1897. NEWS OF UNIVERSITIES, ETC. 67 



Professor D. G. Elliot says, with regard to his expedition into Somaliland, 

 that he has obtained a very extensive collection, chiefly of the large mammals, pro- 

 bably the most complete ever brought out of any country by one party. No fewer 

 than fifty-eight cases and barrels were shipped direct from Aden. After this we 

 need not remind our readers that the destination of the barrels was Chicago. He 

 also obtained over 300 specimens of birds, fish, insects, and reptiles : this is not 

 much. 



Mr. Bastard, who is exploring in Africa, has been prevented by the trouble in 

 Madagascar from penetrating into the interior of that island. He has, however, 

 made good collections of fossils, also anthropological measurements and photographs. 



Mr. Voillot has returned from a voyage to Haute Mambere ; he brings with him 

 ten Baya skulls and an interesting ethnographic collection. Another valuable 

 anthropological collection is that brought back from Russian Asia by Mr. E. Blanc. 



Of Mr. Alexander Whyte's explorations in the Karonga Mountains in Central 

 Africa, we learn that the results include 6,000 dried specimens of plants, 5,000 land- 

 shells, 3,000 insects, numerous mammals, reptiles, geological collections, and so on. 

 The climate was far from healthy, and several members of the party suffered from 

 cold and sickness. 



The Daily Chronicle of December 5, gives some interesting news of the French 

 Hourst Expedition to the country behind the Niger Coast Protectorate ; from it we 

 learn that, in spite of difficulties, the results have been very valuable, and that the 

 whole party returned well after an absence of three years. The war-songs of most 

 of the tribes have been taken down by the phonograph, silhouettes of native heads 

 and many photographs were made ; and the geological and geographical surveys 

 are also very complete. 



The proposed Belgian Antarctic expedition, headed by A. de Gerlache, is to 

 start on board the " Belgica," in the middle of next July. A laboratory is being 

 constructed on deck for the scientific members of the expedition, who include a 

 geological chemist, Mr. Archowsky ; a meteorologist, Mr. Danco ; a doctor and 

 naturalist, Mr. Taguin ; and Mr. Racovitza, who will conduct the dredging opera- 

 tions. The work of the expedition will be carried on so far as possible on the same 

 lines as that of the " Challenger " expedition. 



Professor Penzig, of Genoa, editor of Malpigkia, has undertaken a botanical 

 expedition to Buitenzorg, Singapore, and Ceylon. 



Dr. Grunling, Curator of the Mineralogical Collection in Munich, has gone to 

 Ceylon on an exploring expedition. 



An agricultural experiment station, which will undertake very useful work, has 

 been founded at Usambara, in German East Africa. 



On Thursday, December 17, almost exactly at 5.30 a.m., an earthquake shock, 

 severer than has been felt for many years, affected almost the whole of England and 

 Wales. The exact position of the seismic focus has not yet been determined, but 

 Hereford seems to have suffered most, for here a woman died of fright, the pinnacles 

 of St. Nicholas' Church fell, and a pinnacle of the cathedral was damaged. Pre- 

 monitory shocks were felt at various places from about 3 a.m., and a few after- 

 shocks were also experienced. 



