1892.] Address. 81 



They propose to make ilie Baltoro glacier in Baltistan their centre of 

 operations at first. 



The Proceedings R. G. S. contain an account of Major General T. E. 

 Gordon's journey from Teheran to the Karon and Mohamrah ; and also 

 a paper by Mr. C. E. Biddulph of his journey in company with Capt. 

 Vaughan across the western portion of the Great Persian desert, rid the 

 Siah Kuh mountains and the Darya-i-Namak, in which he shows that 

 what is called the Great Salt Desert is not salt throughout ; that the 

 deposit known as Jcavir is the same saline efflorescence found in Sind 

 and the Panjab ; and that the Darya-i-Namak, or sea of salt, is an 

 instance of a salt formation quite distinct from the ordinary Jcavir. 



The Scottish Geographical Magazine contains an account by Captain 

 A. C. Yate of his journey to Taskent, and is accompanied by a very 

 useful orographical map of Central Asia. 



In the same Journal, for March, Mr. J. G. Bartholomew gives a very 

 valuable list of published maps of Asia, with a map showing the extent 

 and value of the geographical surveys. Out of 17, 250,000 square miles 

 only about 750,000, or one twenty-third, are absolutely unexplored. 



Dr. J. Burgess, C. i. E., has a paper in the same Journal on " Map- 

 ping and place-names in India," in which he draws attention to the 

 correct representation of place-names in maps, and to the necessity for 

 an index of geographical positions — a want which measures are now beino- 

 taken to supply, though it must necessarily be a work of time. 



In this brief and imperfect review of the scientific and literary work 

 of the past year, done by workers both in and 

 ciety. °" outside of India, enough will, I trust have been 



said to show that considerable additions of high 

 interest and value have been made to our knowledge of Indian subjects 

 in many departments. No doubt it is true, and the complaint has actual- 

 ly been made to this Society, that most of the papers contributed to 

 the Journal possess little interest except to specialists in their particular 

 lines, and are not attractive to the general reader. This cannot be 

 denied, and indeed the fact constitutes the very reason for our existence. 

 We are here, as a Society, for the purpose of advancing the bounds of 

 knowledge in different directions ; and though articles of popular in- 

 terest are freely admissible into our pages, we have to march in line with 

 scientific workers in the Asiatic field all over the world ; and if we are to 

 retain our position, our contributions to the general sum of knowledge 

 must keep pace with the progress of research, in other words, must be 

 for the most part abstruse and technical. I may add, on this point, that 

 there is one direction in which members of our Society can very usefully 

 promote its interests. The Library of the Society is intended, not 



