Ma\^ 11, 1857.] RE-ELECTION OF SIR R. MURCHISON AS PRESIDENT. 363 



the mountains might be about 400 feet above the level of the sea. But from 

 that point the mountains rose abruptly, and, as he had already mentioned, on the 

 second day after leaving Dizful he entered into the region of snow. The whole 

 of the upper country, that is, between the marshy belt to the south and the 

 mountains to the north, was healthy, although there was a good deal of heat 

 during the summer months. But we had had experience of this heat in our 

 former expedition to the Gulf when we occupied Karak. At first there had 

 been great mortality, because the European soldiers were lodged in tents and 

 were placed on sentry in the sun equally with the natives. It thus not unfre- 

 quently happened that a European soldier on guard was struck down by a 

 Coup de soleil, and that the party from the regiment sent out to bring in the 

 man and place another sentry, lost two or three men from the same cause before 

 they returned. The European authorities accordingly soon came to the con- 

 elusion that it was necessary to place natives only on sentry ; and as the 

 Europeans were shortly after lodged in huts of palm-mats and otherwise well 

 cared for, it was found, before we had been a year on the island, that the mor- 

 tality was not greater in Karak than it was in any of the warm stations of 

 India, such as those in the north-west provinces. He felt satisfied if the same 

 precautions were now adopted at Ahwaz, with the additional advantage of 

 using wet screens made of camel-thorn facing the hot wind, which naturally 

 produced evaporation, that the troops would not suffer more from the heat 

 than in the north-west provinces of India. 



A Visitor, in reply to Mr. Crawfurd's statement that Bengal and Guatemala 

 were the only countries which produced indigo, stated that Guatemala did not 

 produce an ounce of indigo ; it produced only cochineal. 



Mr. Crawfurd presumed that indigo must have been manufactured in 

 Guatemala, because it went under that name. He did not know into what 

 particular parts of America the manufacture had been extended. 



The President, in closing the discussion, reminded the Society that the 

 next meeting would be their Anniversary. The Society had so rapidly increased 

 — numbering at present nearly a thousand Fellows — that the Council had to look 

 out for a larger place of meeting. Various propositions had been made, among 

 which was one that he, the President, should represent the case to the Earl of 

 Granville, as the head of the Board of Education, and request permission to 

 hold the meetings of this Society during next session in the theatre of the 

 Government School of Mines, in Jermyn Street. If it should be the pleasure 

 of the Society, as it was that of the Council, he was quite ready, as Director 

 of that establishment, to apply to the proper authorities on behalf of the Eoyal 

 Geographical Society. 



The resolution was unanimously passed. 



Sir George Back next said that the Geographical Society had now arrived 

 at that period when it was customary to make some changes in the Council. 

 Those changes had been proposed that day in the Council, but one important 

 omission had occurred — that of nominating the President for the ensuing year. 

 They would all remember that Sir Roderick Murchison, on the demise of the 

 late lamented President, Admiral Beechey, accepted the office with an under- 

 standing that it should not extend beyond the regular time, and the able 

 manner in which he had fulfilled the duties was patent to all. Everyone 

 knew his courtesy, and most of them had partaken of his hospitality. Indeed, 

 he knew no gentleman who could have conducted the affairs of the Society 

 more efiiciently than Sir Roderick Murchison had. He apj^eared to be in such 

 admirable health, and to have thriven so much upon the work, that with their 

 permission, he would propose that Sir Roderick Murchison be President for the 

 ensuing two years. 



Colonel Everest having seconded the proposition, it was carried unani- 

 mously. 



2 G 2 



