272 



IJIirOHT — IH.S-I. 



liour's il!n("<-i or iiidlsivisitioii. Sii- .loliii Kiik lia> sliowti mo tlio utmost 

 kiiuliu'ss situi lioHpitalily, iitid liis lii'lp ami liis iiitliiL'm-i> liiivo smootluMl 

 away many (lilliciiltics. Tlio expedition prumisi's most favourably, as tlio 

 j)i rscnt ciiiidit ion of (lu! coinitiMcs to l)c tmvt'fnt'd is good juid peaceful, 

 food abiiiidaid, and provisions cheap 



' I have obtained the services of three n\' Dr. Fischer's bird-skinners, 

 jmd have ^n)t. one botanical coUeetor, trained nnder Sir John Kii'k, 

 and ac(inainled with the mysteries of '" sohlering " and preservinj,' 

 in spirit. I have sent for rectified spirit fi-oni Hombay, and in the 

 int(?rval am iisini; traiki gin. The Sultan has '^'iven me three kegs of 

 gunpowder to give as {)resents to chiefs, and has also furnished me with 

 letters of introchurtion. 



' I am in excellent condition, and start to-day on my jouruoy iii tho 

 best spirits and with the strongest iioj)es of its success,' 



Jlrpoii of IIh' CoiiDiiiUee, consisli iii/ of Hi'' Kev. Cimoii Tristram, 

 the Rev. V. Lawrknck, (ind Mr. Jam];s (Jlaishkii {Secretary), for 

 promo/ inu the Survey of Kostern l\tlefittiie. 



Tin; Committee proceed to give an abridged account of tho scientific 

 results of the exjicdition conducted by Professo'- Hull, in tho winter of 

 1883-H.f. These, in fact, are the results of their labours sin:!0 tho last 

 meeting of this Association. Professor J lull reports as foUow-s : 



'The ("onimittee of tho Palestine Exploration Fund, in the summer of 

 18So, resolved u])on sending out an expedition to examine tho geological 

 structure of the Jordan viilley and Western Palestine, together with that 

 of the valley of the Aral)ah, with a view to detcrmino the mode of their 

 foi'mati(tn and physical history. It was als(j intended to connect the 

 triangulation of the district of Blount Sinai (Jebol Musa) with that of 

 Westei'u Palestine along tho district of the AVadycl Arabali ; and to du- 

 termine the elevation above tho sea of the watershed (or " saddle ") of 

 that valley, with reference to the practicability of the projected "Jordan 

 Valley Canal Scheme." Several collateral objects were also kept in view 

 — such as the investigation of the sites of Ezion-geber, Kadesh-barnea, 

 and other localities connected with the Israelitish migration and history ; 

 but in this place only the scientific aspects of the expedition will be 

 referred to. 



' Besides the author, who was put in command of the expedition, the 

 other members were ^Fajor Kitchener, 11. E., and Mr. Armstrong (formerly 

 tSergeant-Major, It.E.), who joined us in Egypt; Mr. H. C. Hart, Trin. Coll., 

 Dublin, who had been a member of Captain Nares' Polar Expedition, and 

 now joined as botanist and natux'alist ; !Mr. Reginald Lawrence, Asso- 

 ciate of the Royal College of Science, Dublin, who acted as meteorologist; 

 and Dr. ]']. Gordon Hull, Avho was appointed assistant and medical officer.' 



' The arrangements for providing camels, tents, food, and supplies were 

 undertaken gratuitously by the well-known firm of Messrs, T. Cook & 



' Jlr. Hart has considerably addod to the recognised flora of the district travcrsetl, 

 and Air. I.awrciico lins furnished a daily register of tlic temperature and aneroid 

 readings, Dr, Vj. G. Hull brought home a largo number of photographs. 



