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probability of our being able to transmute the one into the other. Although it is possible for the chemist to break up the substance composing a dog and a horse, or an ape and a man, into identical proximate elements, yet he never dreams of recomposing them into living matter at all, much less into living forms unlike those they originally were: the dog into the horse, or vice versa. It is almost equally certain that the 'elements' are permanent states of matter which can only be assumed by the processes through which they have reached their permanent condition.

We pointed out recently the importance of a discovery made by Count Saporta, and subsequently confirmed by an English geologist: that a land plant-a fern-had been found in the middle, and probably at the base, of the Silurian rocks.

The

'stems.' This cannot be without the
deepest interest to the student; and
it is made to have a still larger mean-
ing by the constant progress down-
ward of all principal geological forms.
The inferences of the geologist are to
a large extent dependent on negative
evidence. Certain forms have not
been found below a certain point in
the geological series, and the inference
is that they did not exist earlier than
at that point. At least, this is the
practical conclusion. But, during
the last thirty years, it has been
shown to be most fallacious; research
constantly bringing forms to light
below the points at which they were
supposed to terminate or rather,
looked at as an upward or progressive
series-to begin. A fact of this sort
has just been given.
Crabs-short-

tailed crustacea-have hitherto been
considered of comparatively recent
origin: most of the known forms
being found in the Tertiary beds, and
the most ancient in the Secondary.
But Dr. H. Woodward has just found
and described a form belonging to
the coal shale in Belgium. It consists
of seven segments more or less com-
pletely soldered together; its general
form is oval. It furnishes the first
clear evidence of the existence of true
crabs as early as the coal measures;
and is one more proof of the fallacy
of any inference, having an important
bearing, made from the absence of
knowledge.

reader will remember that the great epoch of land vegetation is the Carboniferous series, about the middle of the stratified rocks of the globe. But this is far beyond the appearance of animal forms upon the globe, and therefore out of harmony with the sequence of development in creation given in Genesis. But the discovery of a land plant of high development in the Silurian beds, and as the English geologist believes, in the Laurentian, places land vegetation of a high order of development in a contemporary position with animals of a very low type. This is coincident with We have repeatedly pointed out the order of Genesis. Since this the evidence, constantly accumulating, time, however, Count Saporta de- of the beautiful adaptations existing scribes in Comptes Rendus further between plants and insects for their evidence of ferns that were in exist- mutual good. A new and very reence at the time of the deposition of markable instance is before us. the Silurian rocks. He has discovered J. G. Hunt recently communicated to an impression of the frond of a fern the Academy of Natural Sciences, nine inches long, with an average Philadelphia, some observations on breadth of three inches. It has a the flower of Asclepias asterias; it is slender stem bearing seven pairs of the flower of a plant that has only leaflets, which are nearly opposite. one British genus to represent it: The leaflets are sessile, or without the Periwinkle. The odour of the

Dr.

flower is exceedingly repulsive to man; but seems to be very attractive to flies, many of which Dr. Hunt saw eagerly applying their tongues all over the petals and organs of the flower, eating the evidently attractive secretion covering them. This was done with impunity, until they happened to touch one of the five black spots placed alternately with the stamens, when the fly was immediately seized and held fast by the proboscis. In the struggle that ensued the fly, if small and weak, would be held fast as in a trap; if large and strong, it would make its escape, but burdened with the trap and a pair of pollen masses attached to it, with which it would of necessity fertilize the next flower of the same kind it alighted upon. The black spots do not adhere to the proboscis of the fly by any adhesive fluid, but by an organic structure, the action of which precisely resembles an ordinary rat-trap. It thus appears that the smaller flies may be used as prey, and the larger ones as agents in cross-fertilization.

The Moa, a gigantic bird once inhabiting New-Zealand, has been supposed to be extinct, and some data have been drawn from the probable length of time during which it has ceased to be. A writer from New Zealand, however, who appears to be trustworthy, states that last autumn, between Lake Rotorua and the Can nibal Gorges, in the province of Nelson, he saw what he could only conclude to be Moas. He says:

'We heard a strange, screeching noise in a gully about a hundred yards from where we were encamped, and went to where the noise proceeded from, and to our surprise saw two gigantic birds coming towards us. They did not show the least alarm at seeing us, but continued coming to where we were; so we escaped, but heard them two or three times that night again. Having no gun with us, we thought it advisable to start the next morning.. One of them was apparently about twelve feet high, the other somewhat smaller, with feathers resembling the emu's.'

Mr. Proctor gives some prominent facts, reaching us from an Australian observatory, in relation to the planet Jupiter. Mr. Todd, of Adelaide, using a very fine telescope, believes that he has two or three times seen a satellite of Jupiter through the edge of the planet's disc. On July the 12th he saw the innermost of the satellites through the southern dark belt at that time present on the planet; and he adds: The satellite was distinctly seen through the edge of the planet for the space of the satellite's full diameter.' Mr. Proctor concludes that, if no optical explanation can be found for this, we should have to accept the inference that the apparent outline of Jupiter's disc lies more than two thousand miles from the actual surface of the planet.

This is not, however, the only instance, as Mr. Proctor shows, in which such remarkable observations have been made. Thus, on one occasion, a satellite which was crossing the face of Jupiter, and seen to enter upon the transit, appeared, four or five minutes later, outside the planet's disc, as though the moon had altered its purpose and gone back for awhile. leading observers of the time. This was witnessed by three of the Proctor says, we can only explain what they saw by assuming that the outline of the planet's disc had changed in position, owing perhaps to some change in the condition of clouds mosphere of Jupiter. That this planet, floating at an enormous height in the at

Mr.

as well as Saturn, differs in condition utterly from our earth, there can be little doubt. Changes so great as to be visible to us, at our enormous distance, as modifications of form, are well authenticated. Vast as they are in size too, they are much less in density than the earth; and they are, to our best telescopes, manifestly enveloped in enormous masses of cloud and vapour, such as the heat of the sun could not have raised. And the

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of human hair examined, he obtained a reddish, a yellow, and a black pigment; and he has shown the present writer some really artistic drawings on cardboard painted with these colour-extracts of the hair of man.

In bright red hair the red constituent was found alone; while dark hair contains a certain proportion of the black colouring matter. Golden hair has less red and more yellow pigment; while 'sandy' hair is a product of the red and black with a large proportion of the yellow; in dark brown hair the black principle is more abundant; in black hair scarcely anything remains but the black pigment. But in some curious instances of Negro hair, the red pigment was so abundant as to be equal in amount to the quantity present in the bright red hair of Europeans; so that had the supply of black pigment fallen off from any cause, the Negro's head would have been covered with

hair as red as that of a typical Celt.

AUTHORSHIP

In this Magazine for February last, ‘ An Old Methodist' suggests the probability that the author may have been 'Perronet.' The Rev. S. W. Christophers, in his work on The New Methodist Hymn-Book and its Writers, attributes the hymn to Hugh Bourne; so also does Mr. G. J. Stevenson, in his Notes on the New Hymn-Book in The Methodist Recorder. Seeing these statements, I wrote to the Recorder, stating that I had an old 12mo. twenty-four page Tract entitled Favourite Hymns, Odes and Anthems; as sung at the Methodist Chapels in the Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Nottingham Circuits. The fifth edition, improved. By J. Wilde. 1797. Price Twopence. Hymn 25 in this Tract is, The Wheat and Tares,' by Mr. J. Hinchliffe:This is the field, the world below, etc.' In my note to the Recorder I said that I should be glad if any of its

*We have to thank Mr. G. J. Stevenson, the same effect as that of Mr. Harland.

OF HYMN 935.

readers could furnish me with information respecting this Mr. J. Hinchliffe ; and, in response, received a letter from a lady in Shields, who said that Mr. Joseph Hinchliffe was her mother's uncle, and she remembered her mother often singing the hymn and saying that her uncle composed it. From this letter and another afterwards received I learnt that Mr. Joseph Hinchliffe was a silversmith and cutler in Sheffield, a member of the Methodist Society, and, together with John Wilde, assisted in conducting the singing in Norfolk Street Chapel. His health being delicate, and finding the air at Dumfries to agree with him, he removed his business thither. Crowds were attracted to the services in the Methodist chapel there by the singing of his numerous family. He died, August 12th, 1807, aged forty-seven. RICHARD HARLAND.*

M.A., for a subsequent communication to .

ORIGINAL POETRY.

LINES SUGGESTED BY A

WE hail the art which paints the flowers, Reminding us of summer hours

When earth is in her prime;
Untouch'd by storm or by decay,
Changeless in form and colour, they
Survive the wrecks of time.

How precious, too, this gift has proved,
In forms of those whom we have loved,-
Ended their earthly day :
Life, like a vapour and a dream,
These to us then the substance seem,-

The shadows pass'd away.

But, how shall limner's skill portray
That form, where dwelt in mystery
The human and Divine ?
Express that searching eye of flame,-
Looks, which Divinest love proclaim
Of pure and sinless mind?

Too impotent is human gaze
To view the sun's directer rays,—
The vision all too bright;

But on the mountain, flower and stream,
He mirrors his majestic beam,

Bending to mortal sight.

So, I would Jesu's likeness see,
In a reflected purity:

His image best doth shine

PICTURE OF THE SAVIOUR.
In virtues which are not of earth,
But of mystic, heavenly birth,

Wrought by the hand Divine.
In hope and love and joy and peace,
An ever-growing holiness;

No shade of earthly strife:
In lines distinct, Divinely clear,
Let me my Saviour's image bear,
Engraved upon my life.

Let patience and humility
And meekness my adorning be;

These are the robes of price:
No gaudy symbol would I wear,
My daily toil and daily care
Accepted sacrifice.

I would ascend the hill of scorn
And share the burden Thou hast borne,
In grief and shame for me:
Not halting in life's troubled day,
To Calvary's shades I press my way
To weep and die like Thee.

Thine image in me thus be shown:
The copy may the Pattern own,

Pronounce the welcome word:
From mists and clouds of time set free,
More perfect shall the likeness be-
The servant as his Lord.

WREATH.

THE WESLEYAN CHAPEL THE Chapel Fund has just completed another decade. For sixty years it has now held on its way, waxing stronger and stronger, and taking firmer hold on the sympathies of the Connexion.

A glance at the Report will convince the reader that this year has witnessed no diminution in the energy of the Committee or in the effectiveness of their operations. Though the number and character of the new schemes inaugurated do not quite equal those of one or two former and exceptionally prosperous years,' yet much solid and sorely-needed work has been accomplished. Of this, the fact that the Fund has made a larger outlay than in any previous year is-when its excellent administration is borne in mind-a sufficient guarantee. The Committee has sanctioned the building of one hundred and twenty-three chapels, of which sixtyseven have been placed in localities hither

FUND REPORT, 1878.

to strange to Wesleyan-Methodism. By erections and enlargements effected during the year, accommodation has been provided for more than thirty-eight thousand additional hearers. The building of fourteen new schools has been authorized.

It is gratifying to find that there is an increase in the total receipts of the Fund. In the amount obtained by annual private subscriptions we note a slight decrease, but this deficiency is more than compensated by the liberal gifts of influential laymen. In these are included three handsome Ministers' houses and the valuable Newton Memorial Schools, established in the Sheffield (Thorncliffe) Circuit.

Though the prevalent commercial depression has not told markedly on the income of the Fund, its influence is clearly traceable. Fewer demands have been made for aid in the erection of new chapels; enterprise has been crippled for lack of

power to supplement by private subscriptions the grants of the Committee. On the other hand, applications for loans have been received from Circuits which, in more prosperous times, would have kept themselves free from debt. In ninety cases we find that means are wanting to fulfil the conditions on which help is granted. There is great cause to fear that unless special effort be made to meet present necessity these Trusts will soon be involved in complicated difficulties.

In pleasing contrast with these financial embarrassments are the zeal and perseverance with which many Societies have carried out schemes of aggression and progress. New chapels at Southport, Sheffield and Rochdale witness to the growing influence of Methodism in our Northern towns. The erection of the handsome chapel at Bury St. Edmund's is an encouraging proof that Methodists are looking up in the Eastern counties. Many applications have been made for aid in extending Methodist influence in North and South Wales. Our friends in watering-places have been notably active. Southsea has been moved to lengthen the cords and strengthen the stakes of its growing Society. A handsome Gothic building

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will, it is hoped, attract many who passed by the unpretending edifice it has superseded. Similar improvements have been effected at Ilfracombe, Filey, Cowes and Guernsey.

The crowning achievement of the year is, unquestionably, the completion of Oxford Chapel. In the last few years Methodism has become keenly alive to the desirability of showing a bold front in our University towns. Above all, it was felt incumbent that our interests should be well represented in the city which may be regarded as the cradle of our Church. The work inaugurated by labourers since called to their reward has been brought to a successful issue by the erection of a holy and beautiful house not unworthy to take rank amongst the noble buildings of which Oxford is justly proud.

While the Committee thank God and take courage on a review of the past year, they are fully conscious that much remains to be done if we would make adequate provision for the spiritual needs of our population. We wish them God speed in their noble work, which, with the Divine blessing, 'cannot fail to produce results which will not only be beneficial and permanent, but ever multiplying.'

CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY IN SOUTHERN FRANCE :

BY GUSTAVE

If all geographical works were written in the same manner as the two volumes we are about to review; if they were as full of ingenious remarks; of interesting descriptions and of exhaustive notes, we should be the last to accuse geography of being the dull, dry, lifeless science which some sour critics deem it to be. M. Lenthéricstyles himself an engineer, and some of the remarks he offers on subjects connected with drainage, embankments, etc., show clearly that he has mastered all the details of his difficult profession; he might, however, have put on the title-page of his work the designation historian; for the social, domestic and political life of the various tribes which once inhabited the shores of the Mediterranean is sketched by him with an amount of learning perfectly wonderful; and, finally, all the facts he places before us, all the particulars contained in these two volumes, are arranged and

MASSON, B.A.

grouped with consummate artistic skill. No one who takes up the geographical production of M. Lenthéric will regret the time he has bestowed upon it.

Let us begin with the Villes Mortes du Golfe de Lyon. These dead cities are five in number: Elne, Rurcino, Maguelone, Aigues-Mortes, les Saintes-Maries, to which we must add three others: Agde, Narbonne and Arles, in a state of ever-increasing decay. M. Lenthéric invites us to visit these different localities; but, in the first place, he introduces considerations of a geological kind, describing the variations which have occurred in the Mediterranean sea-board, and proving that science can ascertain a chronological series of shores, if we may so say, and that the determination of the encroachments made by the sea is of the utmost importance in settling certain historical problems.

The formation of the deltas is another

Les Villes Mortes du Golfe de Lyon. La Grèce et l'Orient en Provence. Par Charles Lenthéric. Two vols., 8vo, with twenty-two Maps and Plans. Paris: Plon.

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