July 12, 1877] 



NATURE 



209 



GEOGRAPHICAL WORK IN RUSSIA DURING 

 1876' 



THE most important journeys by Russian geographers 

 during 1876 were those of MM. Prshevalsky and 

 Potanin in Central Asia, of Dr. Mikluho-Maclay in Poly- 

 nesia, and the meteorological journey of M. VVojeikoff 

 round the world. We have from time to time given 

 notes of the progress made by M. Prshevalsky, and of 

 the journeys of Mikluho-Maclay. 



M. Potanin left Bulun Tokhoi (NATURE, vol. xv., p. 

 461) on August 20, and after having followed the eastern 

 shore of the lake Ulungur, and crossed the deep and 

 rapid Black Irtysh at Durbeldjin, he reached the river 

 Kran, at Fulta, close by the Lamaite convent, Shara 

 Suma. The fertile valley of the Kran is the storehouse 

 for the Southern Altai region ; the Kirghises come here 

 to purchase grain from the eastern slopes of the Altai 

 and from the valley of Kobdo. The crossing of the 

 Altai by the Djamaty pass, at the sources of the Black 

 Irtysh, having been reported as very difficult, M. Potanin 

 crossed the ridge by a more southern pass, Urmogaity, 

 at the sources of the Kran river (9,coo feet above the 

 sea), and entered on a wide hilly plateau covered with 

 numerous lakes, and gently sloping to the east by a series 

 of terraces, divided by border ridges. The easternmost of 

 these ridges runs north and south, reaches 10,000 feet at 

 the Terekty-asoo pass, and separates the high terrace of 

 the Deloon river from the low tract on which the town 

 Kobdo is built. This place was reached by M. Potanin 

 on October 16. Rich collections of plants, insects, and 

 birds were made during the journey, as well as a survey 

 and a geological sketch of the route, together with deter- 

 minations of latitudes and barometrical measurements of 

 heights. 



A most important work accomplished by the Russian 

 Geographical Society during 1875 and 1876 is the geo- 

 metrical levelling made along the Siberian highway, from 

 Ekaterinburg to Irkutsk, on a distance of 2,236 miles. 

 All meteorologists are well aware what a gap in our 

 knowledge as to the distribution of pressure of the air 

 upon the surfaces of large continents, arises from 

 a want of geodetically-measured heights of meteo- 

 rological stations. All attempts to trace isobars upon 

 the Asiatic continent (one of which was made in the 

 standard work of Mr. Buchan) have failed until now, the 

 heights of the meteorological stations at Omsk, Tonesk, 

 Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, and Nerchinsk having only now 

 been directly measured. The Geographical Society has 

 undertaken a geometrical levelling along the whole line, 

 Ekaterinburg to Irkutsk, which levelling will afterwards 

 be continued to Nerchinsk and Tashkend. This difficult 

 enterprise, carried on with all possible accuracy, is now 

 completed with full success, and the superintendent of the 

 levelling, M. Moshkoff, is now busily engaged in com- 

 puting the definitive results. 



A yet more important undertaking, accomplished by the 

 Russian geodesists. Col, Sharnhorst and Capt. Kulberg, 

 during the years 1873-1876, is the precise determination 

 of longitudes, by means of telegraphic signals, carried out 

 along an arc of 103', between Moscow and Vladivostok, 

 on the Pacific. But this work is so important that we 

 hope to be able to give a special report upon it. 



We may also mention the work of Capt. Onats^vich on 

 the shores of Russian Manchooria (Nature, vol. xv. 

 p. 417), and the important cartographical work of M. 

 Sidensner between the Obi and Jeniasei rivers. 



Most valuable work was done also during 1876 by the 

 Siberian branch of the Geographical Society. The mea- 

 surements of depth of the Baikal were continued by MM. 

 Dybovsky and Godlevsky, and showed that the greatest 

 depth of the lake is to be found in its southern part and 

 close to its north-western shore. M. Grebnitsky explored 

 the region of the Southern Usuri and returned with valu- 



' " Report of the Russian Geographical Society for 1876," by the secre 

 tary, V. 1. Srezneviky. 



able geological and botanical collections. M. Chersky 

 explored the valley of the Irkut river and arrived at very 

 important results, the chief of which are : — (l) that this 

 valley is geologically a very old westerly extension of the 

 Baikal trough ; (2) that it contains immense glacial de- 

 posits ; and (3) that the outflows of basaltic lava in the 

 valley are, with one exception, pre-gLrcial. We notice 

 also the entomological excursions anti the exploration of 

 the Kasbek ( Devdorak) glacier, made by members of the 

 Caucasian branch of the Society. 



Besides these explorations, the Society has also issued 

 some valuable publications. The most important of them 

 are — (l) the fourth volume of supplements to Ritter's 

 " Asia," being a description, by MM. Semenof and 

 Potanin, of the Altai and Sayan highlands, according to 

 works which appeared from 1S36 to 1872 ; the names of 

 the two authors sufficiently recommend the work ; and 

 (2) the second volume of M. Prshevalsky's "Travels in 

 Mongolia," which contains — the Climatology and Orni- 

 thology, by the traveller himself ; the Herpetology, by 

 Prof. Strauch ; and the Ichthyology, by Prof. Kessler. 

 The seventh volume of the Memoirs o^\.\\x. Society contains 

 the first part of the work of Prince Kropotkin, " On the 

 Glacial "Period in Finland and on the Bases of the Glacial 

 Theory," with numerous maps and engravings. The 

 Isvestia (Bulletin) of the Society contains, besides valu- 

 able small contributions, two very valuable maps of the 

 Hissar and Koolab beckdoms, by M. Mayeff, and of the 

 Lower Tunguska River, by M. Chekanofsky. 



The scientific results of the expedition made to the 

 Amu-daria in 1875 and 1876, will appear very soon. 

 They contain the astronomical, magnetical, and me- 

 teorological observations made by M. Dorandt, and a 

 thorough and elaborate hydrographical description of 

 the Amu-daria, by M. Zulotf, with the collaboration of 

 Col. Makshdeff. The first of these works is already 

 printing, and contains abundance of most valuable me- 

 teorological data (pressure, temperature of air and of the 

 soil, evaporation, level of water, variations of magnetical 

 elements, &;c.). The Meteorological Committee of the 

 Society is engaged in preparing complete tables of the 

 amount of snow and rain during 1872- 1876, measured at 

 the numerous stations organised by the Society. Finally, 

 we can only mention some of the various works issued by 

 the Society in the departments of Ethnography, Statistics, 

 and Historical Geography ; as, for instance, those on the 

 trade in grain in Western Russia, by M. Rayevsky ; the 

 ethnographical description, with maps of South- Western 

 Russia, by M. Gildebrand ; the text to the ethnographical 

 map of Russia, published by M. Rittich, being now at 

 press ; and many other valuable works of less im- 

 portance. 



A POCKET HAMMOCK 



IN these days, when exploring tours and extended 

 scientific excursions are so universal, it is a great 

 advantage to be able to take up one's bed and walk, to be 

 in short entirely independent of sleeping accommodation. 

 Even in our own country it is often an advantage to the 

 working geologist, or botanist, or zoologist, to be inde- 

 pendent in this respect, and while it is sometimes no 

 great hardship to make one's bed on the heather or grass 

 under the lea of a broom-bush or dyke, still it is seldom 

 advisable to do so if it can be avoided. Many of our 

 readers will therefore be glad to know that Seydel and 

 Co. of Birmingham have devised a handy hammock, 

 which bears the name of the " Ashantee Hammock," front 

 its having been found of great service during the Ashantee 

 campaign. Sir Garnett Wolseley testifying strongly to its 

 manifold utility. It is made of light but strong netting, 

 and can be so folded up as to be slung over the shoulder 

 like a bag, or even carried in a fair-sized coat-pocket. 

 From the arrangement of the ropes, hooks, and screws, it 

 can be used under almost any circumstances, and, as we 



