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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
by the ordinary methods. With regard to his experiments in Santorin, he 
says that the observations made show that there is a very powerful magnetic 
influence in the direction of the volcanic lines already mapped out by M. 
Fouque, and indicated by the eruptive centres Micra , Georges , and Aphro- 
essa. He found the magnetic needle dip very much less in those parts beyond 
the volcanic region than in others. M. Fouque’s study of the district in the 
neighbourhood of Aphroessa led him to suspect the existence of a secondary 
fissure. M. Jansenn has brought his magnetic tests to bear on this question, 
and he has found that the magnetic records tend very strongly to bear out 
M. Fouque’s suspicion. M. Jansenn recommends Government to insist on 
general magnetic observations during surveys, &c., as he says they afford us 
a means of sounding the depths of solid strata, and possibly of anticipating 
earthquakes. 
Fossil Foraminifera of Austria. — At one of the late sittings of the Im- 
perial Academy of Vienna, Herr Reus presented his treatise on the Fora- 
miniferous Faunae of the country. He recorded several new species, most of 
which are referred to the family Miliolidse. 
Spectroscopic Examination of the Flames of Stromboli. — This curious inves- 
tigation has been conducted by M. Jansenn, who has made known his results 
in a letter to M. Saint-Claire Deville. There was considerable difficulty in 
conducting the observations, owing to the quantity of fine powdery matter 
thrown up with the flame. But M. Jansenn was able to demonstrate the 
presence of sodium in large quantity, and of copper, chlorine, and carbon in 
lesser proportions. The flame, as usually occurs in such cases, resulted from 
hydrogen. 
The Amazon Valley. — Professor Agassiz has written a letter to M. Elie de 
Beaumont, describing the geological character of the Amazon Valley. He 
states that the valley consists of a species of mud, of which portions are 
extremely hard ; it extends from Para to Peru, and appears to rest on a 
cretaceous deposit. The river has cut its bed through the mud, and this 
latter has, in some instances, a depth of nearly a thousand feet. 
The Fossil Plants of Wolfgang have been described by Herr Unger in a 
communication to the Vienna Academy. The species belong to the lower 
cretaceous beds. 
The Pone-caves of Belgium. — In a la'te number of the Bulletin of the 
Royal Academy of Brussels, a note appears from M. Dupont, in which this 
geologist states that he has been examining a new bone-cavern known as 
the Trou-madame. In the stratified mud he found a series of human bones, 
remains of pottery, bones of deer, and other animals. The human remains 
include a perfect skull and lower maxilla. 
Photographs of the Sierra Nevada. — A set of photographs of this moun- 
tain-chain has been sent to Paris by a geologist of California. They exhibit 
various marks of striation resembling those of the Alps. These are found 
to occur at a height of 3,000 metres above the sea-level. 
Volcanic Eruptions near Portugal. — M. Deville has called attention to a 
statement which recently appeared in a Portuguese journal, announcing 
that Tersira and Graciosa, two islands near Lisbon, have been subjected 
to continual volcanic eruptions •, very strong shocks of earthquakes have 
been felt, and have produced many islets, one after the other, analogous 
