i66 
[March 
Analyses of Boohs . 
“ On the Yarra Dialect and the Languages of Australia in con- 
nection with those of Portuguese Africa,” by Hyde Clarke. The 
last-mentioned author considers that Australia was at some 
former period under the influence of a white race. 
The Geological Magazine , or Monthly f-ournal of Geology. 
Edited by H. Woodward, F.R.S. October, 1880. 
This issue contains an interesting paper byThorvaldr Thorodd- 
sen, on the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes of Iceland — a 
subject still very imperfectly known. The author enumerates 
the volcanoes known to have been active in historical times. 
Those still active form two lines, the one including Hekla, run- 
ning from S.W. to N.E., and the other from S. to N. From 
A.D. 900 to the present day eighteen eruptions of Hekla are on 
record, thirteen of Katla, and many whose exact sources cannot 
be ascertained. Those occurring along Skapta and Hverfisfljot, 
in 1783, are pronounced of a magnitude unparalleled on the 
earth in historical times. They proved fatal to 9000 human 
beings, 21,000 cattle, 36,000 horses, and 233,000 sheep. From 
1784 to 1821 no eruption is on record. 
According to Mr. W. Pengelly the former presence of the 
glutton in Britain was demonstrated by the late Mr. J. C. Bellamy 
in 1839. 
journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society. New Series. 
LX. to LXIII. Edinburgh and London : W. Blackwood 
and Sons. 
This issue contains a paper on the diurnal period of thunder- 
storms in Scotland, from which it appears that there is a well- 
marked daily minimum and maximum, storms being least fre- 
quent from 6 to 10 a.m., and most frequent from 3 to 6 p.m. 
There are traces of a secondary maximum from 3 to 6 a.m. 
In Iceland thunderstorms are essentially winter phenomena, and 
nocturnal. 
A notice of the Tay Bridge storm of December 28th, 1879, 
mentions the extraordinary barometrical fluctuations near the 
central track of the storm. The temperature rose also to 
51°- — 57 °> being the average for the first week of June. 
