altered rocks is a good representation of the trias, and the lower lias is seen in those wonderful beds of statuary and other marble that are so well known and highly esteemed. Above these, are jurassic rocks, and above these again neacomian sandstones, while the chalk is seen in the Alberese, a peculiar limestone sometimes approaching marble in colour, but not saccharoidal. Tertiaries of all ages abound in Tuscany, from the lowest nummulitic rocks to the most recent gravels.

Tuscany abounds also in metals. With Elba close at hand, it may be supposed that there is no lack of iron. Copper ore, the purest and most valuable known, is found at Monte Catini, and in one or two other spots. At Monte Catini, the results have for the last 20 years proved as profitable as the deposit is remarkable. The copper ore is found in kidney-shaped lumps of sulphide of copper, mixed irregularly in a paste of soft, moist serpentinous material. The pockets containing the ore are sometimes large, but in the highest degree irregular. The lode is a kind of vein in the altered volcanic rock of Tuscany, called gabro rosso, a singular mass of angular and rounded material. Magnesia has played a very important part in all the changes and modifications that have taken place in it. To the presence of magnesia is due, among other things, the beautiful green marble called serpentine, of which there are so many varieties in Tuscany; and although the serpentine rock of the Lizard in Cornwall is of very different appearance and hardness, the presence of the same mineral causes the peculiarities of both.

Lead ore also is found in Tuscany, and deposits of some importance are worked in various places. The lead contains silver. Other metals (mercury among the number) are not wanting, and there seems a prospect of the metalliferous deposits of Italy soon becoming even more worked than in the days of ancient Rome, when its produce exceeded

that of any country known at that time.

Mar

But the working of the marble quarries must always be one of the most important departments of mineral industry in northern Italy. No one who has not visited Italy can imagine the vast development of this industry. In Genoa-the city of palaces-rightly called the superb, marble of the most beautiful kind and excellent quality, of endless variety in colour and texture, is almost the only material used for construction. ble staircases, marble balustrades, marble pediments, and marble floors are seen in every hotel, and even in every private house. The churches are marble inside and out, the public buildings are of the same material. In the streets, on the piers, and above all, in the Campo Santo or Cemetery, wherever we may go, the marble is displayed in abundance. The same, to some extent, is the case at Milan, at Pisa, and in most of the other cities remarkable for architectural beauty or interesting in history. The geologist in such a country, and under such circumstances, is sure to find abundant matter for inquiry. The marvellous abundance of marble is the result of change or metamorphic action on various beds of limestone. These changes have originated in the volcanic and other igneous causes traceable everywhere in this part of the world. Active volcanoes, in the south extinct, but perfect volcanic craters in the centre, and occasional earthquakes in the north of Italy, are or were the cause of the eruptions of sulphurous and other gases, and of hot aqueous vapours loaded with mineral matter. These are cominon almost everywhere, and it is these that have converted the limestones into marble, the clays into shales, and the sands into quartzite. Whether we take the veined and coloured marbles where the impurities or foreign ingredients still remain, or the true white and statuary marble where the foreign substances only occupy small vein

icles, or madri macchei, as they are here called, the general history is the same, and metamorphosis is the only cause to which we can reasonably refer.

In other departments of natural history, Italy-especially in the northern and central provinces-is not only rich, but is well represented in the principal museums. It is chiefly, however, in the preparations illustrating the comparative anatomy and physiology, both of animals and vegetables, that the extraordinary accuracy, ingenuity, and patience of the Italians can be best appreciated. These are truly wonderful, and they are quite without rival in Europe. Highly magnified representations of the developement of a plant from the seed, a winged insect from the grub, or a chicken from the egg, are not unknown elsewhere, but at Florence and Pisa there is a profusion of illustrations truly marvellous.

However we may consider the question, we shall find that the recent political changes in this part of the world are already bearing abundant fruit, in the liberation of the human intellect from the slavery that had so long weighed upon it. To say that there are great differences of opinion, and that many persons even regret the old régime, is only to say in another way that the country is free. Everyone may and does safely and loudly express his own view of the government, and all proposed changes are freely discussed. It does not follow that the best measures are at once adopted, but this healthy and free discussion will certainly ensure the greatest ultimate good, while educa

tion and science in all departments will not fail in securing their due share of attention when the excitement of politics has a little calmed down. The acuteness of Italian intellect, and the elegance epually characteristic of this people, have still a great part to perform in the history of science.

VOL. I.

D. T. ANSTED, F.R.S.

Dahomey: its People and Customs. WHYDAH, Sept. 2, 1863. HERE I am, on my return from Kana, where I was received by the King of Dahomey during the celebration of the "little customs;" and I will now send you some information concerning this country.

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Whydah, or Ajudah, is the port of the kingdom, though about two miles distant from the coast. It has 8,000 or 10,000 inhabitants, governed by a yanogan," who is, in his turn, ruled over by one of the princes of Dahomey. The inhabitants are robust, well formedI might almost say handsome-with the exception of the head, which wants intelligence that superior mark which the Creator appears to have denied to the negro race. There is, however, a wide difference between the morals of this people and those further to the south. Nothing is to be seen here calculated to shock the eyes of a civilized man, nor anything objectionable to his ordinary habits. Nay, I can say more; there is positively in the Dahomeyans a sense of personal dignity. Unfortunately, one encounters at every step traces of that Fetischism which arrests all progress, and transforms a man naturally gentle into a brute beast. The principal deities worshipped by this people are Lightning, or Fire of Heaven; the Boa, or Python; the Lion, the Tiger, and the Vampires.

I visited the Temple of Serpents in this town, where thirty of these monstrous deities were asleep in various attitudes. Each day, at sunset, a priest brings them a certain number of sheep, goats, fowls, &c., which are slaughtered in the temple, and then divided amongst the "gods." Subsequently, during the night, they spread themselves about the town, entering the houses in various quarters in search of further offerings. It is forbidden, under penalty of death, to kill, wound, or even to strike one of these sacred serpents, or any other of the same species; and only the

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priests possess the privilege of taking hold of them. for the purpose of reinstating them in the temple should they be found elsewhere.

When a house is struck by lightning, the master is obliged to pay a heavy tribute to the priests of the "Fire of Heaven;" for such an event is always regarded as the denunciation of a great culprit. Should a man be struck by lightning, his body is cut in pieces, and sold by the priests to the populace, who devour this roasted flesh!

The dwelling of the dead man is then pillaged and razed to the ground; and the Fetisch worshippers immolate victims on its site, in order to appease the anger of the "Fire of Heaven."

The Vampires may be found on trees in the vicinity of the Temple of Serpents; there they are collected by millions, and after sunset they disperse through the gardens and over the surrounding country.

On leaving Whydah for the interior, the traveller at once observes that the land rises gradually through a succession of upheaved plateaux or downs, which run parallel to the sea from east to west, the surface soil being to a great extent intermixed with small rolled flints.

The utmost elevation which I found between Whydah and Kana was 500 English feet, and that was at a village called Havy (? Havee), about halfway between the two towns. Although Kana is lower than this point, it is quite apparent that further towards the north the land again rises to such a degree, that the capital, Abomey, situated ten miles north-east of Kana, must be elevated to about the same height as Havy. From the information that I have obtained in various quarters concerning the interior, there must be a range of mountains about three days' journey north of Abomey. However, this is a question on which I hope shortly to have ocular evidence.

The King received me cordially; but, in order to reach the palace, I had to pass several scaffolds, bearing the corpses of victims who had been immolated on the previous evening. Some were suspended by the feet, others were upright. During twenty days these horrible spectacles were renewed, with a few decapitations in the interval.

Consul Burton was more fortunate than I, for he only arrived at Kana two or three days before the King departed for the war, and after the conclusion of the sacrifices. It is a difficult matter to predict what Europe may gain from this king and his advisers. I believe, however, that if the abolition of the slavetrade be conceded (the very seat and centre of which is at this place -Whydah), there is a happier future in store for this land.

It is with the view to obtain this concession that I am on the eve of my departure with your brave Commodore Willmot, and we shall soon have a definite reply. If it be favourable, my journey of exploration will be suspended; otherwise, I shall at once proceed northward. The concession of the abolition of the slave-trade in the kingdom of Dahomey is the more to be desired, inasmuch as it would put a stop to the depopulation of a country of undoubted fertility and natural wealth, and which is eminently adapted for the cultivation of cotton.

If the King grants the abolition, he would be all the more ready to encourage the growth of that staple, in order to give employment to his people, who would then no longer be compelled to engage in war for the purpose of making prisoners, to be sold as slaves.

This is a succinct account of my hasty impressions of Dahomey; receive it as such as I am able to communicate.

JULES GERARD.