GEOGRAPHY. 5G7 



The first steamer comiug directly from the open sea arrived at Co- 

 logne on March 18, 1885. It was called the Industry, and was of 513 

 tons burden. 



The Austrian Government, with the consent of the Porte, has under- 

 taken to make a geographical survey of the Albanian coast, with a view 

 to preparing new, maps. Two Austrian gunboats have accordiugly left 

 Corfu with officials of the chart department on board. They were joined 

 by the Turkish officers, under whose sui^erintendence the survey will 

 be made. We may expect some definite results in the course of the next 

 six months. 



The Hungarian Society of Geography is engaged in organizing a Mag- 

 yar expedition for the exploration of the region around the Urals ; es- 

 pecially the Baskir country, where Urals- Altati peoples are disappear- 

 ing. 



The Military Geographical Institute of Italy has published a memoir 

 on the mensuration of the area of the Kingdom of Italy, with a new 

 approximate estimate of the same. The figures are as follows, in square 

 kilometers : 



The peninsula of Italy 236,402-1720 



The islets legally connected with its shores. 368* 8649 



Sicily : 25,461-2535 



The SicUian islets .• 278-8147 



Sardinia 23,799-5607 



The Sardinian islets 277-6027 



Total... - 286,588-3000 



This equals 110,652 square miles, and is about 10,000 square kilome- 

 ters less than previous official figures, and 2,000 less than General ISteb- 

 nitski's estimate. 



Thoroddson's work in Iceland in 1884 seems to have been much fuller 

 and more precise than the notes hitherto published would indicate. 

 From the narrative published in Globus, it appears that in a journey of 

 ten weeks over the Odadahraun desert and the adjacent mountains, 

 about one-half was passed in an uninhabited region, much of which 

 was completely unknown. He forced his way along the northern base 

 of Vatna Jokull, the journey being frequently hazardous and always 

 laborious. Many corrections of heights were made; and it seems tliat 

 Jokulsa, which has been taken as the longest Icelandic river, is ex- 

 ceeded by Thiorsa, which is some 120 miles in length. An ascent of 

 the unvisited Dyngja Volcano was made. It proved to have a double 

 crater, the inner one being GOO feet or more in depth. 



NORTH AMERICA. 



The work of the several departments of Governments having to do 

 with geodesy, geography, and hydrography has made satisfactory prog- 

 ress. In no one of them however has there been any special develop- 



