3.38 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVEKY. 



of setlimont, that llic croam-eoloreil streams produce no visible 

 effect on the 0()U)r ol' the Amazon, whieli colors the ocean for fifty 

 miles from the main haul, so dense is its blackness. The colossal 

 dimensions of this wati-r system can lianlly be couceived, aud 

 surpass everything of the kind iu the world. 



ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC SHIP CANAL. 



Rear-Admiral C. II. Davis, in response to a call from the Sec- 

 retary of the Navy, has recenth' prcjsented a very full and inter- 

 esting report on the different routes of this great plan of inter- 

 oceanio communication across the Isthmus of Panama. Leaving 

 out of view, as impracticable, the Tehuantcpcc and Honduras 

 routes, he discusses at length the Nicaragua, Panama, and Atrato 

 localities. Of these, he regards the most practicable route, that 

 across the Isthmus f)f Daricn, from the (lulf of San Miguel to 

 Caledonia Bay. On this route, at both ends of the lino, are spa- 

 cious harljors, admirable in every respect; and, on the south side, 

 there is a height of tide suited to the construction of docks for 

 repairs. This line cuts the Cordilleras at a de])ression at least 

 thirty feet below any that has ever been reported, and several 

 hundred feet lovver than anj' that has been surveyed. The course 

 is direct, free from obstructions, health}', while its outlets open 

 upon coasts where violent storms rarely occur. The Savana river 

 itself would form a i)art of the canal. No locks nor tunnels would be 

 required. The canal on this line would be about twenty-seven miles 

 long, only two of which would pass through hard rock. This 

 falls far short of the Mont Cenis tuiuiel for dilliculty ; and the 

 advantages of connecting the continents in this way are of incal- 

 culable importance. It is published in the "New York Herald" 

 of Dec. 24, 18GG. 



TUE BONE-CAVES OF BELGIUM. 



The probable antiquity of man must be admitted on every hand 

 to be the great scientific question of the day. Whatever, thei'e- 

 fore, tends to throw light on this subject is of first importance. 

 There can be no doubt that in our own Brixham cavern, beneath 

 stalagmites of enormous size, relics of human Avork were found 

 side ijy side with the bones of now extinct animals. Probably of 

 less remote antiquity, but still of high interest, are the remains 

 found in the Furiooz caves in the lielgian province of Namur. 

 Their discovery was deemed of so great an importance that the 

 Archteological Academy of Belgium, at tlie expense of the Govern- 

 ment, sent a commission to examine these caves. On March 26, 

 the commission issued their report, the substance of which we 

 subjoin. 



The Belgian Commission were immediately struck with the 

 large number of reindeer horns, of which quantities have been 

 found in one of the caves called Trou de Nutons. It is obviously 

 important, though difficult, with precision to fix the exact ejioch at 

 which the reindeer mov^ed northwards, a migration which must 

 have been caused by some climatal change. According to the 



