
21 
AROUND AFRICA WITH THE BRITISH 
ASSOCIATION. 
(ILLUSTRATED BY THE LANTERN). 
By E. W. WAKEFIELD, J.P., D.L., of Kendal. 
January 30th, 1906. 
Mr. Wakefield, in the course of a very fine lecture, described 
a journey taken with the British Association round the con- 
tinent of Africa in the autumn of 1905. A clear and concise 
account of the journey was rendered more graphic by the 
numerous excellent views displayed, preceded by a map, shew- 
ing the route taken, covering a distance by land and water 
of nearly 20,000 miles. The lecturer paid a high tribute to 
Sir George Darwin, to whose ability, tact, and unselfishness he 
attributed largely the success of the tour. The first land 
sighted after leaving England were the rocky peaks of Teneriffe. 
After a short stay at Santa Cruz, a quaint town, but increasing 
in importance as a port of call and a pleasure resort, a few 
hours’ steam brought them to Las Palmas, in the Grand Canary. 
Perhaps most worthy of notice here are the life-sized bronze 
statues in the principal square of the enormous dogs, now 
extinct, from which the island (Gran Canario) took its name. 
Leaving Las Palmas, numbers of the lovely Nautilus, called 
“Portuguese men of war,’ were seen, shoals of hammer- 
headed sharks were passed, ungainly and curious-looking 
creatures ; and on August 13th, Table Bay was entered. At 
Capetown they first began to realise the advantages of a tour 
with the British Association, the party including leading men 
in almost every branch of science, so that they could obtain 
the latest and best information simply by having a chat with 
one of the specialists in that subject. The mornings were 
mostly devoted to sectional meetings. The afternoons were 
given to visiting places of interest in and around Cape Town, 
and the evenings were devoted to popular scientific lectures, 
conversaziones and receptions. The late Mr. Rhodes’ property 
at Groot Schuur, also Table Mountain, Simonstown and Sea 
Point were visited. Especially interesting was Robin Island, 
