116 
NA LURE 
[JuNE 1, 1899 
encroaching on the coast. The low water line has crept land- 
ward, and the beach has become more steep. There has also 
been a wasting away of the foot of the sand dunes. 
For the first part of the period over which the observations 
extend (1843-56), there appears to have been a retreat of the 
low water line from the shore, and consequent increase in 
width of the beach, in the northern portion of the coast for 
the first forty-four miles, and this continued up to 1866 to a less 
extent. After this, the low water line began to advance land- 
wards until 1877, when the northern beach began again to grow 
wider, but the decrease continued along the southern half. On 
an average there has been a loss of beach along the whole 
coast between 1846 and 1894, the total average loss for the 
forty-six years being 155 feet for North Holland and 108 
feet for South Holland. The greatest change has taken place 
between the Helder and Petten, a distance of 12 miles, the 
low water line having advanced landward an average of 
160 feet. Near Callangstoog, where the effect of the great gale 
of 1894 was most felt, the low water line is from 200 to 270 
feet more inland than in 1846, and the foot of the dunes has 
been driven back more than 300 feet. 
Near Zandvoort there has been a gain of 100 to 130 feet. 
Near Scheveningen the low water line has approached nearer 
the shore, for a length of about four miles for about 200 
feet, and the foot of the dunes has been scoured away to an 
average of 100 feet, and in one place as much as 400 feet. 
The dunes have also wasted, although in a less degree. 
From the Helder to Egmont, a distance of 25 miles, there has 
been an average loss of about 150 feet. From there to 
Ymuiden the foot of the dunes has remained about stationary ; 
and from Ymuiden to the Hook of Holland, excluding the part 
at Scheveningen, there has been an average gain of about 65 feet. 
Ymuiden Harbour is situated nearly in the centre of the embay- 
ment, and the piers project about a mile out from the shore. The 
works were commenced in 1865, and finished in 1876. Since the 
commencement of the piers, sand has accumulated both on the 
north and south sides of the harbour, and in 1894 the accumu- 
lation had extended along the north pier seaward for a distance 
of about 1500 feet, and along the beach for 14 miles, this 
being the measure of the two sides of the triangle forming the 
pocket where the material had collected. 
On the south side of the harbour the seaward measurement of 
the accumulation was at the same period 360 feet, and along the 
beach about 14 miles. 
The material thus accumulated appears to be due to a trans- 
position of material, as previous to the piers the beach was 
increasing at this part of the coast, and has since considerably 
diminished. 
The accumulation at the piers, forming the entrance to the 
Maas, which extend seaward about a mile, has not been so 
creat. On the north side the sand has extended seaward, since 
the construction of the piers in 1863-72,820 feet, the width of 
the extension along the beach being 2 miles. On the south 
side the accumulation extends outwards 700 feet. Here also 
there is a corresponding diminution of the beach for some 
distance to the north of the piers. 
In December 1894 there occurred a very heavy gale, accom- 
panied by the highest tide on the Dutch coast recorded during 
the present century, and an immense amount of damage was 
done to the fishing fleet. Out of 200 boats moored at the foot 
of the sand hills near Scheveningen, not one escaped without 
injury, and many were entirely destroyed. The damage done 
to the sand dunes, on which this part of the country depends for 
its protection from the sea, was very extensive, and throughout 
nearly the whole length the foot was washed away, leaving 
the mounds with steep sides. The stone pitching on the 
Helder Sea Dyke was damaged over a surface of about 5000 
square yards. In North Holland, the tide broke through the 
sand hills in several places, and near Callanstoog the hills were 
breached for a distance of 2 miles, the tide inundating the 
low land behind. W. H. WHEELER. 
RESULTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION 
TO SOKOTRA. 
URING the past winter a biological and geographical in- 
vestigation of the Island of Sokotra (lying in about 12° 
north latitude and 54° east longitude), some 600 miles south-east 
of Aden, was undertaken, on behalf of the British Museum, by 
Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, and, on behalf of the Liverpool Cor- 
NO. 1544, VOL. 60] 
poration, by the Director of Museums (Dr. H. O. Forbes). 
Mr, W. Cutmore, of the Liverpool Museum, accompanied the 
party as taxidermist. From the Az/l/etin of the Liverpool 
Museums we learn that the expedition landed at Aden on 
November 18, 1898. Political difficulties between the Govern- 
ment of India and the Sultan of Sokotra unfortunately caused 
some delay in starting, but through the kindness of the Political 
Resident, Brigadier-General Creagh, V.C., these days were 
employed in visiting Sheik Othman and Lahej in South Arabia, 
where collections of considerable interest were made. On 
December 1, the difficulties referred to having been surmounted, 
the party was enabled to leave for Sokotra on board the Royal 
Indian Marine steamer £/phznstone, which had most generously 
been placed at its disposal by the Indian Government. Per- 
mission was also kindly given to detain the vessel for some days 
at Abd-el-Kuri, a previously unexplored island lying between 
Sokotra and Cape Guardafui, the eastern horn of Africa. There 
four days were spent in making as complete a collection of the 
fauna, flora and geology of the island as the time permitted. 
On December 7, the expedition was landed on Sokotra, near 
Hadibu, the capital, and it remained on the island till February 
22, 1899. On the return voyage, a second visit was paid to 
Abd-el-Kuri for a couple of days, to enable more complete col- 
lections from that out-of-the-way spot to be made. 
A complete account of Sokotra, with a map, a list of the col- 
lections, and full descriptions of the new species obtained by the 
expedition, illustrated by plates and blocks, will be published 
as a special volume, which is now in active preparation. Mean- 
while, short diagnoses of some of the more conspicuous zoo- 
logical novelties are given in the May number of the Bulletin 
of the Liverpool Museums. 
Dr. Forbes reports to the Museums Sub-Committee that 
the share which Liverpool receives of the collections is as 
follows :—Of mammals, there are examples of one or two 
species of rat, of one species of civet cat, of one species of bat, 
and of the wild ass. Of birds, there are some 300 specimens, 
250 in skin and 50 in spirit, out of which seven species have 
been diagnosed as new to science; a large series of reptiles 
has been acquired, which contains one genus and eight species 
new to herpetology. Numerous scorpions, millipedes and 
spiders, their exact number not yet ascertained, have been ob- 
tained, among which there turn out to be at least one new 
genus and seven new species ; the land-shells number several 
thousands, of which Mr. Edgar Smith, ot the British Museum, 
has already described eight species as new to his department 
of zoology. No doubt others will prove to be previously un- 
known. Of insects—almost the whole of which were collected 
by Mr. Ogilvie-Grant—there are several thousands, the majority 
of which have not yet been examined. : 
The plants, of which living specimens or ripe seeds—over 
200 in number—have been brought home, are not only of the 
highest scientific interest, but, being at this moment unique out 
of Sokotra, are of great commercial value. Their cultivation 
is being undertaken by Prof. Bayley Balfour in the Royal 
Botanical Gardens, in Edinburgh. The plants, when in a con- 
dition to exhibit, will attract the keenest interest of all horti- 
culturists by the beauty of many of them and by the bizarre 
form of others. 
The report states that the true Sokoterians are only poorly 
civilised Mohamedans, living in caves or rude cyclopean huts, 
and possess but few utensils, implements, or ornaments, and 
no weapons. The ethnographical collection is consequently 
very small. Specimens of their pottery, of their primitive 
quern-like mills, of their basket work, and of their weaving 
apparatus were, however, obtained, and also two large blocks 
of stone, inscribed with an ancient script, which may perhaps 
throw some light on the indigenes of the island ina past age, 
and of whose cyclopean remains photographs were obtained. 
Dr. Forbes concludes his report by pointing out that among 
scientific circles, especially among geographers and biologists, 
there has everywhere been expressed the warmest appreciation 
of the liberality and public-spirited action of the Liverpool 
Museums Committee and the City Council in taking part in the 
exploration of Sokotra ; and also a hearty recognition of the 
great credit which unquestionably belongs to them of having 
been the first non-metropolitan Committee to recognise that it 
was the part of a great Corporation possessing an important 
scientific institution like the Liverpool Museums, not only to 
furnish their galleries with examples of what is already known, 
but also to further the advancement and increase of knowledge 
by actively sharing in the investigation of unknown regions. 
