tINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. 7 



Rev. John lernand Cains, S.J., Ph.U., Albert Edward Mills, 

 E.C.tS., and Samuel Lyon, F.B-.Gr.lS. 



Mr. E. H. C. Walsh, I.C.S. retii-ed, delivered a Lecture on 

 " Lhasa and Central Tibet," illustrated by thirty-one lantern- 

 slides from his own photographs. 



The Lecturer gave a brief description of the country, the 

 people, tlie religion, and the Government. The Tibetans call their 

 country PiJ (Bodj and themselves Pci-pa ; the name Tibet is from 

 Tu-P6 (Stod-Eoil), which means " High Tiliet," applying to the 

 central tableland. The country extends IGOO miles in its greatest 

 breadth and SOO miles in its greatest width from the Koko 

 Nor to the southern bend of the Takiang or Blue Eiver ; the 

 superfi(.'ial ai*ea is more than a million square miles, and comprises 

 the highest portion of the earth's surface, and is bounded on its 

 southern frontier by the Himalayas, the loftiest chain of mountains 

 in the world. The Lake region lies to the north, and the Eiver 

 region encircles it on three sides — west, south, and east ; the 

 former region is very dry, and cold ; the Eiver region contains 

 the sources of many rivers, such as the Indus, Sutlej, Brahma- 

 putra, Salween, Mekong, Yatitse-Kiang, and Hoang-ho. The 

 great plain luiowu as Chang-Tliang is 500 miles wide at its 

 greatest widtli and mostly uninliabited except by nomads ; tiie 

 mean altitude is over 16,500 feet, the peaks 20,000 to 24,000, 

 the passes 16,400 to 19,000, and the valleys 14,500 to 17,400. 

 Vegetation is almost non-existent. The crescent, which partly 

 encircles the plain, is inhabited by Tibetans ; the central portion 

 of the great plain is for the most part unexplored. 



The slides showed natural features, as the frozen waterfall 

 Dotag, as an instance of the intense cold at the high altitudes, 

 yaks, people of various degrees, their houses and prayer-flags, 

 Lamas and their monasteries, boats, and shrines. 



In the discussion which tollowed, the President referred to the 

 interest of the Tibetan elevation as one of the newest physical 

 features of the earth's crust. Numerous remains of rhinoceros 

 had been found in the Hundes region, and Hugh Ealconer sup- 

 posed that that part must have been raised about 8000 feet since 

 Pliocene times, when the large quadrupeds lived there. According 

 to certain American tlieories, the rise of the Himalayas ma}' have 

 isolated a northern tract of the great Indian forest wliich was 

 inhabited by several great apes during 'the Miocene period. The 

 new inclement conditions might so affect the life of- the apes in 

 this isolated northern tract as to drive them to the plains and 

 thus originate man. 



Sir Nicolas Yermoloff, K.C.B., remarked tliat there were many 

 Lamas amongst the Siberian soldiers in the Eussian troops. 



Mr. H. J. Elwes, F.E.S., referred to Sir Josepli Hooker's 

 statement (Himal. Jouru. ii. 150) that the yak bred once in two 

 years, and asked if that were correct, as no other traveller seemed 

 to have noticed it. 



