vance of his principal at the end of the wire,
and as soon as the two adjustments are effected and declared, the
distance is read off on the scale. In the three trials made at Woolwich,
the distance in one case, although more than 1000 yards, was determined
within two inches; and in two other attempts, within a foot. It is
obvious that such an instrument, if to be depended on, will admit of
being applied to other than military surveys and operations, and may be
made useful in the civil service.

* * * * *

SIGNOR GORINI, of the University of Lodi, has recently made some
important discoveries which have been much discussed in the scientific
journals. His experiments to illustrate the origin of mountains are most
interesting. He melts some substances, known only to himself, in a
vessel, and allows the liquid to cool. At first it presents an even
surface, but a portion continues to ooze up from beneath, and gradually
elevations are formed, until at length ranges and chains of hills are
formed, exactly corresponding in shape with those which are found on the
earth. Even to the stratification the resemblance is complete, and M.
Gorini can produce on a small scale the phenomena of volcanoes and
earthquakes. He contends, therefore, "that the inequalities on the face
of the globe are the result of certain materials, first reduced by the
application of heat to a liquid state and then allowed gradually to
consolidate." The professor, has also, it is said, succeeded, to a
surprising extent, in preserving animal matter from decay without
resorting to any known process for that purpose. Specimens are shown by
him of portions of the human body which, without any alteration in their
natural appearance, have been exposed to the action of the atmosphere
for six and seven years; and he states that, at a trifling cost, he can
keep meat for any length of time in such a way that it can be eaten
quite fresh.

* * * * *

COUNT CASTELNAU, a French Savant who is well known in the United States,
has lately communicated to the _Geographical Society of Paris_ the
result of some personal inquiries at Bahia, in South America, respecting
a race of human beings with tails. We suppose there is not a particle of
truth in the information he received, but he is so respectable a person
that his report deserves some notice. "I found myself in Bahia," he
says, "in the midst of a host of negro