with shoals, until in the reach where Bend is situated, and where the maximum volume has been abstracted for purposes of irrigation, the entire breadth of the Amú Darya is obstructed by a mass of sandbanks intersected by narrow and tortuous channels. It appears, then, that such information as we have, regarding the change and the existent conditions of the old and new courses of the Amú Darya, presents a picture precisely the converse of that delineated in and quoted from Sir Charles Lyell's work. In lieu of a constant increase to the transporting capacity of the waters of the river, we see that in the Amú Darya such is replaced by a constantly diminishing transporting power, and that the old bed has been filled up and destroyed by the deposi tion of silt. This deposition of silt and deterioration of the bed can only have been caused by the abstraction of its waters for irrigation. Whether other circumstances assisted the consequent change of the flow of the Amú Darya is a question it is not my purpose to examine in this place. Enough has, I would submit, been adduced to show that the practice of irrigation, as conducted on the banks of the Amú Darya, produces phenomena whose action furnishes a probable explanation of a very curious and interesting geographical problem. HERBERT WOOD If two railway trains meet and pass each other at tolerable speed, and the driver of one of them is sounding his whistle, any person in the other train accustomed to music will notice that the moment the whistle passes him its note will be lowered in pitch in a marked degree. It was at first supposed that, at the time of passing, the driver lowered his whistle intentionally, as a salute to the other train (like "dipping the ensign" at sea), but this was found not to be the fact, the driver himself being unconscious of any change. I believe the true explanation was first given by Mr. Scott Russell, but I do not know when or where. It is an exactly parallel case to one which has recently attracted attention in astronomy, namely, the evidence afforded by the change in position of certain spectral lines, owing to the vapours which produce them nation of this will be familiar to most of the readers of approaching or receding from the observer. The expla NATURE, and I have only to apply it to the case in question. Every musical note propagates aërial waves succeeding each other with a known rapidity, corresponding to the THE PARIS INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF pitch of the note; the higher the pitch, the greater the GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE THE 'HE meeting of the International Congress, of which we published the programme a few months ago (vol. x. p. 267), has been postponed, owing to the large number of demands from foreign parts for room in the Exhibition. It will not take place in the beginning of spring as intended orginally, but will be opened on the ist of August, perhaps by the President of the Republic, who seems to be deeply interested in the success of the enterprise. It will be held in the Pavillon de Flore. This magnificent building was left unfinished when the Empire was upset, and could not be burned by the Communists, as the woodwork had not been begun. It is now being decorated most tastefully, and will be inaugurated by the Congressionists. An exhibition will also take place in the Pavillon de Flore and Orangerie situated close to the Place de la Concorde. All the Terrace du Lord de l'Eau, from the Pavillon de Flore to the Orangerie, will form part of the Exhibition. Temporary sheds of every description will be constructed in that splendid situation along the banks of the Seine and under the four rows of lofty trees. The coup d'œil will be splendid, and is sure to attract an immense number of spectators. The Exhibition will be opened on the 19th of July, and will last until the 4th of August. A very large number of gentlemen of all countries have been appointed members of the honorary committee. The president of the Congress is M. Delesse, a French engineer in the mining service, and a great geologist. M. Delesse is now the president of the Central Committee of the Geographical Society. Up to the present moment the vice-president has not been elected. The Exhibition and Congress, as we formerly notified, have been divided into seven different groups: (1) Mathematical; (2) Hydrographical; (3) Physical; (4) Historical; (5) Economical; (6) Didactic; (7) Travels. A programme of 123 questions has been published, and all these, as far as possible, will be discussed by the members of the Congress. The principal questions will be found in the article referred to. rapidity of succession of the waves, and vice versa. Now, when a person advances to meet these waves, more of them will pass him in a given time than if he stood still, on the same principle that if a man meets a file of soldiers on march, more men will pass him per minute than if he were stationary. Thus the apparently increased rapidity of the waves will give him the impression of a sharper note. On the other hand, when the trains have passed each other, the listener will be moving in the same direction as the sound-waves, and consequently a less number will pass him in a given time, causing the note to appear flatter. The sum of these effects will be the sudden drop of the pitch of the note at the moment the listener passes the whistle. We may reduce the effect to numerical calculation, premising that, in order to simplify the reasoning, we will suppose the source of the sound to be stationary, and the observer to move towards it with a given velocity. Let n = number of sound-waves propagated by the given note per second; and let 1 the number which the listener will gain by his advance in the same time, which is the number he would pass by his own proper motion if the waves were standing still. = Then the effective number of waves per second which will meet his ear will be =n+n, this number determining the pitch of the note he hears. This may be called (by an astronomical analogy) the apparent pitch, as distinguished from the true pitch. To find the value of n1, let L = the length of the soundV wave (= where V velocity of sound in feet per second). Then, if v = n = ข velocity of motion of the listener he would pass, by his own proper motion, waves per I second; whence 1 ข พบ = Hence the apparent pitch of the note is what will correspond to the number of vibrations But we may simplify this by applying the harmonic principle, that a musical interval is measured by the ratio of the vibration numbers of its higher and lower limiting the interval between the real sounds. Let therefore & and the apparent sound; then = A very simple formula, in which the original number of waves disappears, showing that the interval between the two notes is irrespective of the original pitch of the whistle, and depends only on the velocity with which the listener approaches the source of the sound. We have now to take the case where the listener, having passed the whistle, is receding from the source of sound. The note will then appear flatter than the real one, and its vibration number will be found by the same rule as before, merely giving v a minus sign. lectures on various branches of science by men of eminence in each department, so as to place in clear and comprehensive outlines the most important results of scientific inquiry before the public of Glasgow, and at such a rate as will secure to those who cannot otherwise obtain it the best information on the state of science, as established by the most recent investigations of its most number of working men who were desirous of following the distinguished workers. The scheme originated amongst a example of the science lecture movement which has been so successfully worked out in Manchester during the last six or seven years, but with this difference, namely, that the lectures should be self-supporting. To accomplish that end, and be in a position to pay the lecturers liberally for their services, they at once saw that the minimum rate of admission could not well be fixed at less than threepence, and they confidently believed that many of their fellows would be most willing to pay that amount for the privilege which it was proposed to place within their reach. They soon enlisted the sympathies and active co-operation of persons in a higher social sphere, and in due time the Association took active shape. A large executive committee was constituted, and Dr. Allen Thomson, F.R.S., one of the most distinguished members of the professorial staff of the University of Glasgow, cheerfully accepted the honorary presidentship of the Association, while a number of other prominent citizens were enrolled in the list of vice-presidents. Owing to the fact that Prof. Roscoe had been the moving spirit of the Manchester Science Lectures for the People, he was very early communicated with, in the confident hope that valuable advice based upon his practical experience would readily be placed at the service of the originators of the Glasgow lecture scheme. They were not disappointed in their expectations, and, indeed, had they been lacking in enthusiasm and determination to make the scheme a success, they would have been stimulated to action by the various communications which they received from that gentleman. It was very late in the past year before the Glasgow Science Lectures Association was sufficiently well organised to make any public announcement of its existence; but the active promoters of the movement were most anxious not to allow the whole winter to pass without having some lectures delivered under the auspices of the Association, no matter how short the course might be. Prof. Roscoe most kindly and cheerfully consented to take part in the first or introductory course; and considering that gentleman's peculiar relationship to the Manchester Science Lectures, the committee came to the conclusion that no person could more appropriately assist at the public inauguration of the movement in Glasgow. Accordingly, with his consent, Prof. Roscoe was set down to deliver the opening lecture of the introductory course, and other three distinguished men of science were selected to follow him, namely, Sir William Thomson, Dr. W. B. Carpenter, and Prof. W. C. Williamson, of Owens College, Manchester. The inaugural lecture was delivered on the evening of Friday, the 8th of January, and it was in every sense a most auspicious beginning. The Glasgow City Hall was chosen as the place for the delivery of the lectures, as the committee were desirous of bringing together the largest audiences that could be convened in any place of public meeting. It holds well-nigh three thousand persons, and on the occasion in question it was crowded. The reception given to the eminent lecturer was most enthusiastic. Dr. Thomson occupied the chair, and in introducing Prof. Roscoe to the meeting and formally opening the first course of lectures, he delivered an exceedingly valuable address, in the course of which he justified the formation of such associations as the one under whose auspices the lectures were to be given. He said that he had no doubt that in the selection of the lecturers the committee of the Association would always keep in view the possession by the lecturers of those qualities which alone could secure ultimate success in their enterprise, and which might be summed up as follows:-First, the fulness of knowledge which belongs to an accomplished master of his subject; second, the authority in statement which is derived from original research; and third, the disposition and power to convey full and accurate information to others with simplicity and clearness. The subject of Prof. Roscoe's lecture was "The History of the Chemical Elements," and it was most completely and successfully illustrated, especially in the department of spectrum analysis. Sir William Thomson's lecture will be on "The Tides," in which it is expected that a full exposition will be given of the more important results arrived at by the British Association Tidal Committee in their recent investigations. Dr. Carpenter has chosen as his subject "Man not an Automaton," with reference to the recent lectures of Professors Huxley and Clifford ; and the concluding lecture, by Prof. W. C. Williamson, will be on " The Dawn of Animal Life." It is the intention of the committee in future sessions to provide courses of eight or ten lectures, embracing all those branches of science that are susceptible of being treated thoroughly before large and miscellaneous audiences. What the public now want is lectures of the highest class, conveying ample information, but without unnecessary technicality and learned_difficulty. The success of the Manchester Science Lectures for the People and of the lectures delivered to the working men in the towns visited by the British Association during recent years, abundantly shows that such a desire is yearly becoming more and more prevalent. JOHN MAYER ATLANTIC NOTES Migration of Birds-The Thresher and Whale IN N crossing the Atlantic last September, when 900 miles distant from the nearest point of Newfoundland, two land birds settled on the ship, and after a short rest resumed their flight to the south-east, without partaking of the food which was scattered in various places for them. By the colour of their plumage' and motion on the wing, I believe them to be a species of lark. It may well be asked whence did they come, and whither were they going over that vast space of ocean, with no restingplace nearer the continent than the Azores? How were they fed during their long journey, and what guided them on their course? for it is only reasonable to suppose they had come on a bee line from their starting point, and even then their muscular powers must have been severely taxed. It appears to me that naturalists are not in possession of the secret which enables birds of passage to go many days without food at a time when their system must be strained to its extreme limit of endurance. From the result of close observation, I do not believe that land birds are often, if ever, driven to sea by the force of the wind. Some other cause must influence their movements. At the head of the Gulf of Bothnia, when there has not been a storm for many davs, I have seen scores of different species around the ship, amongst them the hawk, the owl, the robin, and many others. Are those who alight and stay by the ship the stragglers from the ranks of the armies which annually migrate, the sick and worn who fall out by the roadside to die, whose end in creation has been fulfilled, and their places ready to be taken by the young and strong? This surmise is strengthened by the fact that no care can preserve the lives of these tired birds in captivity; the hawk and dove alike refuse food, and quickly pine and die. Birds must possess strong affections, as they are always seen in pairs on these long journeys, which is an additional argument in favour of their voluntary flight over the ocean. It is scarcely possible they could remain together in a gale sufficiently powerful to blow them off the land, and more unreasonable still to imagine that the strength which is able to carry them hundreds of miles without a rest should fail to breast an ordinary gale under the shelter of the land. Such facts as these vouch for the facility with which the most remote islands may increase the number of their species without the agency of man. Off Youghal a gigantic thresher (Squalus vulpecula) was passed. It was leaping lazily and obliquely from the water, and after attaining its highest altitude, fell heavily on the surface, without making any effort to ease or guide its descent. This fish was not under fourteen feet in length; the belly of a pearly whiteness, and the back marked across with broad black bands. I have never seen this fish north before; but on the whaling grounds of the southern seas it is common. I do not believe it is dangerous to the life of the whale, as is often stated, but am under the impression that the irritation caused by the attacks of the thresher makes the animal vomit up the squid and other small matter on which it feeds. It is not reasonable to suppose that the blows inflicted by so small an instrument as the thresher's tail can have much effect through a foot of blubber. The whale has also many ways of escaping from its puny enemy; he dives to a depth where the thresher cannot follow, and if he could, his power of inflicting injury would be gone, owing to the resistance caused by the water; his speed also enables him to escape at all times. The treaty of offence which is said to exist between the thresher and sword-fish appears to me to be very mythical. When the whale is sick or dying, he is doubtless an object of attack to all the shark species, as they wage war with the whaler for the coveted blubber. WM. W. KIDDLE THE TRANSIT OF VENUS THE Times of yesterday contains some additional news from the Transit parties, specially those of France and Italy. The French news consists of telegrams from Shanghai in the Northern and from New Caledonia in the Southern Hemisphere. From the former station M. Fleuriais, the astronomer in charge at Pekin, now states that he was fortunate enough to observe all the four contacts, and not two only, as was at first stated. The times were as follows in local mean time :-First contact, 21h. 32m. 425.; second, 22h.; third, 1h. 50m. 15s. ; fourth, 2h. 17m. 13s. Nor is this all; no less than sixty photographs were taken which M. Fleuriais pronounces good. We have already stated that stations in Northern China are most useful for the application of the Halleyan and direct methods. From New Caledonia the best part of the news refers to the photographic operations, 100 good photographs being secured. Of the contacts, only the interior one at ingress was observed. The news of the doings of the Italians comes from the party in Bengal, in charge of the distinguished spectroscopist Tacchini, including Dorna, Lafont, Morso, Abetti, and Tacchini. The telegram comes from Maddapore, and the party evidently occupied two stations. The first three observed all four contacts, the last two only the third and fourth. As before stated, the chief instrument employed by the Italians was the spectroscope-an instrument not recognised in the equipment of any of the English parties. The observations were of the most satisfactory kind, and the results may lead to a most important discovery in solar physics. The time of interior contact at egress was observed with the most rigorous exactness, both by the ordinary telescopic method and by the spectroscopic is crushed by a dead weight of officialism, and that in method described in our former notes. It was found England it is free. However true this may be of teaching, that the difference between the times of observation by there is ample evidence in this volume that, in one branch these methods was more than two minutes, contact being of research at least, the very opposite of this statement is observed by the spectroscope first. Now, if the contact much nearer the truth, and the painful discussions which had been observed last by the spectroscope, there was an some time ago occurred in our own columns and elseobvious condition of the observation to which the dis- where, the 'Appeals to America,' the action of the Board accord might have been attributed; but there is now no of Visitors of the Greenwich Observatory, and the like, room for doubt that the sun's extreme edge which we afford a strong argument-if, indeed, one were neededactually see in a telescope differs physically from the part that the growth of science necessitates that in all future just within it, although there is no difference to the eye-national enterprises of the kind the example of the French in fact, that it gives a spectrum of bright lines, while the and of all the other Governments should be followed. In spectrum of the true subjacent sun gives a continuous this way only, in our opinion, can the national scientific spectrum with dark lines. Further, the physical differ- honour be upheld, while the officials concerned in carrying ence to which we refer would probably tend to make this out the work would be strengthened in their positions and stratum variable in thickness and luminosity. Nay, we shielded from a responsibility too great for individuals to may already hazard the question whether there is not bear." here a condition which may have something to do with the various times of contact recorded by observers having object-glasses widely differing either in aperture or in the over- or under-correction of the chromatic dispersion. The Another victory achieved by the Italians is the determination of the nature of the atmosphere of Venus. ring round the planet, which in the former transits as in the present one was visible round Venus both on and off the sun, indicates in the spectroscrope that in that planet, as in our own, the atmosphere is composed to a certain extent of aqueous vapour. Mr. Proctor pointed out some time ago the great value of photographs taken at the Cape of Good Hope in combination with those secured at Nertschinsk and Roorkee. We have no information that any photographs were taken at the Royal Observatory at Cape Town, but a correspondent informs us that fourteen successful photographs were taken at Cape Town, two of them showing distinctly the black drop. The Times then refers to the final appendices to the "Recueil de Memoires, Rapports et Documents relatifs à l'observation du Passage de Venus sur le Soleil," as enabling us at length to refer to the doings of the Commission appointed by the French Government. The records extend from February 1869, when the Government first moved in the matter, to a few months ago, when the final instructions on the methods to be adopted to guard the observations against risk of loss were issued. The first action of the French Government was to ask the Academy of Sciences to consider the places to be occupied, and the number of observers; the instruments to be used; the additional researches which might be undertaken by the observers sent to the Southern Hemisphere; and, finally, whether an Astronomical Congress would not be desirable to bring about a uniform system of observations. A strong commission was at once appointed, composed of mathematicians, astronomers, physicists, and chemists, in order that the problem might be considered in an efficient manner. Strangely enough, the name of M. Leverrier, the distinguished Director of the Paris Observatory, does not appear on the commission; he did not think the observations of the Transit necessary to prove the accuracy of his values of the solar parallax. Happily, his voice was overruled. The course taken, as the Times remarks, suggests how desirable some similar procedure here would have been. "There are very many points of the greatest interest," the Times continues, "raised by the contents of this large volume to which we should refer did space permit; from beginning to end it shows how a nation should set itself to work-how all the intellect of a nation can and must be utilised, when a great problem involving many kinds of special knowledge has to be attacked. It is often said that in France science NOTES THE arrangements for securing observations of the Solar Eclipse of April 6 are progressing most satisfactorily, thanks to the energy of the Royal Society Committee and the varied knowledge that has been brought to bear upon the various points of attack. Lord Salisbury has brought the proposed action of the Royal Society before the Council of India, and such instructions have already been telegraphed to India as will probably result in this eclipse being observed with a wealth of observers and ins'rumental appliances beyond all precedent. CAPTAIN NARES, who is to command the English Arctic Expedition, has arrived in London. Commander Markham returned on Saturday from Dundee, after having entered six good men, tried seal and whale fishers, as ice-quartermasters. Staff-Surgeon Thomas Colan, M.D., of the Unicorn, drill-ship of the Naval Reserve at Dundee, has been selected by the Admirably as senior medical officer of the Expedition. With regard to the proposed German Expedition, the desire is, we believe, if the funds can be raised, to form a scheme of co-operation between the two exploring expeditions. Surely our brother Teutons, richer now than ever they were, and whose zeal for knowledge is proverbial, will not allow this splendid scheme to be marred for lack of funds. THE Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons contains a series of casts of the interior of the cranial cavity, representing exactly the form and size of the brain (when covered by its membranes), of men of various races, and of many species of animals. With a view to diffuse the information to be derived from the study of these casts, and believing that many educational institutions will be glad to avail themselves of the opportunity of possessing them, the Council of the College has authorised the issue of copies at the lowest price at which they can be reproduced, which will partly depend upon the number likely to be required. The Conservator of the Museum would like those who desire to possess the whole or part of the series, which comprises many rare forms, to communicate with him on the subject. AT its séance of Jan. 11, the Paris Academy elected a corresponding member in the section of Mechanics, in place of the late M. Burdin. Three candidates were proposed-M. Broch, the Norwegian mathematician, who obtained twenty-four votes; Prof. Stokes, F.R.S., twenty-one votes; and M. Calladon, one vote. Thus M. Broch was elected by only three votes over Prof. Stokes. MR. SIMON NEWCOMB, the American astronomer, is now in Paris. He has paid a visit to the Observatory, in order to inquire into the possibility of constructing a large refracting telescope having a lens of one metre in diameter. A sum of 30,000l. was, as we have already intimated, placed at his com. mand by Mr. Lick, the celebrated Californian capitalist, who is the founder of the Lick Observatory. M. CHEVREUL, the great French chemist and director of the Jardin des Plantes, has been presented by the Minister of Public Instruction with the grade of Grand Officer in the Legion d'Honneur. This promotion is considered as being a compensation for the, difficulties raised by the Ministry in the appointment of a Professor in the Museum. These quarrels had induced the venerable savant to resign. THE Bulletin of the French Geographical Society for December contains an exceedingly interesting and carefully compiled paper by M. H. Duveyrier, entitled "L'Afrique Necrologique." This is a list of all the African explorers, from 1800 to 1874, who have met their death while doing their work, either from disease caught in the country, or by murder, or other causes; a very large proportion have died from "intermittent fever." The list includes not only those whose object was purely geographical discovery, but also those whose researches were connected with geology, meteorology, botany, zoology, ethnography, archæology, or languages. The list is a sadly long one, numbering about 150; and M. Duveyrier, in each case, gives a brief account of the explorer and of the work which he accomplished; a large proportion of these martyrs to science are English. Accompanying the paper is an ingeniously constructed map, showing the place at which each traveller met his death. It is announced that the committee to whose hands the SubWealden Exploration is entrusted have resolved to abandon the present boring after six ineffectual efforts to recover tools which have dropped down and obstructed the whole. The Diamond Boring Company having made a very favourable offer to commence again, a contract for the completion of 1,000 feet for 600%. has been agreed to, with a conditional promise to execute the second thou and feet for about 3,000l. additional. Mr. Willett, hon. sec., has guaranteed 600l., and appeals for funds to carry on the enterprise. MR. CHARLES DARWIN's new work on "Insectivorous and Climbing Plants is in the press and will be shortly published. The following are the contents :-Part I.: On the sensitiveness of the leaves of Drosera, Dionaa, `Pinguicula, &c., to certain stimulants; and on their power of digesting and absorbing certain animal matter. Part II.: On the habits and movements of climbing plants. The book will be issued by Mr. John Murray. MR. JOHN MURRAY has also preparing for publication the following two works in travel :-"The Land of the North Wind," being an account of travels among the Laplanders and Samoyedes, and along the coast of the White Sea, by Edward Rae; this book will be illustrated by a map and woodcuts: and a description of a journey to Tabreez, Kurdistan, down the Tigris and Euphrates to Nineveh and Babylon, and across the desert to Palmyra, by Baron Max von Thielmann. The title of the book will be "The Caucasus, Persia, and Turkey in Asia," and it will be translated from the German by Mr. Charles Heneage. MESSRS. LONGMAN and Co. have in the press a translation of a work on the Primeval World of Switzerland, by Prof. Oswald Heer, of the University of Zurich. The book will be edited by Mr. James Heywood, M.A., F. R.S., and will be issued in two octavo volumes with numerous illustrations. The same firm will shortly publish a series of Elementary Lessons on the Structure of Man and Animals, with special reference to the principles affecting health, food, and cooking, and the duties of man to the animal creation; by Mrs. Buckton. This volume will be illustrated with wood engravings. IN the Astronomische Nachrichten, Nos. 2,009 and 2,016, are notes on the spectroscopic observation of fifty-two stars made by M. D'Arrest. The stars are chiefly of the 6th and 7th magThe colours of nitude, and appear in the Bonn Catalogue. thirty-four of these stars are given, and the type to which each star belongs is generally mentioned. From an analysis of the notes we gain that there are in the list four red or reddish stars of type III. and two of type IV. ; of reddish yellow stars there are nine of type III.; of yellow or orange stars there are thirteen of type III., and of the same type one brown and five colourless ones; on the remaining eighteen there are no remarks on colour. The author remarks on the different grades of spectra of type III, from an almost line spectrum to a discontinuous one of bands, as that of a Herculis, but that grades of colour do not always agree with grades of spectrum; and he thinks that the theory that the coloured stars are older because cooler than others cannot be received without numerous exceptions, and he has concluded that the temperature of the coloured stars may in general be lower than that of others, but that it is not proved; and further, that the greater age of these stars is without foundation. author appears to take exception to the part of the address of M. Wurtz at the French Association, reported in Nature, vol. x. p. 350, where he says of the stars, We have classed them according to their ages. Stars coloured, stars yellow, stars white; the white are the hottest and the youngest. the coloured stars are not so hot, and are older." It certainly seems from M. D'Arrest's observation that there are exceptions to this rule, and a large number of stars must have their spectra and colours tabulated before it can be judged how far this law holds good. ... The AT the last meeting of the Photographic Society a paper was read by Mr. Hooper, "On the Origin, Aim, and Achievements of the Photographic Society, with suggestions as to its future development." The suggestions were, the necessity of obtaining a Royal Charter, the Society's claim upon the Government for a money grant and suitable premises, and the necessity of forming committees for scientific investigation. In the subsequent discussion, the general opinion was that there was little hope of obtaining the proposed Charter, and that it was a mistake to speak of photography as a science. Science," one speaker said, “had done a great deal more for photography than photography had done for science." AT the meeting of Convocation of the London University on Tuesday, the motion brought forward by Mr. A. P. Hensman, That, in the opinion of Convocation, it is desirable that women should be permitted to take degrees in Arts in this University," was, after some discussion, withdrawn. A RECENT decision has been given by the French Ministry in favour of female doctors. A certain Mdlle. Domerque, of Montpellier, has received due authorisation to pass her examination for the doctorship. We are glad to see that by the decision of the Supreme Court at Sydney, N.S.W., Mr. Gerard Krefft has been restored to his position and house as Curator of the Sydney Museum. Mr. Krefft has been connected with the Museum for fourteen years, and in September last had been violently ejected by an order from the trustees, who, it seems, had in this exceeded their powers. THE prospectus lies before us of a new Italian monthly journal, to be entitled, Rivista Popolare di Scienze e Letlere. Judging from the prospectus, its projectors have a high idea of the important place which science is daily assuming in the life of the world, and intend to devote a considerable proportion of the pages of their Review to subjects of scientific interest. programme of the new journal is very comprehensive, embracing all departments of philosophy and physical science, and we most The |