July 2 1, 1887] 



NATURE 



283 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



The new supplementary part of Petermann' s Mitteilungen 

 (No. 87) is devoted to Dr. R. von Lendenfeld'-s'explorations in the 

 Australian Alps in 1885-86. The region explored by Dr. Lenden- 

 feld covers the greater part of the mountain districts of Victoria 

 and New .South Wales, and already in Nature and elsewhere 

 he has given some details concerning the geological and glacial 

 results of his work. In the present memoir he gives a sketch of 

 the Australian Alps in general, their geology, physiography, 

 meteorology, flora, and fauna ; he indicates the general 

 physiognomy of the mountain system, its leading ranges, its 

 valleys, and its river systems. He then devotes separate sec- 

 tions to the Kosciusko group and the Bugong group, and to a 

 discussion of the Australian Ice period. There can be no doubt. 

 Dr. Lendenfeld maintains, that at one time the Australian high- 

 lands were deeply glaciated, and that during the Tertiar}' the 

 climate of the country must have been far richer in moisture than 

 it is at the present day. 



In the new number (vii. ) of Petermann' s Mitteilungen Dr. 

 Gerhard Rohlfs describes in a letter to Dr. Schweinfurth the 

 results of his recent exploration of the limestone plateau which 

 borders each side of the great Wadi Arabah, in Central Egypt. 

 General Tillo brings together elaborate data bearing on the 

 variation of the mean sea-level above or below a norjaal zero in 

 the various seas of Europe ; and Nikolaus Latken contributes a 

 short paper on mining in East Siberia for 1874-85. There is an 

 excellent map of the Khuriseb Valley, extending south-east from 

 Walfisch Bay, West Africa, by Dr. Stapff, which, with the 

 accompanying paper, gives a very full idea of the geology of the 

 region. 



A NUMEROUS and carefully-equipped Expedition is being sent 

 out this summer by the Finnish Society of Botany and Zoology for 

 the exploration of the interior of the Kola Peninsula. Another 

 Expedition, organized by the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists, 

 set out last month to Petropaulovsk, to explore the White Sea 

 and the Mediterranean coast. 



Under Prof. O. Doering, the Government of the Argentine 

 province Cordoba is establishing a network of meteorological 

 stations which will begin work in January 1888. It is intended 

 to form and equip 40 stations of the first order, 15 of the second, 

 lo of the third, and 10 of the fourth order. The instruments 

 are being obtained from Berlin. 



Dr. L. Brackebusch, Professor of Geology and Mineralogy 

 in the University of Cordoba, has recently returned from a five- 

 months' excursion in the Cordilleras, bringing with him rich 

 collections of minerals, and a mass of geological, geographical, 

 and hypsometrical data. 



The Venezuelan Government has, it is stated, organized an 

 Expedition for the geological and anthropological exploration of 

 the territory on the Upper Orinoco and the Amazons. 



At a recent meeting of the Geographical Society of the 

 Pacific, Prof. Davidson stated that his study of the ocean 

 currents had brought him t i the conclusion that a branch of the 

 Japanese warm current, the Kuro Siwo, does pass into the 



Arctic Ocean through Behring Strait ; and he promised to lay 

 before the Society, at a future meeting, some information on the 

 subject. 



According to the last mail from Zanzibar Lieut. Wissmann 

 has arrived at the Kavala mission station on Lake Tanganyika. 

 The explorer left Luluaburg on the Sankuru in November last, 

 to traverse the unknown country in which are the sources of the 

 Lulongo, the Chuapa, and the Lomami. He then meant to 

 reach Lake Tanganyika by Nyangwe. 



To the last part of the Verhandlungen of the Vienna Geo- 

 graphical Society (Nos, 5 and 6 of Band xxx.) Herr W. Putick 

 contributes a valuable paper on the subterranean district of Inner 

 Carniola, the carious region known as the Karst. 



THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION BILL. 

 T^HE following is the speech delivered by Sir W. Hart Dyke 

 "•■ on Monday in introducing the Technical Education Bill 

 into the House of Commons : — 



" In the observations that I am about to make I shall be as 

 concise as possible, because I know that members are waiting to 

 deal with other important matter. I feel that I am guilty of 

 something like cruelty in introducing at this period of the session, 

 after all we have gone through and with the labours still before 

 us, any further legislation, but I plead in extenuation the fact 

 that this is no new topic. It is one which has for some time past 

 stirred up among the artisan classes considerable interest. Volun- 

 tary efforts have for s ^me tiaie past been made in this country in 

 regard to technical instruction, and if I am asked why it is that 

 we are going to endeavour to supplement by legislation what has 

 been done the answer is that it is because we believe in the 

 reality of this movement. For some years, not only among our 

 artisan classes, but among our large employers of labour in in- 

 dustrial centres, it has been recognized that, though the com- 

 mercial depression cannot be traceable to the lack of technical 

 and commercial education in this country, yet that some part of 

 it is due to the fact that Continental nations have had great ad- 

 vantages over us in regard to technical training for their youths, 

 and that this has given them considerable commercial advantages 

 over us. I am encouraged to hope that these proposals will meet 

 with some acceptance from the House. If they enable the best 

 material which is now turned out by our schools to continue 

 longer in their school life and to start into some new 

 educational groove for the benefit of themselves and of the in- 

 dustrial localities in which they live, and for the benefit also of 

 the community at large, I think I may venture to urge that the 

 time of the House will not be wasted in discussing these pro- 

 posals. It is perfectly true that it may be urged that as I have 

 not long held my present office I am rather rash in introducing 

 this subject, and still more so considering that a Royal Com- 

 mission has been sitting for some time and dealing with this 

 great educational question. But I think that the House will 

 agree with me that this is somewhat outside the scope of the 

 Commission which is now sitting. There was a Royal Com- 

 mission on Technical Education which reported in 1884. That 

 Comnission let in a flood of light on the question of technical 

 instruction, and I should like for one instant to refer to their 

 special recommendation as regards this country. As the 

 House is aware, that Commission extended its labours to 

 Continental countries, and conducted an exhaustive in- 

 quiry in connexion with this subject. The Commission pointed 

 out that there was a considerable difference in respect of our 

 treatment of the educational question and its treatment in coun- 

 tries abroad. They also pointed out that with the exception of 

 France there was no European country of the first rank that has 

 an educational Budget so large in amount as our own. They 

 say that all our existing educational institutions will not alone 

 accomplish the object aimed at, and that the localities must 

 rely more than they have done hitherto upon their own special 

 exertions. I may quota further from the Report of the Commis- 

 sion in reference to the advisability of introducing technical in- 

 struction into our schools. The Commissioners state that in 

 Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, and other great centres, a 

 considerable step has already been made in this direction, and 

 they ask this pertinent question : " If we introduce needlework 

 into girls' schools, why should not grants be made for manual 

 instruction in boys' schools?" The Commissioners also recom- 

 mended that rudimentary drawing should be continued through- 



