INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1874. X ci 



hundredth meridian in 1872; reports on the ornithological 

 specimens and plants collected by Lieutenant Wheeler's ex- 

 pedition ; the report of the Board of Commissioners on the 

 irrigation of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento val- 

 leys; report on the reconnoissance of the Ute country in 

 1872, made by Lieutenant Ruffner; the report on the Fort 

 St. Philip Canal, and the construction of jetties for the im- 

 provement of the mouth of the Mississippi, etc. 



Middle America. The most important geographical and 

 scientific exploration in Middle America is that which has 

 been prosecuted in Costa Rica, under the direction of Pro- 

 fessor William M. Gabb, formerly of the Geological Survey 

 of California. This is under the auspices of the Costa Rican 

 government, and has been undertaken for the development of 

 the little-known Talamanca region occupying the southeast- 

 ern corner of the territory. 



Few enterprises of recent times have been more exhaust- 

 ive and complete, with the means available, than that of Pro- 

 fessor Gabb, since not only has the geological and minera- 

 logical character of the country been determined, together 

 with the topographical features, but exhaustive and complete 

 collections have been made in botany and zoology. The lat- 

 ter have all been sent to the Smithsonian Institution for ex- 

 amination and report, and by their magnitude have excited 

 much attention. Quite a number of new species of verte- 

 brates and invertebrates have been detected, and there is lit- 

 tle doubt that others will be noted in the progress of their 

 examination. 



Not the least of the work accomplished by Professor Gabb 

 lias been the collection of the vocabularies of the languages 

 of the native tribes, and a large series of specimens illustrat- 

 ing their habits and characteristics, together with very large 

 gatherings of prehistoric objects from the graves and other 

 localities. 



Mr. Osbert Salvin, whose name is well known in connec- 

 tion with zoological investigation in Guatemala and else- 

 where, made a renewed visit a year or two ago to that coun- 

 try, from which he returned in the spring of 1874, with valu- 

 able notices tending to complete his previous publications 

 in regard to the birds, mammals, and butterflies of Central 

 America. 



