Jan. 2, 1879] 



NATURE 



20 = 



geology, natural history, and ethnology, with the view of 

 rendering as exact as possible the information obtained 

 regarding the region, its inhabitants, and products. As 

 special subjects of investigation he is to observe and note 

 the routes best adapted for future more extensive com- 

 munication, and to spare no efforts in examining the 

 range of mountains seen by Mr. E. D. Young and by 

 Capt. Elton and his party, at the north-east end of Lake 

 Nyassa, ascertaining their extent and elevation, and the 

 condition of the routes or passes over them. The practi- 

 cabihty of constructing a line of telegraph from north to 

 south through the region is also to be inquired into. If 

 Mr. Johnston should succeed in reaching Lake Tan- 

 ganyika he is directed to pay special attention to facts 

 bearing upon the extraordinary rise in its level in very 

 recent times, as stated by Mr. Stanley. Besides making 

 accurate measurements, Mr. Johnston is recommended 

 to institute inquiries as to whether the rise may not be 

 periodical, or the result of a succession of years of exces- 

 sive rainfall ; but in the event of its proving continuous 

 he is to investigate with care the causes and results of so 

 remarkable a phenomenon. This note is followed by a 

 summary of the sur\-ey arrangements of the Afghanistan 

 Expedition, which promise to add much to our knowledge 

 of the unknown tracts [of country on our north-west 

 iirontier. The information contained in the remaining 

 notes has already been placed before our readers in our 

 own columns. The maps in the present number are those 

 of the Fly River, New Guinea, from Signor D'Albertis' sur- 

 vey, of the Sulimani Mountains, on our Afghan frontier, 

 illustrating an article by Mr. C. R. Markham, and of the 

 routes of the Swedish and Dutch Arctic Expeditions. 



The International African Association at Brussels 

 have recently received intelligence that MM. Wautier 

 and Dutrieux, with 360 porters, had left Mpwapwa on 

 C ctober 15 to rejoin M. Cambier. On October 27 they 

 were at Mvumi, in Ugogo, where a letter from M. 

 Cambier reached them, announcing his arrival at Kasisi, 

 which is two days' march from Urambo, the capital of 

 King Mirambo, of Unyamwesi. They are now travelling 

 in company with M. Broyon, Mirambo' s son-in-law, who 

 is said to be taking up a large convoy to Ujiji for the 

 English missionaries, and imder his able guidance and 

 advice it may be hoped that they will escape similar 

 misfortunes to those which they have experienced in the 

 past 



Intelligence has been received at St. Petersburg 

 that Prof. Nordenskjold's steamer Vega is ice-bound on 

 the Siberian coast. 



In the last number of the Toitr dii Monde, M. Alfred 

 ^Marche, the former companion of M. Savorgnan de 

 Brazza, in his explorations of Western Africa, concludes 

 his admirably illustrated chapters, entitled " Voyage au 

 Gabon et sur le Fleuve Ogooue." 



Prof. Kiepert, the eminent geographer, has recently 

 expressed his opinion regarding the alleged return of the 

 Amu Darj-a (or Oxus) into its ancient bed, and conse- 

 quently becoming a tributar>' to the Caspian instead of 

 the Aral Sea. The Professor remarks that all statements 

 made hitherto, even as far back as those of the old 

 Roman writers, are simple speculations, proving nothing 

 else but merely the existence of a dry river-bed in the 

 durection indicated. He thinks it a matter of course that, 

 in the event of unusual accumulation of water in the 

 Oxus, this bed may be filled with water for many miles' 

 distance, and, during the few centuries for which we 

 possess reliable data this event has happened so often, 

 that the present recurrence need not in any way have 

 given rise to so much talk and discussion. . 



Mr. E. F. lm Thurn, of the British Guiana Museum, 

 paid a visit, in October and November last, to the 

 Kaieteur Fall of the Potaro River, for the purpose of 

 testing whether it was rightly described by its discoverer. 



Mr. Barrington Brown, as "one of the grandest falls in 

 the world," as well as to prove the truth of his (Mr. im 

 Thuin's) idea that such a place ought to be a rich 

 treasure-ground for a collecting naturalist. He professes 

 to be disappointed with the fall because it is neither so 

 high as the Yosemit^ Fall nor so broad as Niagara. 

 But he visited it when the water was at its lowest 

 volume, and yet, when looking at it from above, he 

 confesses that the fall is one of "splendid and awful 

 beauty." Altogether we infer that Mr. Brown's de- 

 scription is essentially correct, especially when the river 

 is at its fullest. The country' on the road to and about 

 the fall is described as of matchless beauty, and evi- 

 dently it is a splendid field for a naturalist. The fall can 

 be reached wth comparative ease in a few days from 

 Bartica Grove. 



At the November meeting of the Russian Geographical 

 Society, Admiral Krusenstern described the results of his 

 journey to Siberia in 1876 to investigate the possibility of 

 connecting the basin of the Petchora with that of the Ob, 

 and thus open a continuous water-way from Europe to 

 Siberia. He reports favourably on the practicability of 

 the scheme. The scientific results of the journey are topo- 

 graphical surveys, levelUngs of the principal parts of the 

 route, a whole series of astronomical determinations, and a 

 large addition to our knowledge of a region still httle known. 



The last number of the Zeitschrift of the Berlin 

 Geographical Society contains an elaborate paper by 

 Herr G. Hartung on the formation of valleys and lakes. 

 There is also a valuable paper by the late Saharan 

 explorer, Erwin von Bary, on the character of the vegeta- 

 tion of Air; besides a large map of the African river 

 Ouanga, the result of the exploration of Herr Otto 

 Schiitt. The last two numbers of the Verhaiidbingen of 

 the same Society contain some important papers. Prof. 

 Karsten gives some data on the problem of ocean currents, 

 and Dr. Tietze describes the results of his exploration of 

 the volcanic Mount Demavend, to which we referred in a 

 previous number. Dr. Hartmann has some interesting 

 observations on the distribution of deep-sea animals. It 

 will thus be seen that this Society regards geography as 

 embracing a very wide field of research, and in this 

 respect is a model that might with advantage be followed 

 by other geographical societies. 



A COMMITTEE has been formed at Berlin with the 

 object of founding a " Central Union for Commercial 

 Geography and the Furtherance of German Interests in 

 Foreign Countries." The Society hopes to enter into 

 friendly relations with all German and foreign geographi- 

 cal societies. 



" BOSNIEN in Bild und Wort," is the title of an inte- 

 resting work by Amand von Schweiger Lerchenfeld, just 

 published by Hartleben, of Vienna. The geographical 

 publications of this firm are of particular excellence, and 

 the present work is a fair case in point. It contains some 

 twenty charming drawings from the artistic pen of J. J. 

 Kirchner, illustrating the most interesting parts of the 

 province which has played so prominent a part in the 

 past year's history. The text is carefully written, clear, 

 and to the point. Altogether the work is an acceptable 

 addition to geographical literature. 



THE MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE, P.Z.S. 



T T is with extreme regret that we have to chronicle the 

 *• death, after a three days' attack of bronchitis, on the 

 morning of December 29, of Arthur Hay, ninth Marquess 

 of Tweeddale, F.R.S., and President of the Zoological 

 Society of London. Bom in 1824, the second son of 

 Field-Marshal the late Lord Tweeddale, K.T., a veteran 

 of the Peninsula and other campaigns of "the Great 

 War," Lord Arthur Hay at an early age entered the 

 army, as befitted the godchild of the grand Enghsh 



