Ixxii GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND 



and that of tlic Abbe David, in China, have been publish- 

 ed, as well as further details of the explorations of Baron 

 von Kiehtofen. All these constitute interesting additions to 

 our knowledge of the geography as well as the geology and 

 natural history of the great Asiatic empire. Collections of the 

 Abbe David, made within the last few years, have been rich 

 in remarkable specimens of natural history; and we regret to 

 announce that all the results of his later labo;-s in China 

 were lost by the upsetting of the boat containing the collec- 

 tions, on one of the Chinese rivers. 



Some interesting and important geographical discoveries 

 have been made on the banks of the Upper Irtish by Messrs. 

 Matusolfsky and Miroschnichenko, under the direction of 

 Poltoratsky. In this exploration the Altai Mountains were 

 visited, and astronomical positions and altitudes of various 

 towns, lakes, and mountains ascertained. Some of the peaks 

 of these mountains rise to a height of 12,000 feet, or consid- 

 erably above the level of the snow-line. 



Palestine has dui-ing the year been the subject of several 

 investigations, consisting especially in the labors of the Brit- 

 ish and American Exploration Societies. By an arrangement 

 between the two bodies, the region east of the Jordan and 

 the Dead Sea has been assigned especially to the American 

 Society, and the report of Lieutenant Steever, U. S. A., re- 

 cently received and published in New York, contains grati- 

 fying evidence of activity. On the 19tli of March the expe- 

 dit'ion left Beirout for the plains of Moab, and a camp was 

 established at Iletbon for the j)urpose of prosecuting the tri- 

 angulation and survey of the country. In the course of five 

 months some six hundred square miles were triangulated, 

 and the details of an accurate map on the scale of one inch 

 to the mile have been obtained. Numerous sketches were 

 made by Professor Paine and his party in the vicinity of the 

 camp, and many problems were solved that have long per- 

 ])lexed the historian. The expedition got back to Beirout on 

 the I'Zth of September, after which Lieutenant Steever re- 

 turned to the United States, with a view of lavinc: before the 

 committee the results of his labors and of securing the 

 means of further research. 



Dr. Beke, under the impression that the true position of 

 JMount Sinai has not been satisfactorily established, and that 



