98 
POPULAK SCIENCE KEYIEW. 
and the discharge of lava then hecame regular. Disturbance of the magnetic 
needle and repeated registrations by the sismograph were then observed. 
At the date of closing the letter (Nov. 17th) the stream of lava was winding 
round the side of the great cone, and in the direction of the crater of 1855. 
The Anatomy of the Mesotheriwn.—Ao. one of his series of Memoirs, pub- 
lished in the Comptes JRendus, M. Serres thus sums up his opinions of the 
affinities of the Mesotherium : — It approaches the Rodentia, by the dispo- 
sition of its incisor teeth ; in its general form it resembles the young Pachy- 
derms. It is related to the Edentata, by the form of its head and limbs, and 
by the bifurcation of the last phalanx. Finally, its conformation of head 
and form of encephalon relate it to the Cetacea, to which group M. Senechal 
supposes it to belong. Looking at all the anatomical characters, M. Serres 
thiaks the Mesotherium should be placed between the Pachyderms and the 
Eodentia 5 and he thus looks upon it as an extinct connecting link in the 
mammalian chain. In another of these papers he alleges that the animal 
was aquatic in its mode of life, and he bases this conclusion on the following 
evidence : — 1. The direction of the superior articulation of the humerus, 
which, he says, shows that the limb had a horizontal position. 2 . The 
arrangement of the fore-arm, which was very wide and moveable, resembling 
that of the seal family. 3. The separation of the digits. 4. The character 
of the thumb, which is long, slender, and evidently possessed the power of 
abduction, a membrane extending between it and the index-finger. 5. The 
end-to-end articulation of the bones of the fore-arm, phalanges, carpus, and 
metacarpus. 
The Igneous Origin of Eruptive Rochs. — In an excellent critique on Dr. 
Sterry Hunt’s lecture on the Origin of Rocks, Mr. David Forbes, F.R.S., 
thus expresses himself in regard to the origin of eruptive rocks : — It has 
lately been the fashion, especially amongst many of the younger votaries of 
the science, to ‘pooh-pooh’ the igneous origin of eruptive rocks in general, 
and of granite in particular. A careful study of the literature of the sub- 
ject shows, however, that this secession from opinions, previously all but 
universally adopted, has originated in the writings of one or two able but 
one-sided men of science, blindly followed, as is usual in such cases, by 
adherents who reason not for themselves, or who have either not sufficient 
leisure or inclination to examine into the true merits of the question. The 
author fully believes, however, that had* anything like a careful study of 
what has already been published (pro et contra) upon this subject been made, 
that not only would an explanation or answer have been discovered to meet 
any and all of the arguments brought forward in opposition to the igneous 
origin of such rocks, but that such as are open to conviction would, with the 
author of these remarks, have come to the conclusion that nothing has as yet 
been advanced which can in any way tend to prove the eruptive rocks to 
have an origin difiering from that of those rocks produced by volcanic action 
at the present day.” — Vide Geol. Mag., October. 
Photographs of Santorin . — Herr Haidinger lately presented to the Viennese 
Academy a number of photographs of the different stages of the Santorin 
eruption. They had been “taken” by M. Granges. 
The Geology and Palceontology of Russia. — M. D’Eichwald’s treatise, bearing 
this title, has been published. 
