1880. | Scientific News. 151 
— Professor Geikie opened his course of lectures to his class in 
the University of Edinburgh, November 1oth, with a very inter- 
esting account of his recent explorations in our Western Terri- 
tories, a full summary of which appears in Nature of Novem- 
ber 20th. He described his visit to the Yellowstone park, the 
Uinta mountains and other portions. His remarks on the evi- 
dences of glaciation and the superficial deposits of the West 
were excellent. He is now preparing an elaborate paper on the 
glacial phenomena which he observed, which he will offer for 
publication to some society or journal in this country. 
— The committee of the Philadelphia Park Commission, ap- 
pointed for the purpose, recently held a conference with the com- 
mittee of the Permanent Exhibition Company. The former, after 
consideration, resolved to recommend to the commission that the 
order for the removal of the Permanent Exposition be revoked, on 
condition that the Permanent Exposition Company raise the sum of 
$100,000 as a working capital, and agree to conform to the terms. 
of their lease. It is to be hoped that the commission will act on 
the report of the committee, and give the Permanent Exposition 
the Opportunity to show what it can become. 
— Biologia Centrali-Americana. Messrs. Dulau and Co. have 
commenced a splendid work under the above title, on the animals 
and plants of Mexico and Central America. It is edited by 
Messrs. F. D. Godman and Osbert Salvin, who have been collect- 
ing their materials for the past twenty-two years. It is to be issued 
in parts, sixty of zodlogy and twenty of botany, each consisting 
of about ninety-six pages of letter press, with numerous plates, 
many colored by hand. The colored plates issued with the first 
zoological part are said to be of remarkable beauty, delicacy and 
truthfulness to nature. 
Among the names of recently deceased scientists occur the _ 
names of Dr. F. Chapuis, the well known Belgian entomologist, 
Who died at Verviers, Sept. 20th; the dipterist C. Rondani, who 
died at Parma, Sept. 18; and T. Chapman, who died at Burghill, 
Hereford, Aug. 27. October 1 7, A. H. Garrod, well known for — - 
his papers on the comparative anatomy of birds and mammals, _ 
died in London. He was a naturalist of much promise. The 
death of the French author, Jean Charles Chenu, has lately been - 
Prof. J. D. Dana is about to issue a new edition of his very 
valuable Manual of Geology. This edition will be greatly im- 
Proved and enlarged and the whole subject brought up abreast 
of the present progress of the science. This work has occupied _ 
the greater portion of his time for several months. path 8 
— The Royal Museum of Leiden, as reported by Dr. H. Schle- __ 
gel, the Director, contains, not reckoning duplicates, 7900 mam- 
_ Mals, 50,000 birds, 2920 skeletons, and 4300 skulls. It has one 
collector in Madagascar and two in West Africa, —— 
