June 28, 1894] 



NATURE 



1 1 



Irought and the ravages of these pests, which stripped the 

 scanty bushes of every green leaf till they were nothing more 

 than bundles of bare sticks, the surrounding country presented 

 an appearance of desolation that defies description. 



Under such circumstances of heat, sand and effluvia, it is not 

 surprising that the health of the party suffered eventually from 

 ophthalmia and gaslro-intestinal complants, and, indeed, it was 

 chiefly this which led to the breaking up of the camp at the end 

 of November for the time being. 



It would be an unworthy omission if I were not P.nallv to 

 acknowlege the cheerfulness and skill with which Mr. Zietz 

 performed his duties under somewhat arduous and depressing 

 circumstances ; indeed, whatever satisfactory results may have 

 been achieved by this expedition they are most chiefly due to his 

 indefatigable zeal in the interests of pal.xontology and of his 

 museum. To the Messrs. Ragless our best thanks are due for 

 iheir kindness and hospitality to members of the party at 

 various times, and for many necessary articles supplied, some- 

 times, I fear, at their own inconvenience. Our great obliga- 

 tion to the Government of South Australia for the loan of 

 camels, granted through the mediation of Mr. Goyder, the 

 Surveyor General, I have already acknonledged. 



For the preceding notes I can only claim that they comprise 

 but a rough and imperfect epitome of the physical features of 

 the fossiliferous area, and of the conduct of the Museum party's 

 operations up to the present time. As has been already stated, 

 until the whole of the specimens have been unpacked, cleaned, 

 mended, examined and compared, no accurate summary of the 

 palajontological results can be given. It must further be 

 remembered, that the South Australian Museum has recently 

 shared in a general retrenchment imposed upon all Government 

 institutions by the financial exigencies of the day, and that at 

 this very time when the limited museum staff is called upon to 

 deal with, for it, an unprecedented mass of material, it is also 

 called upon to remove and re-airange, with expedition, the 

 whole of its collection in a new and more commodious building. 

 1 mention these facts as a plea for some indulgence for the 

 delay that must inevitably take place, even with such collabora- 

 tion as we may hope to secure, before the full scientific results 

 can be made known. 



Recognising the extreme promise of this discovery at Lake 

 Callabonna, no hesitation was felt by the Museum Committee 

 in subordinating all other work for a time to its vigorous prose- 

 cution. But for reasons, to which I have just alluded, excava- 

 tions could only have been continued for a very limited time, 

 had it not been for the very timely, generous, and unconditional 

 assistance afforded by Sir Thomas Elder, G.C.M.G., a gentle- 

 man who stands conspicuous amongst .\ustralian colonists '^or the 

 liberal support he has so frequently and so munificently dis- 

 played in the interests of education and exploration in South 

 Australia. This latest benefaction has enabled much to be 

 done under undoubted difficulties, but much yet remains to be 

 done, and it is hoped that, at a more favourable season, 

 the work now for a time suspended may be resumed, to 

 yield results still more favourable than those hitherto achieved. 

 In the meantime the area comprising the lake has been reserved 

 by the Government for the purposes of further exploration to be 

 carried on under the authority and direction of the South 

 Australian Museum. 



KAFIR/STAN. 



"yUE concluding meeting of the Royal Geographical Society 

 ■'■ for the pre-;ent session was held on June 25, when a paper 

 on Kafirislan was read by Surgeon-Major G. S. Robertson. 

 Kafiristan is the least known part of Asia, and Dr. Robertson is 

 the first European who has succeeded in penetrating its re- 

 mote valleys, and making the acquaintance of the primitive 

 tribes who dwell there. 



Kafiristan is a geographical expression used to designate the 

 country of those non-Mahomedan tribes who inhabit that space 

 left blank in our maps, which is bounded on the east by Chitral 

 and the Kunar valley, on the south-east by the Kunar valley, 

 on the west by .Afghanistan, and on the north by the Hindu 

 Kush and by Kadakhshan. Politically speaking, the whole 

 regim is bounded on the east by Chitral and the debatable land 

 of the Kunar valley, and on all other sides by .\fghan territory. 

 All the rivers of Kafiristan drain into the Kabul river. The 

 parts of this country explored during a year's stay included the 

 Bashgul valley and many of its subsidiary valleys, from the head 



NO. i^S;. VOL. 50] 



of which a passage was made to the Minjan valley of Badakhshan. 

 The Kunar valley was also visited, and the valley known as 

 \'iron by ihe Mahomedans, and Presun by the Kafir-, was 

 finally reached and found to be the most sacred part of this 

 well-secluded country and the most interesting. Tribal 

 jealousy made progress very difficult, but Dr. Robertson's 

 journey and sojourn did not cost a single life, a very remark- 

 able fact in a country where homicide is not regarded as criminal. 

 All the passes leading into Kafiristan from Badakhshan are 

 more than 15,000 feet in elevation, and internal communication 

 between valley and valley is completely cut off in winter, when 

 the various tribes live in absolute seclusion, each in its own 

 district. The tracks which take the place of roads are 

 narrow and difficult, running along the river valleys in many 

 parts ; they can only be Iraver.sed by experienced men ; dogs 

 cannot pass some of the difficult points without assistance. 



The origin of the people is unkmwn. Classifying the tribes 

 according to speech, there are, first, the SiahPosh ; secondly, 

 the Wai, including probably the Ashkun ; thirdly, the Presun. 

 The Presun are certainly unlike alli other Kafirs ; they are 

 possibly an aboriginal race. Dr. Robertson could never learn 

 to repeat nor could remember one single word of their lan- 

 guage ; indeed, at their religious functions the sounds 

 uttered by the officiating priests seemed more like a soft 

 musical mewing than .inything else. 



Their customs are very peculiar and extremely primitive. 

 One of the most curious is that a chief on his appointment, 

 or anyone who excels in athletic exercise, does not receive 

 tribute or reward, but is expected to feast all his neighbours as 

 a thanksgiving for his exceptional distinction. The physique 

 of the people was splendid, perfect muscular development 

 being the rule, and fat men were quite unknown amongst 

 them. They are great dancers, and have many ceremonial 

 dances of much complexity. Funeral ceremonials are elaborate, 

 and last a long time ; but marriage is performed with the mini- 

 mum of ceremony, the only essential being the payment of pur- 

 chase-money to the bride's parents. The people were boastful, 

 and at first it was impossible to get them to speak the truth on 

 any subject ; but they are brave to the last degree, and have 

 maintained their independence for centuries against all comers. 



.\ short paper was re.ad at the same meeting by Mr. F. G. 

 Jackson, describing the equipment of the Jackson-Harmsworth 

 polar expedition and its proposed route. 



SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION AND RESEARCH.^ 

 "PNGLISH boys and girls at the present day are the victims 

 ■^ of excessive lesson learning, and are also falling a prey, in 

 increasing numbers year by year, to the examination-demon, 

 which threatens to become by far the most ruthless monster 

 the world has ever known either in fact or in fable. Ask any 

 teacher who has to do with students fresh from school his 

 opinion of them : he will say that in the great majority of cases 

 they have little if any power of helping themselves, little desire 

 to learn about things, little if any observing power, little desire to 

 reason on what they see or are called onto witness; that they 

 are destitute of the sense of accuracy, and satisfied with 

 any performance however slovenly ; that, in shott, they are 

 neither inquisitive nor adjuisitive, and as they too often are 

 idle as well, the opportunities offered to them are blindly sacri- 

 ficed. A considerable proporiion undoubtedly are by nature 

 mentally very feeble ; but the larger number are by no means 

 without ability, and are, in fact, victims of an acquired disease. 

 We miisl find a remedy for this slate of things, or perish in the 

 face of the terrific competiiion now setting in. Hoys and girls 

 at school must be taught from the very earliest moment to Jo 

 and to apprtciati. It is of no uie our teaching them merely 

 about things, however interesting — no facts must be taught 

 without their use being taught simultaneously ; and, as far as 

 possible, they must be led to discover the facts for themselves, 

 instead of our placing condensed summaries in their hands, 

 we must lead them to use works of reference and acquire 

 the habit of finding out ; they must always be at work 

 applying their knowledge and solving problems. It is a 

 libel on the human race to say, as many do, that children 

 cannot think and reason, and that they can only be taught 

 facts ; early childhood is the time at which these faculties 

 are most apparent, and it is probably through failure to 



I Extracted from the Presidential address delivered by Dr. H. E. 

 Armstrong, F.R.S., al the Chemical Society, on .MarcSaa. _ 



