SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY. 
211 
he dedicates to Hofrath Kopp, of Heidelberg. Mistaken hitherto for 
pyrochlore, it turns out to be a niobate of various metals, including calcium, 
cerium, lanthanum, didymium, potassium, &c. : a part of the oxygen in the 
compound being replaced by fluorine. 
Mines of Pyrites of Wigsnoes, Norivay . — The (t Chemical News ” of 
Jan. 8, 1875, gives the following note from a recent paper bvM. F. Kuhlmann, 
jun. : — “The Wigsnoes mine is situate in the island of Karmo, on the west 
coast of the Scandinavian peninsula. It was discovered in I860 by a French 
engineer, M. Defrance. The beds of pyrites are in contact with metamor- 
photic schist on one side, and on the other with gabro, known as hyperite 
and euphotide, composed of a granular mass of labradorite, white, green, 
and violet, strongly impregnated with smarage and diallage. It contains 
rock crystal, titaniferous iron, and garnets. The ore is generally composed 
of sulphuret of iron mixed with sulphuret of copper and furrowed with 
blende. The gangue is silica, with a little flour spar and chlorite. Traces 
of carbonate of lime are also found. The average proportion of sulphur is 
45 per cent., with 3 per cent of copper, though certain parts contain 12 to 
14 per cent, of that metal. Specimens of metallic copper are also found. 
Silver and gold occur only in very small quantities. Of arsenic there is not 
a trace, which greatly enhances the value of the ore for the manufacture of 
sulphuric acid.” 
METEOROLOGY. 
Weather Charts. — The Signal Office of the United States has sent over for 
distribution in this country a number of copies of the volumes containing 
the reduced daily charts, with the “ Probabilities ” and results for the 
months of October and November, 1872. The magnificence, says the 
“ Academy,” March 6, 1875, of the outlay on one science at the other side 
of the Atlantic makes us Europeans a little envious, as it is only with 
difficulty that Captain Hoffmeyer can procure a sufficiency of subscribers to 
guarantee himself against serious loss in his issue of daily synoptic charts 
of the weather of Europe : no European government dreams that such an 
object merits official pecuniary support. In this connexion we may remark 
that Captain Hoffmeyer announces that the future issue of his charts (see 
our issue of January 16) will be on a conical instead of a Mercator’s ” 
projection, and will therefore embrace a far larger extent of the earth’s 
surface in high latitudes. Furthermore, they will contain some information 
as to temperature, all which changes will be recognised as desirable 
improvements by many of the supporters of the undertaking. 
Meteorology in its Relation to Geography. — The progress of this branch of 
science has been well mapped out in a recent essay on the subject. Dr. 
Hann, who has paid more attention to the investigation of the climate of 
distant regions, especially in the southern hemisphere, than anyone else, 
has begun the laudable practice of publishing a yearly Report on the 
Progress of Geographical Meteorology. The first report, which appeared 
last year in the third volume of Behm’s “Geographisches Jahrbuch” (Gotha : 
Perthes), consisted mainly of a summary of the different existing meteoro- 
