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established in Narragansett Bay. The instruments for a compass 

 testing-house are now in the possession of the Bureau, and a 

 building will be erected when the appropriation is made. In 

 view of the probable necessity of compensating the compasses of 

 these new vessels, a binnacle has been designed in the Bureau 

 for this purpose, and it will be placed in the Dolphin to be 

 tested. 



In accordance with a recommendation of the recent Geodetic 

 Conference, we learn from Science a series of observations for 

 latitude is to be made at the U.S. Naval Observatory, which, 

 taken in connection with a similar series made elsewhere, and 

 compared with observations made after an interval of some years, 

 will assist in determining whether there are any slow changes 

 taking place in latitudes upon the earth. Lisbon, which is very 

 near the same parallel as Washington, is expected to co-operate 

 with the Naval Observatory. The observations will be made 

 with the prime vertical instrument ; and at Washington a line 

 officer of the navy will be detailed for the work, which will 

 probably require several years. 



At University College, London, Dr. J. A. Fleming will 

 commence a course of lectures and demonstrations on Modern 

 Applications of Electricity in the Arts, on Friday, February 6, 

 at 4 p.m. The first lecture will be open to the public without 

 payment or tickets. 



The Revue S:icnlifii]Hc now publishes a weekly supplement 

 containing reports of the proceedings of the Paris scientific 

 societies ; this supplement may be obtained separately. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Moose (Alces machlis) from Russia, pre- 

 sented by Mr. Evelyn Hubbard ; a Goshawk (As/ur palum- 

 I'arius), British, presented by Mr. W. H. St. Quintin, F.Z.S. ; 

 a Pink-footed Goose [Anser brachyrkynchus), British, presented 

 by Major W. H. Fielden, C.M.Z.S. ; two Yaks (Poephagus 

 grunniens) from Tibet, six Dunlins (Trinja alpina), British, 

 purchased. 



GEOGRAPHICAL XOTES 

 At the meeting of the Paris Geographical Society on the 

 9th inst. M. Maunoir read a paper on the explorations of Capt. 

 Aymonier in Indo-China in 1883 and 1884, during which he 

 collected many epigraphical documents and notes on Northern 

 Laos and the basin of the Mouna. On December 10 the traveller 

 was to leave Saigon for Binh-Thuan, in the extreme south of 

 Annam, to study the monuments left behind by the Cham. It 

 is wholly new ground. A letter was read from the French Consul 

 at Zanzibar giving the latest geographical news from Eastern 

 Africa. M. Deloncle summarised his recent exploration in 

 Malacca. M. Paul Fauquc, who is charged by the Ministry of 

 Education with a scientific mission to Sumatra, described the 

 results of his journey, and gave more details on the character, 

 manners, and customs of the natives of the Siak country and 

 of the Kingdom of Acheen. He added much valuable informa- 

 tion on the geography, natural history, and mineralogy of this 

 great island. His collections are to be distributed amongst 

 various museums in France. The following medals were 

 awarded : — A gold medal to M. de Foucauld for his journey in 

 South Morocco and his exploration of the southern extremity of 

 the Atlas Mountains ; a gold medal to Dr. Neis for four 

 journeys in Indo-China and in the hitherto unexplored parts of 

 Laos; the La Roquette prize to the Danish summary of geo- 

 logical and geographical enterprises in Greenland (Meddelelser 

 cm Greenland) ; the Jernard prize to M. Leroux, the publisher, 

 for the volume of documents on the history of geography from 

 the thirteenth to the sixteenth century ; and the Echard prize 

 to M. Dumas Vorzet for maps and cartographical labours. M. 

 Allain referred to the defectiveness of geographical education 

 in some public educational establishments, and advised that all 

 the State libraries in Paris should be provided with as complete 

 a collection as possible of geographical works. 



The editor of Pdcrmanns Mitlheilungen has issued a circular 

 with the January number of his journal, giving notice that in 



future the monthly parts will consist of three main sections : 

 (1) Original papers, as heretofore ; (2) a monthly report of the 

 advances of geographical discovery and colonisation in coun- 

 tries outside Europe ; (3) a literary section referring to recent 

 geographical and cartographical works, with the exception of 

 pure travels, which will be dealt with in the second section. 

 The valuable supplementary parts (Erghnzungsheften) will be 

 continued as before. 



The report has been published of a journey by four French 

 officers among the Muongs of the Black River, which enters the 

 Red River of Tonquin a little below Sontay. These tribes are 

 described as more civilised than the Mois of Cochin China ; 

 they are practically independent, although the Annamites profess 

 to appoint their chiefs ; they are very warlike, intelligent, and 

 industrious, making their own arms, which are sometimes very 

 beautiful. After having acquired all the information they could 

 as to Muong silk and silk manufactures, the travellers explored 

 the mountainous regions among the district. There are gold 

 mines in the hills worked by Chinese, but at some of them 

 they have armed themselves in great numbers since the recent 

 troubles, and will allow no one, French or Muong, to approach 

 them. The members of the expedition, however, saw enough 

 to convince them that the district is rich in minerals, especially 

 gold. 



The Argentine expedition to the Chaco will, it is stated, have 

 the result of adding a large territory to civilisation and agricul- 

 ture. This forms for the most part the basin of the Rio 

 Bermejo, or Red River, which flows down from the Andes, and 

 commences to be of importance towards the 61st degree of 

 longitude. Soon after it receives the waters of the Tenco, and 

 should be navigable unless its bed is obstructed by the trunks of 

 trees and if it does not traverse lagoons where its channel will 

 be difficult to find. It flows in a south-westerly direction, and 

 enters the Rio Paraguay after a course of about 500 kilometres. 

 The districts through which it flows are well-wooded ; they are 

 inhabited by tribes of Indians, whose favourite weapon is the 

 arrow, and who, when they do not live by hunting and fishing, 

 exist on the locusts which abound and on the cattle which they 

 can contrive to steal fro n the Argentines. The number of 

 inhabitants of this part of the Chaco is estimated at 10,000. 



Globus publishes a letter from Dr. Claus, a member of th • 

 Steinen expedition into one of the most unexplored parts of 

 Brazil. It was for some time doubtful whether the expedition 

 was examining the Xingu, or some other neighbouring tributary 

 of the Amazon. It appears now that the Xingu was the rive, 

 explored. On May 26, 1884, the expedition left Cuyaba, the 

 capital of the Brazilian province, Matto Grosso, arrived on 

 July 20 at Rio Batovy, and in the end of October at Para, at 

 the mouth of the Amazon. Dr. Claus writes that they com- 

 pletely carried out their programme. After a journey of tw > 

 months from Cuyaba, they sailed in canoes down a small river, 

 which, according to the maps, should belong to the Xingu 

 region. The districts around the source of this river are 

 inhabited by numerous tribes who have never met with white 

 men, and who use only implements of stone and bone. At the 

 12th parallel they came on the Xingu. The cataracts caused 

 the travellers the utmost difficulty, and they also suffered much 

 from hunger. For a whole month they had nothing but beans 

 to eat. During part of the descent of the Xingu, also, they met 

 with the same troubles and privations ; but towards the end of 

 their journey they fared much better, passing along] from one 

 Indian village to another. On October 15 they arrived at the 

 first Brazilian settlement on the 4th parallel. The head of the 

 expedition has a large collection of Indian objects, and the 

 collections of the others, though much damaged by water, are 

 otherwise safe. 



Mr. Wm. Cameron, F.G.S., an indefatigable explorer of 

 Malayan countries, has just prepared, at Singapore, a large and 

 elaborate map, on a scale of half an inch to the mile, of districts 

 recently explored by him in Selangor, Ulu Selangor, Sungei 

 Ujong, and other parts of the Malay Peninsula. The map is 

 said to be excellently drawn up, and to be a valuable acquisition 

 to our existing geographical knowledge of the Malay Peninsula, 

 which is somewhat limited. 



A geographical conference is about to be held in Melbourne 

 on the occasion of the first annual meeting of the Victorian 

 branch of the Geographical Society of Australia. Members of 

 the general council of the Society, as well as of the local councils 



