Oct. 20, 1887] 



NA TURE 



595 



just as though it possessed a sting. At the same lime the lizard 

 evidently doubted whether it was a really dangerous insect at first 

 sight. When, a few days later, a second moth was offered to 

 the same lizard, it was immediately seized with .ut any caution 

 or hesitation. The lizard had learnt its lesson. Instances of 

 this kind support the belief that insect-eating animals have no 

 instinctive knowledge of the palatable, or unpalaiable, or 

 dangerous character of their prey, but that they learn by expe- 

 rience. Thus the chamaeleon was offered a bee, which was 

 caught at once with the tongue ; as the organ was withdrawn, 

 the chameleon was stung, and shook the bee off ; after this it 

 would never touch a bee again. Similarly with many con- 

 spicuous nauseous insects, they were generally caught once, but 

 rarely a second time. Now if such instinctive knowledge existed, 

 the chamreleon above all might be expected to possess it, 

 because of the manner in which it catches insects. Shooting its 

 prey from a considerable distance, it can rarely gain any know- 

 ledge of a new insect without, so to speak, committing itself, 

 whereas other lizards can make use of the tactile sense in their 

 tongues, while their sense of smell must be more delicate because 

 of their greater proximity before capture. It appears, however, 

 that the chamreleon brought among the insects of a new country 

 relies solely upon a good memory and pos\ erful sight, and these 

 are so efficient that a single instance of each species of insect is 

 sufficient for a thorough education. If the chamaeleon possessed 

 an instinctive knowledge of the dangerous or unpalatable insects 

 by which it is normally surrounded, it is most probable that it 

 would also shun the insects of other countries which are pro- 

 tected by similar "warning" colours. 



All the species of the genus Zygsena hitherto tested are 

 nauseous, and all are conspicuous and strikingly similar, 

 so that it is probable that we have here an instance of 

 divergence checked by the advantages which follow from 

 simplifying the education of enemies, by setting them one 

 pattern to learn instead of several. Instances of this are well 

 known in other countries, but this is the first example 

 in our own fauna. Among all the experiments previously 

 recorded there occurred no instance of an unpalatable imago 

 which had been palatable in earlier stages. I have paid especial 

 attention to w orking through many histories in this way, and as 

 a result I have found one such instance. The larva of Arctia 

 caja is unpalatable because of the presence of hairs, but appar- 

 ently not otherwise ; the pupa is palatable, while the imago is 

 highly conspicuous and extremely nauseous. 



Section E— Geography. 



Dr. Ludwig Wolf, who accompanied Wissmann in his explora- 

 tion of the southern tributaries of the Congo, gave some 

 account of his journeys on the Upper Kasai and the Sankuru, 

 the leading results of which have already appeared in our 

 "Geographical Notes." The point of his discovery was that 

 the Sankuru, which hitherto had been supposed to fall into the 

 Congo, joined first with the Kasai. He described the nature of 

 the country and the habits of the people, giving an account of 

 many personal adventures. The people are superstitious and 

 offer human sacrifices. He did not think Central Africa would 

 ever become a country for European emigration. At the same 

 time Europeans of good constitution could not only live there, 

 but do several hours manual labour every day. He wished the 

 Congo Free State all success in its efforts to civilize the natives. 



A paper by Capt. Coquilhat on the Bangala, a tribe of the 

 Upper Congo, was read. The Bangala are in some cases given 

 to cannibalism, suicide is not unusual, and certain games of 

 chance are popular. European spirits are unknown, and the 

 most popular drink is a kind of beer made from the sugar-cane. 

 The tribe is intelligent and ambitious. 



A sociological study on the tribes of the Lower Congo was 

 contributed by Mr. R. C. Phillips, for many years a trader there. 

 His opinion was that these natives had degenerated from a 

 higher standard. They believed in witchcraft, charms, and 

 fetishes. They recognized a something in the sky as a god, but 

 no form of worship followed upon this recognition ; it was 

 simply a matter of knowledge. The family relations were fairly 

 developed, and there were fair principles of public justice in 

 operation. The rise of legitimate trade on the Congo had to 

 some extent deprived the chiefs of their wealth, and in this way 

 the lower classes had been benefited. 



A discussion followed on the climate of West Africa and its 



adaptability to European colonization, the general opinion being: 

 that I^uropean families could not be reared, at least on the- 

 coast regions of tropical Africa. Mr. R. C. Phillips, in answer 

 to a question as to the fitness of the Congo districts for emigra- 

 tion, said that during the sixteen years he had known the river 

 (he spoke of it from the mouth up to Vivi) he had seen only- 

 three or four white ladies there, and they had either died or 

 been invalided home. At St. Paul de Loanda and other places 

 on the coast the white ladies looked very sallow, and their 

 children did not seem healthy. The population had to be kept 

 up by importation from Europe, His opinion was that the 

 Congo in general was no place for Europeans. 



Account of a recent Visit to the ancient Forphyry Quarries of 

 Eg)'pt, by W. Brindley. — Egyptian porphyry has been sought 

 after from the earliest times, as one of the most precious building 

 stones. Ancient writers differed as to the whereabouts of the 

 quarries from which that stone was obtained, and in modem 

 times they were literally rediscovered by Burton and Wilkinson 

 in 1823, and subsequently visited by Lepsius in 1845. The 

 information published by these visitors provin;j of no immediately 

 practical value, the author determined to follow in the footsteps 

 of Wilkinson, and, accompanied by his wife, he came to Cairo 

 in February last. Having examined the ancient granite quarries 

 at the first cataract, which supplied deep red, rose, and dark 

 grey stone, which was quarried by metal wedges, and not wood 

 (as is generally supposed), the author started from Keneh with 

 a small caravan and supplies calculated to last three weeks. 

 Passing the remains of several Roman stations, the author, on^ 

 the fifth day, reached an excellent well in the charming Wadi 

 Kitar, hemmed in on three sides by precipitous mountains. Soon 

 after leaving this valley he crossed the watershed (2400 feet above 

 the Nile), and then travelled along the flank of the immense 

 porphyry mountain of Gebel Dukhan as far as the old Roman 

 station with an old fort. The morning after his arrival the 

 author ascended to the top of a pass (3100 feet), without having 

 found even a fragment of porphyry ; but espying by the aid of 

 a good field-glass porphyry colouring on the opposite mountain 

 he resolved to go there, and his delight knew no bounds when 

 he found the ground there strewn with pieces of the most sump- 

 tuous porphyry, and discovered a pitched way or slide, 16 feet 

 wide, down which the blocks were lowered. Further examina- 

 tion led him to the locality where the Romans had extracted 

 their grandest masses, and he found that these quarries had 

 yielded not only the usual spotted variety but also the brecciated 

 sorts and green-greys The great quarry was at an altitude of 

 3650 feet above the sea, and a road led down to it to an ancient 

 town with workshops. A path led hence to the old town in the 

 valley, further up which are the ruins of a Roman temple. T he 

 blocks were formerly carried to the Nile, a distance of 96 miles, 

 but they will in future be conveyed by a gentle incline to the 

 Red Sea, which is about 25 miles distant. On his return to- 

 Cairo the author secured a concession to rework the quarries, the 

 terms of which have since been ratified. 



I^Tatabeleland and the Country between the Zambesi and the 

 Limpopo, by Ccpt. C. E. Haynes, R.E. — The Matabele are the 

 near kinsmen of the Zulus, and have nearly identical customs. 

 They were driven out of Zululand about the beginning of the 

 century, and under their chief Umselikazi, they became a terror 

 to all the Bechuana tribes living north of the Vanl River. 

 Attacked by the Voortrek Boers, and by the Zulus under Panda, 

 they were forced to retire north of the Limpopo, and finally 

 settled down in the midst of the Makalaka and Mashona tribes. 

 About the same period the (^aza kingdom was established by 

 Manikuza, one of Chaka's generals, to the east of the Sabi 

 River. The invasion of the Matabele has caused the annihila- 

 tion or disruption of the tribes with whom they came into 

 conflict. There are only fragments of the aboriginal people 

 now, who still carry on in a furtive manner some of their old 

 industries, such as gold-digging, iron-working, and weaving. The 

 climate of Matabeleland resembles that of the Transvaal, and the 

 high veldt which ranges from the Nat 1 River to the vicinity of the 

 Zambesi near Tete, is well fitted for European settlers, and pro- 

 mises to become a prosperous agricultural region, with numerous 

 local markets at hand in the mining districts. Care should be 

 taken to protect the forests there. Their wholesale destruction has- 

 already begun. The Gaza country and the low veldt is not so^ 

 salubrious, and, generally speaking, the Zambesi valley is 

 malarious. Agriculture at present is in a depressed state. 

 There is plenty of arable land on the high veldt^ and excellent 



