INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1873. Ixxi 



record a second visit by Professor Orton to the region of the 

 Andes. His first exploration, some years ago, having been 

 made via Guayaquil and Quito, and thence down the Ama- 

 zon, he reversed the route on the present occasion, proceed- 

 ing directly from New York to Para, and thence up the riv- 

 er. He has lately returned to Poughkeepsie, and resumed 

 his duties as a professor in Vassar College. 



The South American governments exhibit a laudable dis- 

 position to acquire a knowledge of their internal resources, 

 partially with a view of inducing European and American 

 immigration, Peru especially having undertaken this labor 

 on a very large scale, by the appointment of a corps of En- 

 glish scientists for the purpose. 



A noteworthy incident of the Fourth of July was the as- 

 cent of the highest mountain in Peru by a party of American 

 eno'ineers eno-ao-ed in constructinir a trans- Andean railway. 

 In the Galera Pass of the Andes is situated what is claimed 

 to be the highest village in the world, being 15,580 feet 

 above the level of the sea. The altitude of the peak ascended 

 Avas found to be 17,574 feet. At two o'clock P.M. the ther- 

 mometer indicated a temperature of j)lus 36, with a baro- 

 metric pressure of eight pounds to the square inch. 



A "Coast Pilot" of the coast of Brazil has lately been pub- 

 lished by the United States Hydrographic Office, which will 

 doubtless be of much service to navigators. 



Of explorations in the Polynesian regions we have the re- 

 port of the expedition of Dr. Bernstein to the Moluccas, and 

 of Meyer, D'Albertis, and McCleur in New Guinea, with no 

 specially important discoveries on their part, although to or- 

 nithologists the acquisition of some new species of birds of 

 paradise is an interesting fact. 



From Beccari, an Italian traveler in New Guinea, advices 

 have been received to the date of the 27th of August, writ- 

 ten at Tual, in the island of Kei Dulan, where he had just ar- 

 rived from the island of Aru. He announced at that date the 

 acquisition of large numbers of plants, about 600 specimens 

 of birds, mostly in skins, and some skeletons, representing 

 about 125 species. He had also secured exhaustive collec- 

 tions in all other branches of natural science, among them 

 some interesting crania. 



Accounts of the journey of the Archimandrite Palladius, 



