PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. Ixxxiii. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



In geography the greatest event has been the return of the 

 National Antarctic Expedition, under Captain Scott, which, 

 besides geographical knowledge, has brought back the most 

 important series of meteorological, magnetic, and other obser- 

 vations ever obtained from these regions. Much valuable work 

 has also been accomplished there by the Scotch, Swedish, and 

 German Expeditions. A central plateau of 8,000 feet or more 

 covers a portion of the Antarctic continent, and over this 

 Captain Scott sledged for a week under great difficulties, 

 passing the line where the compass points south, instead of 

 north. The Thibet Mission has penetrated to the heart of 

 that mysterious country, which so few Europeans have ever 

 entered, and added much to our knowledge of it. After an 

 international controversy of more than half a century, the name 

 and identity of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, have 

 been settled by fresh Indian surveys, and its original discoverer, 

 Sir Andrew Waugh, has been proved to be correct in his conclu- 

 sions. A great engineering feat has been successfully carried 

 out in the piercing of the Simplon Tunnel, 12^ miles long, on 

 February 24th last. It was begun in August, 1888, and reaches 

 a depth of i mile below the surface, about a mile being the 

 lowest depth at which man has ever been before. 



ARCHEOLOGY. 



The most impressive, and perhaps the most important, 

 archaeological find during the past year has been that of the 

 Egyptian tomb of Yua and Thua, the father and mother of Queen 

 Teie, wife of Amenhotep II. of the eighteenth dynasty, which 

 has been undisturbed since that period, and has yielded a rich 

 collection, including a chariot and chairs, vases and boxes, 

 mostly covered with gold and painted decoration. Another 

 find, this time at Karnak, consisted of about 450 statues from 

 the third to the twenty-sixth dynasty. The entomology of 



