558 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1885. 



prising the west coast of the Sahara between Cape Bogodor (20° 9' north) 

 and Cape Blanco (20° 45' north), both included ; and in the Gulf of 

 Guinea, the coast line from the Muni Eiver, which forms the northern 

 boundary of the French possessions on the Gaboon, to the Eio Comj^o 

 (0° 43' to 2° 41' north). Six stations have already been established on 

 the Sahara coast, and all points giving access to shipping will be per- 

 manently occupied. Old treaties with the chiefs on the Eio Benito 

 have been renewed, with a view to prevent the threatened advance of 

 the French in that direction. 



The conductor of the Cartographic Institute, Hamburg, Herr L. 

 Friedrichsen, writes thus concerning the limits of the German posses- 

 sions in West Africa: "The Mahiu district, on the Gulf of Benin, be- 

 tween Lagos and the mouth of the Niger, settled by the Hamburg firm 

 of G. L. Gaiser, has not yet been placed under German protection. The 

 coast from Jaboo to Old Calabar will, in my opinion, be in future re- 

 garded as under British protection, but has not hitherto been officially 

 placed under any European power. The frontier of the German Cam- 

 eroon begins with the Ethiopian cataract on the Great Eiver, lying from 

 there in a southwesterly direction to the sources of the Eio del Eey, 

 following the right bank of this river to the coast, then the coast line 

 in a southeasterly direction to the river Behuwe, excluding the town and 

 neighborhood of Victoria as British, as well as the island of Malimba. 

 The latter, as well as the whole coast from the river Behuwe to Gumbe- 

 gumbe, is not described by me in the commissions of foreign officials as 

 without a ruler, but as atract on which the actual raising of the German 

 flag is yet the subject of diplomatic treaty. . The German j)rotectorate 

 in Southwest Africa begins with 18° south latitude, not with Cape Frio." 



Dr. Ballay, in an address on the new possessions of France in Africa, 

 sums up by saying that while the Ogow6 can never be rendered navi- 

 gable, it can at least be made useful for bateaux. Its basin is naturally 

 fertile and rich in resources. On the other hand, the country extend- 

 ing from this basin to the Congo is generally sterile. There is little to 

 hope for from this region, but it is the beginning of the practicable 

 route for reaching the trade of the upper region, which has inhabitants 

 of intelligence and thrift. The protectorate of France now extends 

 along the whole north coast of the Gulf of Tadjura as far as Bahr-Aseal, 

 and M. Caspari states that the relations of France with the Dauakils 

 are cordial. Obock is at least a safe and easily accessible harbor, and 

 the abundance of water renders possible the cultivation of vegetables. 



The fifth expedition of the Belgian Interpational African Association, 

 which started with a view of connecting by a chain of stations the east 

 coast with the interior basin, has returned, the expense proving too 

 great to render the project profitable. The efforts of the association at 

 present will probably be confined to the Congo watershed. 



Some Swedish merchants have purchased in the Massanja country, 

 in the Cameroons, some 20 square miles of land, on which the Swed- 



