Sept. 14, if 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



283 



with the modern gigantic tortoises of the Seychelles and 

 the Gallapagos, and with the Chersites of Southern Europe 

 have not been established. It may be considered as a 

 relic of a more ancient fauna of an African type. 



A New Hypnotic Agent. — According to M. J. Luys, 

 the fascinating effect produced upon larks by a revolving 

 mirror is capable of developing analogous phenomena in 

 the human species, especially in neuropathic subjects of 

 both sexes. 



THE INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL 

 CONGRESS. 



HPHE fourth triennial session of this Congress will be 

 held, by permission of the Senate of the Uni- 

 versity of London, in the University buildings in Bur- 

 lington Gardens. The first general assembly of the 

 Congress will take place in the theatre of the University 

 at 7.30 o'clock on Monday evening, September 17th, 

 when the inaugural address will be delivered in French 

 by Professor Prestwich, as President, French being 

 the official language of the Congress. At 9 p.m. Pro- 

 fessor and Mrs. Prestwich will hold a reception. 



On Tuesday morning the Congress will meet at 10 

 o'clock, when questions bearing upon geological nomen- 

 clature and classification will be discussed. A full report 

 on these subjects will be presented by the American 

 Committee. This report, which has been printed in 

 advance, forms a volume of 220 pages, edited by Pro- 

 fessor Persifor Frazer. Although written in English, a 

 French abstract has been prepared by Professor Dew- 

 alque, the Secretary of the General Committee on Unifi- 

 cation of Nomenclature ; and copies of this abstract will 

 be distributed at the meeting. The English Committee, 

 under the presidency of Professor T. McK. Hughes, will 

 also present its revised report, which is now being 

 printed, and forms a substantial work. 



On Wednesday morning the sitting will be devoted to 

 the discussion of a subject which has of late years 

 excited 1. uch attention in geological circles — the nature 

 and origin of the crystalline schists. Special authorities 

 on this subject have been invited to contribute short 

 memoirs which have been printed in advance. As copies 

 of these papers will be distributed to the members, the 

 communications may be taken as read and the time of 

 the meeting occupied only in their discussion. The 

 volumes of papers entitled " Etudes sur les Schistes 

 Crystallins," contains the following communications : — 

 "Les Schistes Cristallins," by Dr. Sterry Hunt ; "Zur 

 Klassification der krystallinischen Schiefer," by Professor 

 A. Heim, of Zurich ; " Sur la Constitution et la Structure 

 des Massifs de Schistes Cristallins des Alpes Occiden- 

 tales," by Professor C. Lory, of Grenoble; "Bemerkungen 

 zu einigenneueren Arbeiten iiberkrystallinisch-schiefrigen 

 Gesteine," by Professor J. Lehmann, of Kiel ; " Sur l'Ori- 

 gine des Terrains Cristallins Primitifs," by M. Michel- 

 Levy, of Paris ; " The Archaean Geology of the Region 

 North- West of Lake Superior," by Mr. A. C. Lawson, of 

 the Geological Survey of Canada ; " On the Crystalline 

 Schists of the United States and their Relations," by 

 various members of the United States Geological Survey ; 

 and a paper by Herr K. A. Lossen, of the Geological 

 Survey of Prussia. The group of papers contributed by 

 the United States Survey contains first an " Introduction," 

 by Major J. W.Powell, the Director, followed by a paper 

 on ',' The Crystalline Schists of the Lake Superior Dis- 



trict," by the late Mr. R. D. Irving, and Messrs. T. 

 Chamberlin, and C. R. Van Hise ; this is succeeded by 

 a sketch of" The Crystalline Schists of the Coast Ranges 

 of California," by Mr. G. F. Becker, and a brief description 

 of " The Crystalline Rocks of Northern California and 

 Southern Oregon," by Captain C. E. Dutton. 



On Wednesday evening the Congress will be received 

 by Dr. A. Geikie, as Director-General of the Geological 

 Survey, at the Museum of Practical Geology in Jermyn 

 Street. With the view of illustrating the subjects that 

 will have been discussed at the morning sitting, it is 

 proposed that during the evening a series of microscopic 

 sections showing the structure of the crystalline schists 

 shall be exhibited on the screen, by means of the lime- 

 light, in the theatre of the Museum. 



At 10 o'clock on Thursday morning the Congress will 

 re-assemble in the University theatre, and proceed to 

 the discussion of questions bearing upon the International 

 Map of Europe. A report will be presented by the Map 

 Committee, and specimen sheets illustrating the character 

 of the work. In the afternoon the members will make 

 excursions in various directions. One party will visit 

 Windsor and Eton, where they will be entertained by 

 the masters of Eton College ; another party will visit 

 Kew, and be received by Mr. Thiselton Dyer, as Director 

 of the Royal Gardens ; other members will go down the 

 river to Erith and Crayford for the purpose of examining 

 the brick-earths and gravels of the Thames valley ; while 

 others will probably visit Watford and St. Albans. 



On Friday morning the discussion on nomenclature 

 and classification, and on the coloration of maps, will be 

 resumed. In the evening there will be a reception at 

 the rooms of the Geological Society at Burlington House, 

 by Dr. W. T. Blanford, as President of the Society. The 

 concluding business of the Congress, mostly of a formal 

 character, will be taken at Saturday morning's sitting. 



Several geological excursions have been organised for 

 the week following the London session. One of these, 

 which promises to be extremely popular, is to the Isle of 

 Wight, under the direction of Messrs. W. Whitaker, 

 J. Starkie Gardner, A. Strahan, and H. Keeping. By 

 invitation of Sir Charles Wilson, this party will also visit 

 the offices of the Ordnance Survey at Southampton. 

 Another interesting excursion is to North Wales under 

 Dr. H. Hicks, assisted by Professor J. H. Blake for 

 Anglesey, and by Mr. G. H. Morton for the carboniferous 

 limestone of Llangollen. A third excursion is planned 

 to East Yorkshire, under the direction of Mr. J. W. 

 Woodall and Mr. C. Fox-Strangways, assisted by Mr. W. 

 H. Hudleston, for some of the oolitic series, Mr. G. H. 

 Lamplugh for the Flamborough chalk, and Mr. Hugh Bell, 

 for the mines and iron-works of Middlesborough. West 

 Yorkshire will also be visited by a party under the 

 guidance of Mr. J. Marr and Mr. R. H. Tiddeman. 

 Finally, an excursion to East Anglia has been organised 

 under Mr. F. W. Harmer (Mayor of Norwich) and Mr. 

 Clement Reid, assisted for the older Pliocence beds of 

 Suffolk, by Dr. J. E. Taylor, of the Ipswich Museum. A 

 guide-book containing geological descriptions of the 

 localities about to be visited, written in French, and 

 illustrated by coloured geological maps has been pre- 

 pared, and will be presented to the members of the 

 Congress. To this guide-book Mr. Topley has con- 

 tributed a sketch of the geology of the various railway 

 routes by which foreigners will reach London. 



The Official Report of the Berlin Congress has just 

 been issued. 



