gical department of the British Museum. The Osteological collection is large and important, and contains valuable specimens which have not yet been described.

-The British Museum of Practical Geology has commenced its second session, under very favorable auspices. The inaugural lecture was delivered by Dr. LYON PLAYFAIR, who made some striking comments upon the state of industrial instruction on the Continent. The British Government has established, in this Museum, a School of Mining and of education in the application of Science to the Arts, which cannot fail to exercise a beneficial influence in popularizing scientific problems, and elevating the standard of public sentiment in regard to the pursuit of scientific investigations. The Course of Lectures for the present season will comprise forty-eight discourses on Chemistry, by Dr. PLAYFAIR; forty-eight on Metallurgy, by Dr. PERCY; thirty-six on Mechanical Science, by Mr. R. HUNT; forty on Geology, by Mr. A. C. RAMSAY; fortyeight on Natural History, by Mr. E. FORBES; and seventy-six on Mineralogy and Mining, by Mr. W. W. SMYTH.

-An interesting paper on the mode of vegetation of European and North American trees transported to Madeira, has appeared from the pen of Prof. OsWALD HEER of Zurich. Prof. HEER is distinguished for his valuable observations on the Botanical Geography of the Swiss mountains. Compelled by ill health to reside for a time at Madeira, he employed his leisure in investigations of the growth of plants in that equable climate. It was found that the Platanus occidentalis, a native of the United States, loses its leaves very slowly after the middle of October, and that the Apple and Pear begin to be leafless in December. Both these latter come into flower at Funchal by the 7th of April, and their fruit is collected in August. There are, however, varieties of apple and pear trees which flower and produce fruit twice during the year; and one variety of apple is perpetually in flower and fruit. Peach trees continue blooming in abundance during December and January.

-Mr. MACADAM communicates some observations regarding the General Distribution of Iodine, resulting from statements made by M. CHATIN before the French Academy of Sciences. M. CHATIN is of opinion that there is an appreciable quantity of Iodine in rain water, in the atmosphere, and in soils; and that the relative amount present in any one locality determines to a great extent the presence or absence of certain diseases. In what he styles the Paris zone, the quantity of iodine present in the water, the atmos

phere and the soil, is comparatively great, and hence there is an absence of goitre and cretinism. In the zone corresponding to that of the Valleys of the Alps, the amount of iodine has diminished to onetenth of that found in the Paris zone; and accordingly, according to this hypothesis, the diseases named are there found to be endemic. Mr. MACADAM, in order to test the truth of these speculations, has recently undertaken a series of analyses in reference to the general distribution of iodine. His investigations were prosecuted in Edinburgh, and, though not determinate as to the results indicated by CHATIN, pointed out these important facts:-1. That the quantity of Iodine in the atmosphere is frequently too minute for detection by the ordinary methods of testing. 2. That Iodine is more generally distributed in the Vegetable Kingdom than has formerly been supposed; as is proved by its presence in potashes and by the discovery of distinct traces in the lixivium of charcoal. 3. That traces of bromine are to be found in crude potashes.

-The relation between the Height of Waves and their Distance from the Windward Shore, has been made the subject of inquiry by Mr. THOS. STEVENSON, C. E. Mr. STEVENSON, in designing a sea-work, experienced the usual difficulty of engineers in discovering the line of maximum exposure to the force of the waves, and was led to make a course of observations, extending through two years, upon the Frith of Forth and the Moray Frith. His results are not yet satisfactorily established, but he directs attention to the prosecution of inquiries which can be perfected only by multiplied trials. So far as the observations have extended, the plain result is indicated, that the waves seem to increase in height most nearly in the ratio of the square root of their distance from the windward shore. The subject is an important one.

A

-The coloring of the Green Teas of commerce is a topic which has been very generally discussed, but with little good. new series of microscopical and chemical investigations has lately been instituted by Mr. ROBERT WARRINGTON. Specimens submitted to examination were found to be colored with indigo mixed with porcelainclay, the indigo being of very inferior quality and leaving a large proportion of inorganic matter by calcination. A method for removing the coloring matter from the surface of green teas, for the purpose of microscopical investigation, attended with little trouble, is to take a piece of creamcolored woven paper, free from blue coloring material, rendering the surface slightly damp, and to place a small quan

tity of the tea upon it. The coloring substance will adhere to the paper in small quantities, and may then be placed under the microscope, or submitted to the action of chemical tests.

-The return of two of the Arctic Expeditions to England has given rise to renewed speculations regarding the fate of Sir JOHN FRANKLIN. At the last meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, Capt. KENNEDY and Capt. PENNY were present, the former of whom gave a succinct and interesting description of the route he pursued and the results he had obtained. The Prince Albert, under the command of Capt. KENNEDY, sailed from Aberdeen on the 22d of May, 1851, and penetrated to Leopold Island, on the northeast extremity of North Somerset on the 4th of September. From Leopold Island to the northern shore, a continuous line of densely-packed ice was seen barring Barrows' Straits from side to side. The original intention of exploring to Cape Riley and the entrance of Lancaster Sound was frustrated by the continuance of the ice in compact fields; but Capt. KENNEDY, with a few men, finally succeeded in reaching Whaler Point, on which were placed the stores deposited at Port Leopold by Sir JAMES Ross. The party were detained at this point until the 27th of May. Their absence from the ship continued for ninety-six consecutive days, during which time they travelled a distance of 1100 miles. The results of this exploration, though not satisfactory as regards indications of the route of the missing navigator, are important as proof that he could not have visited the localities described by Capt. KENNEDY. Capt. INGLEFIELD, Commander of the Isabel, the vessel fitted out mainly from the resources of Lady FRANKLIN, has had no better fortune. The labors of Capt. KENNEDY have served one useful purpose, in the discovery of a passage from Regent Inlet into the Victoria Channel of RAE, proving the existence of a northwest passage along the coast of North America, actually effected by modern navigators. It is noticeable that the British public regard with evident satisfaction the efforts which have been put forth in the same direction by American enterprise. Geographical Society recommends a Government Expedition to the Arctic Seas in conjunction with vessels belonging to the United States.

The

-M. ELIE DE BEAUMONT, in his first Memoir on the Mountain Systems of Europe, read before the Paris Academy in June, 1829, indicated the existence of four systems. Soon after, he increased the number to nine; then to

twelve; and, latterly, to twenty-one. In a recent communication, he considers the probabilities of a still further extension. and expresses the belief that if the study of this department of Geology is continued. the number of systems will exceed one hundred. The subject has been investigated with much care by AGASSIZ, GUYOT, and others beside M. DE BEAUMONT, So that new developments will be likely to bring out important considerations.

-A Meteorological Society has been formed at the Mauritius, under the auspices of the Government. It proposes to collect all possible information in regard to that colony and its surrounding waters.

-Sir CHARLES LYELL has completed his visit to this country, and returned home. The object of this second visit from the distinguished geologist is understood to be, beside the delivery of lectures on his favorite science, the examination of the Geology of some extensive tracts in the United States and Canada, of which we may expect soon to see accounts from his popular pen.

-The preparation of the American Nautical Almanac, to be issued under the sanction of the Navy Department, has been so far advanced as to warrant the speedy publication of the first number of that work. The calculations are made for the year 1855. The Almanac is prepared under the superintendence of Lieut. C. H. DAVIS, U. S. N., who is assisted by Lieut. MAURY of the National Observatory, and other gentlemen of scientific knowledge and high reputation. A number of improvements over the English publication of the same character are introduced.

-The Sixth Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, just issued from the press, shows a liberal encouragement of scientific explorations and researches by the Government. The Institution has recently established a very complete system of Meteorological observations, the results of which will be valuable additions to the stock of our knowledge on that important subject.

-M. BROWN LEQUARD, a Member of the French Academy, and at present lecturing in Boston, has succeeded in reexciting the irritability, or restoring life to the muscles of the human subject, by injections of blood. The circumstances which favor the transfusion are, that the blood be freshly drawn (although it is capable of producing the effect when an hour old), and that the injections be repeated every two or three hours. The effect is produced even when the blood used has been deprived of its fibrine. When the substance of a muscle is removed from the body and injected

with chloroform, it assumes great rigidity, and, after the interval of several days, so far retains its irritability as to respond to the stimulus of blood. Most of the experiments were made after the process of decomposition had commenced, and in one case, ten days had elapsed from the period of the natural death. A much larger quantity of blood was required than when the interval was less.

MUSIC.

IN domestic musical matters the present excitement is Madame Sontag's promised appearance in opera. It must be confessed that her career in this country has been conducted with great skill. Men like Barnum do not live in vain. The manager of the Sontag Concerts has benefited by the experience of the Jenny Lind, and, with admirable tact, having less available power to compel attention, he has so varied his appeal as always to attract it. Nothing more happily illustrates the value of management than the different success of Alboni and Sontag in this country. The first has all the prestige of a fresh, rich, and unequalled voice, and of a peculiar and acknowledged European fame. She is also a rarely accomplished artist, with a languid heroism that does not shrink from coping with the most intricate difficulties of her art, and mastering them with regal ease. She has, moreover, a quality of voice that is always captivating, smooth, luscious and sympathetic, and the charms of youth, and of a frank and unaffected demeanor, range themselves upon her side. The voice of the other is long past its prime; it is hard, and wiry, and weak. The bloom and richness are gone, and the fame of Sontag is historical. She, also, is a rare artist; but it is the trick of study. Whatever the impression of her singing may once have been, it is now that of an elaborate and artificial elegance. It is the Countess Rossi, singing as countesses should sing. It is unexceptionably lady-like, and the remark of a friend was a characteristic and appropriate criticism. "How delightful it is," said she, as she looked around her at Sontag's Second Concert, "to be in the midst of stylish toilettes again!" That is the fair feeling. To hear Sontag sing is to be in good society. White kids are de rigeur She must be heard en grand tenue, in full dress, nothing less satisfies the sense of propriety. But time is against the lady, cunningly as she parries him; and the prestige of youth, which was always so persuasive an appeal to public favor, inclines to the contralto rather than to the soprano.

Yet there is no comparison of success.

Sontag has carried the town. Alboni, after the first gush of curiosity, failed to fill the hall. And the reason of the difference lies, as we said, solely in the management. The genius of advertising, and of various other means of catching the public eye-not unknown to the initiated —has been lavished upon one, but it has been only carelessly and lightly employed by the other. Sontag, too, has deserved success, by the admirable array of other musical talent than her own, which she has constantly presented. A large and effective orchestra, led by a master, -a colossal and carefully drilled chorus, as occasion required,-an exquisite tenor, for such we have found Pozzolini to be.Badiali, our best of baritones, and Rocco, a basso, who is not a mere buffoon,Paul Julien, a boy whose age and genius recall the youth of Mozart,-and, with these artists, a selection of music indicating the utmost care to consult the best, and the most popular, and most various tastes. These have combined to give Madame Sontag's concerts a just eminence in our musical annals, and all these have been wanting in the concerts of Madame Alboni. If, as we hear, the latter artist feels a little aggrieved, as if the American public did not appreciate her, she should remember that the concerts which preceded her own in Metropolitan Hall were those of Jenny Lind, in which Salvi, Badiali, Goldschmidt, Burke, and a noble orchestra. took part. No weak hand can hope to raise the sword of Achilles, and exquisite as is Alboni's singing, and beautiful and rare as her voice, yet Alboni only, clogged by Rovere and Arditi, had no right to expect the success she had not challenged. Her last concerts, we are sorry to say. were not very fully attended. The great singer herself was always delightedly greeted and heard, and there is a sweet and pensive elegance in San Giovanni's tenor, that, in a parlor, would be admirable, but is lost in a hall. But how was the audience to dispose of the dreary tracts upon the programme devoted to M. Arditi and his "works," and to the musical ranting of M. Rovere? It was hoped that Alboni might be included in the opera arrangement. Then, with Sontag, Alboni, Salvi, Badiali, Pozzolini, and Rocco, we could have snapped our fingers at Her Majesty's," and the "Salle Ventadour." But it is not to be, we learn. Yet we reserve the right of not being surprised if it should so happen, for we have learned that if there be any thing in our uncertain life especially uncertain, it is the vows of singers, and if there be any thing especially certain, it is immortal discord among musicians.

possess. It must go with unanimous spirit, or, like all cheerful intentions of the kind, it becomes a little dreary.

Mr. William H. Fry's musical lectures are the most remarkable event of the season. Their scope is so generous and catholic, and their intention so good, that we are happy to record an unequivocal success. The conception of the undertaking implies a kind of genius. To present a historical, æsthetical, scientific, and critical review of music in the compass of ten lectures, and so to distribute this huge material, as to leave some marked and permanent impression upon the public mind, is certainly an imperial prospectus. We speak the truth in saying that the promise has been kept. Mr. Fry's course is now in course of weekly delivery. Metropolitan Hall is thronged every Tuesday evening, to hear his descriptions and exegesis of various styles of music in all times and countries. The song Blondel sang to captive Richard in the Austrian tower, Chinese lullabies, Hindoo lyrics and Egyptian chants, whatever is old and characteristic, quaint and interesting, down to the colossal times of the oratorio, and the softer days of operaeven to that blending of the two, Rossini's Stabat Mater, which was performed entire, all these are presented, under Mr. Fry's auspices, with good solo-singers, and a chorus of two hundred voices, and with a success commensurate to the design. Of course in such an undertaking there will be a great difference of interest in the parts. Some may be apparently too elementary, others too abstruse. Many of the illustrations may seem tedious, many commonplace. But these are things incident to the character of Mr. Fry's work. It is not a concert intended solely to please, nor a dry explanation aiming only to instruct, but it is, on the whole, the most skilful, and by far the most successful union of the various kinds comprised in the scope of his intention, that we now recall. Mr. Fry has shown himself in these lectures, thoroughly competent to write such a history of Music as has not yet been attempted. How gladly would we rank among the many imposing proofs that America is not callous to the deepest persuasions of art, a comprehensive history of Music written by one of the most American of Americans.

The concerts of the two great singers have not interfered with the steadily growing and constantly deserved success of the Philharmonic Society, whose first concert this season at Niblo's Saloon, introduced us to Gade's "Ossian," and was among the best of their many memorable evenings. Eisfeld's Quartette Soirees of

Chamber music-a Chapel-of-ease to the great Cathedral of the Philharmonichave commenced their third season auspiciously. They are altogether worthy the attention of lovers of genuine German music, presented in the most careful and effective manner.

The recent musical careers in this country have suggested the inquiry whether the concert will not take the place of the opera among us. It is certainly evident that there is no operaenthusiasm sufficient to erect a suitable house, although we have Sontag with us ready to sing in it, and although letters have been received from Grisi, Mario, and the other greatest European celebrities, inquiring about the prospects and chances of an opera. We have no doubt of the success of a cheap opera, if it comprised the best vocal and instrumental talent in the world. But it must be managed by some Barnum, who thoroughly comprehends the genius of our public, and not by disappointed and incompetent managers from Europe, stiff-necked with stale operatic traditions of management which, even in Europe, cannot keep the opera alive. The opera to succeed in America, must be, like every thing else, Americanized.

The

In Europe there is little interest in the musical reports. There are no signs of any new great singers, nor of any new great opera. The huge shadow of some of Meyerbeer's coming events is, of course, cast upon musical rumor. mountain is laboring; but its gestation is so prolonged. In England they have been singing Mendelssohn's Christus. and Spohr's Last Judgment, upon occasion of the Duke's death. But no new singers of note took part. Madame Anna Zerr continues to sing the music of Mozart's Magic Flute at Julien's Concerts, and earns great praise thereby. The range is so peculiar that no one else can sing it, and Madame Anna will therefore probably continue its performance. M. Julien, who gives monster promenade concerts in London, and gilds for the cockneys the prodigious pill of Beethoven by the most irresistible polkas and "Grand-Exhibition-of-all-Nations" waltzes, mazurkas and redowas, in which the Chinese gong struggles in deadly warfare with the Dorian flutes and voice of soft recorders, and over whichserene in flamboyant waistcoat-presides imperial Julien fiddling music out of the chaos, is coming to New-York to fiddle money out of our pockets. He will do it. We can no more avoid it than the "gents" of Drury-lane can resist his waistcoats. Let us "come down" in advance and lay the keys at the feet of the