of. 



