Nov. 14, 1S78] 



NATURE 



43 



■3 been determined by Bessel, Krueger, and Axel 

 ! oiler, may detract from the importance of further 

 vestigation in this direction. Thus the sun's mass 

 '.xceeds the mass of the planet, 



1047 "88 times according to Bessel, from elongations of fourth 

 --tellite. 

 1 047 '54 times according to Kru^er, from perturbations of 

 .emis. 



1047*79 times according to Moller, from perturbations of 

 •TtV Comet. ' ■ 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 



The following form the series of scientific lectures to be 

 delivered before the Royal Geographical Society during 

 the present session, in pursuance of the scheme organised 

 by the council two years ago : — " Geographical Evolu- 

 n,'' by Prof. Geikie ; "The Flora of the European 

 'ps and its Connection with that of other Regions of the 

 i:arth," by Mr. John Ball, F.R.S. ; and "The Modifica- 

 tions of the External Aspects of Organic Nature produced 

 by Man's Interference," by Prof. Rolleston. The first 

 two will be delivered some time before Easter, next year, 

 and the last probably on the second Monday in May. 



In the absence of Lord Dufferin, the session of the 

 Geographical Society was opened on Monday night by 

 an address from Sir Rutherford Alcock, who reviewed 

 recent exploring work. 



At the opening meeting of the Royal Geographical 

 Society a paper by Signor L. M. d'Albertis, the well- 

 known Italian naturalist, was read, descriptive of his 

 three journeys up the Fly River, and his explorations 

 of other parts of New Guinea. Perhaps the most 

 interesting part of this very interesting paper was 

 that which related to his earlier work when in com- 

 pany with Dr. O. Beccari in 1872. Cn that occasion they 

 landed first on Sorong Island, between Salwatti and the 

 mainland of New Guinea, in about S. lat. 0° 25', and after 

 making collections of plants and animals there, they 

 moved on to Andai, near Dorei. During their stay there 

 Signor d'Albertis explored the countr> to the foot of the 

 high chain of mountains named Lapi Arfak. No one 

 hitherto had been able to penetrate to the Arfak high- 

 lands, the home of the bird of paradise, and it is doubt- 

 ful if the attempt had ever been made, owing to the fear 

 entertained by the coast natives of the mountain tribes. 

 Signor d'Albertis, however, succeeded in accomplishing 

 this feat, for he lived for a month in a Papuan house at 

 a height of 3,600 feet abore the sea, and in the course of 

 his daily shooting expeditions reached an altitude of 

 SjOOo feet ; so that with pardonable pride he claims to 

 have been the pioneer of the Arfak mountains. Judging 

 by the altitude he attained, he considers that the esti- 

 mated height of the range — 9,000 feet— is no exaggera- 

 tion. From the point which he reached, 5,000 feet above 

 the sea, the range runs uninterruptedly in a southerly 

 direction, and joins that which constitutes the chief 

 part of the backbone of New Guinea. As far as 

 he could judge, separate streams issue from these 

 ranges, giving origin to many small rivers which 

 disembogue in the two bays known by the name of 

 Geelwink. The mountains, even at the highest point 

 he attained, are clothed with magnificent arboreal Tege- 

 tation, but he was much astonished to find amongst the 

 trees a species of oak and a conifer, the latter of which 

 was afterwards recognised by Dr. Beccari as an Arau- 

 caria. Another point is worthy of notice ; within a few 

 minutes of the equator, in 134° E. long., all the climates 

 of the world, except the Arctic, are represented, the tro- 

 pical at the base and the temperate on the upper slopes 

 and summits, both of which offer a rich variety of trees 

 and plants. The same description applies to the neigh- 

 bouring mountains where exist the most beautiful species 

 of birds of paradise known to the world. In his second 



expedition Signor D'Albertis spent some time at Yule 

 Island, on the southern coast, near Port Moresby, and he 

 expresses a very decided opinion that this place will be 

 of great importance as a centre of trade in the future. 



A LETTER from Mr. Andrew Goldie is published in the 

 Sydney Morning Herald, in which he gives some account 

 of a cruise along the south-east coast of New Guinea. 

 Mr. Goldie found the currents and calms a great source 

 of danger. On the way down the coast Mr. Goldie dis- 

 covered a group of islands (Redlich Group) not marked 

 on the chart, and two splendid harbours, the finest 

 by far that he has seen in New Guinea. He names 

 them Glasgow and Millport harbours, and he has taken 

 soundings and drawn plans, which he intends to forward 

 to the proper quarter. The party visited Cloudy Bay 

 and ascended the Robinson River, taking soundings there 

 and all through the bay, and correcting many errors on 

 the Admiralty chart. They discovered a new river on 

 the west side of Cloudy Bay, which has been named 

 the Blunden. During this trip Mr. Goldie has evidently 

 not overlooked one of the main objects of his being 

 sent to New Guinea, for he has collected 100 fresh skins 

 of birds, different from those in the neighbourhood of 

 Port Moresby, and he has also obtained a large and very 

 valuable collection of curiosities. 



The late Admiral Sir George Back, who was for some 

 time one of the vice-presidents of the Royal Geographical 

 Society, has bequeathed to that body the sum of 600/. 

 to be invested in Consolidated Bank Annuities, the con- 

 ditions attached to the bequest being that the interest 

 shall be paid or applied annually " to or for the benefit 

 of such scientific geographers or discoverers, or person or 

 persons who may then be engaged in discovery or explo- 

 ration, and in such manner and form as the president 

 and council shall determine." It is further provided 

 that if in any year no person shall be deemed of sufficient 

 merit to receive the prize, the interest shall accumulate 

 and in some succeeding year be awarded to one or more 

 persons who may be considered most deserving, in such 

 proportions as the president and ,council of the Society 

 may determine. Sir George has also bequeathed to the 

 Royal Geographical Society a very characteristic portrait 

 of himself painted many years ago by Brockeden. 



Mr. Keith Johnston, the commander of the expedi- 

 tion despatched by the Committee of the African Explo- 

 ration Fund to explore the country between the road now 

 being constructed from Dar-es-Salaam, on the east coast 

 of Africa, and the north end of Lake Nyassa, leaves for 

 Zanzibar to-day, in company with Mr. Joseph Thomson, 

 as geologist and naturalist, and great hopes are entertained 

 that, in addition to achieving good geographical results, 

 they wiU be able to furnish much information respecting 

 the hydrology and geology of the unknown region they 

 are about to explore. Should the financial position of 

 the fund admit of it, Mr. Johnston will extend his explo- 

 rations northward to Lake Tanganyika, and return to the 

 coast by a different route. 



The arrival at Provincetown, Massachusetts, on 

 October 26, of the Arctic exploration schooner Florence, 

 Capt George Tyson, relieved the anxiety felt for her 

 safety, after her reported departure on September 26, 

 from St. John, New Brunswick. The Florence has met 

 with hard usage throughout her whole voyage, and 

 officers and men have suffered considerably. According 

 to the log, the- coldest weather experienced was 53° 

 below zero. 



M. LlAls, director of the Rio de Janeiro Observatory, 

 has written to the Paris Geographical Society, intimating 

 that, owing to the liberality of the Emperor of Brazil, he 

 had been enabled to begin the great work of determining 

 by electric telegraph the longitude of Rio in comparison 

 with Greenwich. When the operation shall have been 



