Dec. 1 6, 1875] 



NATURE 



t25 



connection of the Congo with the water system of Central 

 Africa. This chapter altogether is one of the most 

 valuable in the book. 



On his way to the rapids he was detained for some 

 time at the \'illage Banza Nokki, near one of the 

 upper reaches of the river, and of course took the 

 opportunity of studying the people, who seem to have 

 been but little affected by the labours of the Portu- 

 guese missionaries who lived among them for so many 

 generations. The district Burton describes as a perfect 

 paradise, the country lovely, and the climate all that can 

 be desired. Very fuU details are given as to the ways of 

 life of the people, their various customs, their supersti- 

 tions, their language, &c. After the usual vexatious 

 delays, Capt. Burton was able at last to set out on 

 Sept. 16 for the cataracts of the Congo. These and 

 their surroundings, the character of the country on the 

 river banks and of the people dwelling near, are de- 

 scribed in his usual graphic style, and with consider- 



Fetish boy (Congo districtX showiDg dress during the novitiate at puberty. 



able minuteness. He had hoped to be able to push on as 

 far as Nsundi, upwards of 100 miles beyond the Yellala, 

 but the difficulties thrown in his way by the chiefs on 

 whose expensive favour he was dependent, compelled 

 him to return. In a chapter on " The Slaver and the 

 Missionary on the Congo River," he records opinions 

 which are well deserving the attention of all who not 

 only wish well to the native African, but who desire that 

 the best means be taken for developing the immense 

 resources of that continent, and of tropical countries 

 generally. He concludes " with the hope that the great 

 Nzadi, one of the noblest and still the least known of the 

 four principal African arteries, will no longer be permitted 

 to flow through the White Blot, a region unexplored and 

 blank to geography as at the time of its creation, and that 

 my labours may contribute something, however small, to 

 clear the way for the more fortunate explorer." There 

 can be no doubt that his labours, short as his time was, 

 have added m.ateriaUy to our knowledge of the region 

 visited, and his work must henceforth be regarded as one 

 of the chief authorities, not only on the river and its 

 geography, but on its people, and to a considerable 



extent its natural history and meteorology. Like all 

 Capt. Burton's narratives, it is complete and comprehen- 

 sive, and includes far more than the mere title would lead 

 us to expect ; it cannot fail to greatly interest and instruct 

 every intelligent reader. 



An excellent chart of the river from the sea to the rapids 

 accompanies the second volume, and the illustrations to 

 both volumes add to its value and interest. Appended 

 are some meteorological data, a list of plants collected in 

 the Congo, at Dahome, and the island of Annabom, and 

 a list of heights of stations on the Congo computed from 

 observations made by Capt. Burton. 



THE GERMAN NORTH SEA COMMISSION 



y ahresbericht der Commission zur wissenschaftlichen 

 Untersuchung der deutschen Meere in Kiel fiir die 

 Jahre 1S72, 1873. Im Auftrage des Koniglich Preus- 

 sischen Ministeriums fiir die landwirthschaftlichen 

 Angelegenheiten, herausgegeben von Dr. H. A. Meyer, 

 Dr. K. Mobius, Dr. G. Karsten, Dr. V. Hensen, Dr. C. 

 Kupfifer. i Abtheilung. (Berlin, 1875.) 



THE Prussian Minister of Agriculture has just pub- 

 lished Part I. of the Report of the Commission 

 appointed to inquire into the scientific conditions of the 

 German Ocean at Kiel (for the years 1872, 1873). This 

 Report forms a very important document, filling a small 

 folio volume of 170 pages, with 12 plates and a chart. 

 The editors are Drs. H. A. Meyer, K. Mobius, G. Karsten, 

 V. Hensen, and C. Kupffer. The Report on the currents, 

 temperature, and specific gravity of the sea- water, based 

 on 255 observations made from July 21 to Sept. 9, 1872, 

 is by Dr. H. A. Meyer, and to it there is appended a 

 memoir " On the Air in Sea-water," by Prof Dr. Oscar 

 Jacobsen. The marine flora of the district is reported 

 on by Drs. Magnus and Schmidt The only Phanero- 

 gams met with were Zostera marina and Z. nana, and 

 Potamogeton pectinatus. Of Algae, excluding the Diatoms, 

 116 species are recorded. Of these, Callithaninion tnem- 

 branaceum and Chytridium tumefaciens are described by 

 Dr. Magnus as new species ; the former was found 

 growing over the stems of Sertularia abietina, between 

 Sprogoe and Corsoer, in from twenty to thirty fathoms, 

 the latter protruding from the cells of Ceramium flabel- 

 ligerumj these new species are well illustrated in two 

 plates. The presence of claspers is noticed in Plocamium 

 ceccineum intertwining between Annehd tubes. Hilde- 

 brandtia rosea, Kiitz., is held to be quite a distinct form 

 from H. rubra, Meneg., though by Harvey it and H. 

 sangiiinea, Kiitz., were all regarded as one and the same 

 thing. Hapalidium confervicola, Kiitz., is recorded, but 

 nothing added to clear up our ignorance of this curious 

 little alga. Botinemaisonia asparagoides, Ag., was found 

 bearing both Conceptacles and Antheridia on the same 

 stem. Myrionema orbiculare, J. Ag., is the name given 

 with much doubt to a form found very common on the 

 sea-grass. The plant is not figured, but appears to differ 

 from any known species of Myrionema : if proved to be 

 generically distinct, the author proposes the name Asco- 

 cylus for a genus to receive it. Chytridiutn tumefaciens 

 is described as a new species, growing on the root-hairs 

 and stem-cells of Ceramium flabelligerutn, taken near 

 Edinburgh. In the description of this species and in the 



