November 26, 1891] 



NA TURE 



long be instructed to give practical effect henceforth to any such 

 instructions that may exist, and thus that the forward march of 

 English power may once more, as it should, be accompanied by 

 a general advance of scientific knowledge. 



Leaving Samarcand early in May, Mr. and Mrs. Littledale 

 drove in Russian post-carts up the beautiful valley of the Syr- 

 Daria, which reminded them in parts of the Vale of Kashmir, 

 as far as Osh, the last post-station. Here they organized their 

 caravan for their great adventure, the crossing of the Pamirs 

 into Kashmir. They had the advantage of previous experience 

 of Cential Asian travel, and of the cordial assistance of the 

 Russian Commandant, Colonel Deubner, who could hardly 

 have done more for the travellers had they been his own nearest 

 relatives. After much hesitation from the difficulty of obtaining 

 any trustworthy information as to the state of the Alai passes, 

 they selected the Taldik, ii,6oo feet, before crossing which, 

 they left behind the last tree and bush they were to see untill 

 reaching the valley of the Gilgit. 



Crossing the Alai plateau they proceeded by the Kizil Art 

 Pass to Karakul Lake. Thence their route led over passes of 

 15,500 feet, in sight of the great Mustag Atta to the Murgab 

 or North Oxus, which they struck at 12,300 feet, their correct 

 elevation between the Alai and Sarbad. Another pass of 14,200 

 feet led over the Alichur Pamir — where Otis poli horns lie about 

 in hundreds — to the Roshgumbaz Valley. The pass of the same 

 name was found impracticable. Mr. and Mrs. Littledale made 

 a long detour to visit the Victoria Lake, one of the sources of 

 the South Oxus, for purposes of sport. Thence they turned 

 eastwards and crossed by the Little Pamir Lake into the Valley 

 of Wakhan. When near Sardab they met with their first 

 misadventure, and this was the encounter with the troops of our 

 ally the Ameer. The civil authorities detained Mr. and Mrs. 

 Littledale for many days, and only let them go at last grudg- 

 ingly, and after having despoiled them as far as they could 

 without open robber} . 



ELIZABETH THOMPSON SCIENCE FUND. 



'X'HIS fund, which has been established by Mrs. Elizabeth 

 -*■ Thompson, of Stamford, Connecticut, " for the advance- 

 ment and prosecution of scientific research in its broadest sense," 

 now amounts to §26,000. As accumulated income will be 

 available in December next, the trustees desire to receive applica- 

 tions for appropriations in aid of scientific work. This endow- 

 ment is not for the benefit of any one department of science, but 

 it is the intention of the trustees to give the preference to those 

 investigations which cannot otherwise be provided for, which 

 have for their object the advancement of human knowledge or 

 the benefit of mankind in general, rather than to researches 

 directed to the solution of questions of merely local importance. 

 Applications for assistance from this fund, in order to receive 

 consideration, must be accompanied by full information, 

 especially in regard to the fol 'owing points : — 



(i) Precise amount required. Applicants are reminded that 

 one dollar (§1.00 or %\) is approximately equivalent to four 

 English shillings, four German marks, five French francs, or five 

 Italian lire. 



(2) Exact nature of the investigation proposed. 



(3) Conditions under which the research is to be prosecuted. 



(4) Manner in which the appropriation asked for is to be 

 expended. 



All applications should reach, before December 10, 1891, the 

 Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Dr. C. S, Minot, Harvard 

 Medical School, Boston, Ma^s. , U.S.A. 

 It is intended to make new grants at the end of 1891. 

 *,* The trustees are disinclined, for the present, to make any 

 grant exceeding three hundred dollars (§300) ; decided pre- 

 ference will be given to applications for smaller amounts. 

 (Signed) Henry P. Bowditch, President. 



William Minot, Jr., Treasurer. 

 Edward C. Pickering. 

 Francis A. Walker. 

 Charles-Sedgwick Minot, Secretary, 



List of Grants hitherto made.^ 

 I. §200, to the New England Meteorological Society, for the 

 investigation of cyclonic movements in New England. 

 {Amciican Meteorological Journal for 1887, and May 

 1888.] 

 ' The results published are given within brackets. 



NO. I I 52, VOL. 45] 



2. §150, to Samuel Rideal, Esq., of University College, 



London, England, for investigations on the absorp- 

 tion of heat by odorous gases. 



3. S75, to H. M. Howe, Esq., of Boston, Mass., for the 



investigation of fusible slags of copper and lead 

 smelting. \Traus. Amer. Institute of Mining Eri' 

 gineers, Feb., 1890.] 



4. $500, to Prof. J. Rosenthal, of Erlangen, Germany, for 



investigations on animal heat in health and disease, 

 [Sitzttngsber. A'. A had. IViss., 1888, 1309- 13 19 ; 

 1889, 245-254. Arch. Anal. u. Physiol., Suppl. 

 1888, 1-53.] 



5. $50, to Joseph Jastrow, Esq., of the Johns Hopkins 



University, Baltimore, Md., for investigations on the 

 laws of psycho-physics. [American Jotirnal Psy- 

 chology, 1890, HI., 43-58.] 



6. §200, to the Natural History Society of Montreal, for the 



investigation of underground temperatures. [Cana- 

 dian Record of Science. ] 



7. §210, to Messrs. T. Elster and H. Geitel, of Wolfenbiittel, 



Germany, for researches on the electrization of gases 

 by glowing bodies. [Sitzmigsl'cr. K. Akad. Wiss. 

 Wien., xcvii., Abth. ii., I175-1264, 1889.] 



8. §500, to Prof. E. D. Cope, of Philadelphia, Penn., to assist 



in the preparation of his monograph on American 

 fossil vertebrates. 



9. (Withdrawn.) 



10. I125, to Edw. E. Prince, Esq., of St. Andrews, Scotland, 



for researches on the development and morphology 

 of the limbs of Teleosls. [" Inaugural Dissertation," 

 Pp. 24, Pis. II., Glasgow, 1 89 1.] 



11. §250, to Herbert Tomlinson, Esq., of University College, 



England, for researches on the: effects of stress and 

 strain on the physical properties of matter. [Philos. 

 Magazine, Jan., 1890, 77-83.] 



12. 8200, to Prof. Luigi Palmieri, of Naples, Italy, for the con- 



struction of an apparatus to be used in researches on 

 atmospheric electricity. 



13. S200, to Win. H. Edwards, Esq., of Coalburg, W.Va., 



to assist the publication of his work on the butterflies 

 of North America. [" Butterflies of North America," 

 3rd Series, Part V.] 



14. $150, to the New England Meteorological Society, for 



the investigation of cyclonic phenomena in New 

 England. 

 15- ^?25, to Prof. A. F. Marion, for researches on the fauna of 

 brackish waters. 



16. 3300, to Prof. Carl Ludwig, for researches on muscular con- 



traction, to be carried on under his direction by Dr. 

 Paul Starke. [Abhandl. math. phys. Classe A'. 

 sdchs. Gts. Il'iss., xvi., 1890, I-146, Taf. i.-ix.] 



17. §200, to Dr. Paul C. Freer, for the investigation of the 



chemical constitution of graphitic acid. 



18. $300, to Dr. G. Miiller, for experiments on the resorption of 



light by the earth's atmosphere. [Publicationen 

 Astrophys. Obsci~v. Potsdam., viii., l-ioi, Taf'n 



II.] 



19. §300, to Prof. Gerhard Kriiss, for the investigation of the 



elementary constitution of erbium and didymium. 

 [Liebig's Annahn, Bd. 265, 1-27.] 



20. §50, to Dr. F. L. Hoorweg, for the investigation of the 



manner and velocity with which magnetism is pro- 

 pagated along an irv)n bar. 



21. §150, to Mr. W. H. Edwards, to assist the publication of 



his work on North American butterflies. [" Butter- 

 flies of North America," 3rd Series, Part VIIL] 



$250, to Dr. Ernst Hartwig, for researches on the physical 

 libration of the moon (see Grant No. 27). 



$200, to Prof. Charles Julin, for researches on the mor- 

 phology of Ascidians. 



§250, to Prof. M. Nencki, for researches on the deco nposi- 

 tion of albumenoids by microbes. [Arch. Expt. 

 Path. Pharniak., xxviii., 311 350, Taf. IV.-V.] 



§200, to Prof. Carl Frommann, for researches on the minute 

 organization of cells. 



$300, to Edward Atkinson, Esq., for experiments on cook- 

 ing, to be carried on under the direction of Mrs. 

 Ellen H. Richards. [Proc. Amer. Assoc. Adv. 

 Sci., 1890.] 



§250, to Dr. Ernst Hartwig, to continue the work of Grant 

 No. 22. 



