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Rh its valley by the operation of the sinuosity of its meanderings, and has covered the whole surface of the soil with detritus. The production of gravel terraces may be attributed to slight, elevations of the soil; and many supposed bowlders of considerable dimensions may have been formed by the weathering away of angular blocks. The disappearance of species is now regarded as simply the natural result of the competition of other species; and evidence is not wholly wanting that the introduction of new species is still going on. Thus, a little lizard has been observed quartered on a rock near the Island of Capri which is manifestly derived from a quite different lizard living in the island itself.



has, at the request of the United States Fish Commission, investigated the cause of the red color which sometimes appears on dried codfish during hot weather, in connection with which it has been noticed that the fish affected by it decayed with comparative quickness. He has found that the redness is owing to a minute plant, the Clathrocystis roseo-persicina, which is known in America and Europe, and may sometimes be found tingeing the surface of damp ground with a purplish hue, and in the macerating-tubs of anatomists. It does not appear to flourish or increase very rapidly at a temperature below 65°. It could have been derived from many sources, but Professor Farlow has traced its origin particularly to the salt with which the fish are cured.

LL.D., author of the "Report on the Trees and Shrubs growing naturally in the Forests of Massachusetts," died last March, in Boston. He was born in Kennebunk, Maine, in 1797, became known as a teacher, and a writer on educational topics, and has been president of the Boston Society of Natural History.

notices a curious confusion in the different senses in which the term trawling is used by British and American fishermen. A trawl in England is a large purse-net attached to a heavy beam raised upon trawl-heads, or irons at either end, and dragged along the bottom of the sea. In Scotland it is simply a drift or seine-net. In! America it is a long line baited with hooks, and left on the bottom of the sea. Each of the three modes of fishing is objected to in the different countries in which they are employed by men who use one of the others. In Scotland the drift-net fishermen object to the trawl or seine-nets; in England the drift-net and the line fishermen object to the beam-trawlers; in America the hand-line fishermen object to the set-line fishermen, whom they call "trawlers." The complaints are all due to the jealousy usually felt at the introduction of new machinery in any industry; and the Governments of both countries may safely disregard them, since they are the most effective answers to one another.

fifty-first annual meeting of the British Association will be opened at York, on the 31st of August. The address will be delivered by Sir John Lubbock, President-elect. The presidents of the several sections are: A, Sir W. Thomson; B, Professor A. W. Williamson; C, Professor A. C. Ramsay; D, Professor Owen, in the department of Zoölogy; Professor W. H. Flower, in the department of Anthropology; Professor J. S. Burdon-Sanderson, in the department of Anatomy; E, Sir J. D. Hooker; F, the Right Honorable Grant Duff; G, Sir W. G. Armstrong. Evening addresses will be delivered by Professor Huxley and Sir W. Spottiswoode.

third meeting of the International Geographical Congress is to be held at Venice, September 15th to 22d. Representatives from all geographical societies are invited to attend, and they will be permitted to speak in any language. The discussions will be held in the eight sections of mathematical geography, geology, and topography; hydrography; physical, geological, meteorological, botanical, and zoölogical geography; anthropological, ethnological, and philological geography; historical geography; economical, commercial, and statistical geography; the study, teaching, and diffusion of geography; explorations and travels. An international geographical exhibition, the schedule of which is very full, and is divided into sections corresponding with those of the Congress, will be held in connection with it, and will be open during September.

were recently made at the Grand Opéra in Paris in the transmission through the microphone of the musical part of the representation, with results that are described as marvelous. The modulations of the voice and the concerted pieces were distinct] V heard and distinguished, to the admiration of the distant audience. A demonstration of this character is expected to form a regular feature at the coming Electrical Exposition, where a special hall will be provided, whence visitors will be able to enjoy the representations at the Opera-House without leaving the place. "La Nature" foresees the day when music will be sent 