284 



NA TURE 



{jfan. 2 1, 1886 



range of the plateau of Thibet. Southern Tsaidam is an immense 

 flat land, formerly the bottom of a lake, covered with brush- 

 wood at the foot of the mountains, and with salt clay elsewhere. 

 A narrow salt lake, Dobasun-nor, extending west to east, 

 receives the rivers Bayan-gol, Naidmin-gol, and Umu-muren. 

 Pheasants are numerous in the brush and the small marslies 

 covered with rush. Other birds, even migratory, are very few, 

 as also the mammals, which must avoid a ground impregnated 

 with salt. Only bears coming from Thibet are numerous when 

 the fruits of the khormyk-hxwik are ripe. During Chingiz Khan's 

 time the legend says, the region was inhabited by agriculturists, 

 " Mongasy," who left their traces v\ irrigation canals ; but now 

 all Tsaidam is peopled only with Mongols, thinning in the south, 

 living on cattle-breeding. The Umu-muren is the western 

 boundary of the plains impregnated with salt of the southern 

 Tsaidam. Further north and north-west, as far as the Altyn- 

 tagh Mountains, extends an immense dry desert, the soil of 

 which consists of clay, sand, and gravel. Several of its parts 

 man never visits, and only savage camels wander on its barren 

 surface. M. Prjevalsky met with only two places having 

 plenty of fresh water and grazing grounds : at Hansy and at 

 Has, where a lake of the same name has a circumference of 

 nearly thirty miles. Two Cossacks were sent from Has to 

 discover a route towards Lob-nor, and after a fortnight's 

 searching they succeeded in finding a place reached by M. 

 Prjevalsky in 1S77. 



Leaving at Has some provisions under the guard of seven 

 Cossacks, the remainder of the party went west to explore the 

 valley nearly 150 miles long between the Altyn-tagh, in the 

 north, and the Kuen-lun, in the south ; the v.alley slowly rises 

 from 9000 feet at Has to 14,00^ feet at the junction of both 

 chains of mountains. An easy passage across the Altyn-tagh 

 leads them to Cherr.hen, and must have been utilised formerly 

 on the route from Kliotan to Chini, while another route led, via 

 Lob-nor, to the Sa-cheu oasis. 



The excursions of the party aroand Has took fifty-four days, 

 during which a region absolutely unknown before was explored. 

 It has a very poor flora and fauna ; of mammals only a hundred 

 antelopes were shot, and a new species of Ovis has been 

 discovered. M. Prjevalsky gave it the name of Ovis dilai- 

 lama. 



Most valuable geographical discoveries were made with regard 

 to the central part of the Kuen-lun. In the longitude of Hansy 

 this immense border-range of the Thibetan plateau is snow-clad, 

 and reaches, under the name of Jin-ri, the height of 20,OOD feet. 

 To the east of this mountain-mass runs a chain named Marco 

 Polo, which is accompanied on the north by a series of ridges 

 parallel to it, and described under the names of Garynga, 

 Dzukha, Toroi, and several others, until the Burkhan-buddha 

 range. To the north-west of the Jin-ri, another snow-clad 

 range, named " Columbus " by M. Prjevalsky, followed by a 

 third range, also snow-clad and formerly unknown, continues 

 further, to join the Altyn-tagh. A range, which has been seen 

 only at a distance, and called " Problematic," runs due west 

 of Jin-ri, and probably reaches also the Altyn-tagh ; a high 

 range, 12,500 tol3 ,ooo feet above the sea-level, including an 

 elongated s.alt lake, which does not freeze in winter, occupies 

 the space between the " Problematic " ridge and those situated 

 towards the north. 



The climate of the region is very severe. In December the 

 temperature was seen to fall during the night below 40° Cels. 

 Day and night strong westerly winds were blowing, often taking 

 the force of a gale which filled the atmosphere with sand and 

 dust. Snow was ve y scarce ; so also must be the rains in the 

 summer, as far as one may judge by the barrenness of the 

 region ; this part of the Thibetan mountains must escape the 

 influence ot the south-westerly monsoons of India, which bring so 

 much moistness to North- Eastern Thibet. Water, however, is 

 not scarce ; the snow-summits supply many small rivers which 

 flow from the mountains. Remains of summer-stations are seen 

 on these rivers and streamlets, peo,Me coming there in search of 

 gold, which seems to be as usual in North- West as in North- 

 Eastern Thibet. 



Returning in January to the station of Has, M. Prjevalsky 

 resumed his journey to Lob-nor, 170 miles distant, where he 

 was well received by his former acquaintances. There he pro- 

 posed to stay throughout February to study the migr.ations of 

 birds. 



As known from his telegrams da*ed June 20 and July 13 

 (received on August 31), the expedition reached Keria, but was 



prevented from penetrating thence into Thibet, and the inde- 

 fatigable traveller proposed to march on Khotan, and thence to 

 Aksu. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE 



Cambridge.— The Class List of the ^Lathematical Tripos 

 Part III., just issued, for which only wranglers can enter, con- 

 tains in the first class the names of Messrs. Barnard (Emmanuel), 

 4th Wrangler ; Berry (King's), Senior; R. Holmes (St. John's), 

 5th; Love (St. John's), 2nd; Richmond (King's), 3rd; and 

 Roseveare (St. jfohn's), bracketed 6th. Thus it includes the 

 first five Wranglers, and one of the two bracketed sixth. The 

 names are in alphabetical order. 



The Sidgwick Prize has been awarded to Mr. T. Roberts, 

 B.A., St. John's College. 



The long list of lectures for this term, issued by the Special 

 Board for Physics and Chemistry, includes, in addition to the 

 ordinary courses of Prof. Liveing, Prof. Dewar, and Mr. Main, 

 Mr. Pattison Muir's, on Principles of Chemistry ; Dr. Kuhe- 

 mann's, on Methods of Analysis and Principles of Organic 

 Chemistry ; and Mr. Heycock's, on Chemical Philosophy. 



Demonstrations and practical courses suited to the various 

 classes of students, will be given in the University, St. John's, 

 Caius, and Sidney College Laboratories, and Prof. Liveing 

 gives a course of Spectroscopic Chemistry ; and Mr. Robinson, 

 one on Chemistry as Applied to Agriculture. 



The courses of Physics include Prof. Thomson, on Magnetism ; 

 and lectures on various branches by Messrs. Atkinson, Glaze- 

 brook, Shaw, and Hart ; and practical courses at the Cavendish 

 Laboratory. Elementary and Advanced Demonstrations in 

 Mineralogy will be given. 



Prof. Stuart is lecturing on Theory of Structures. 



In Geology Prof Hughes begins a course of lectures on a 

 district to be visited at Easter on January 26, and also lectures 

 on the Principles of Geology. Other work is divided among 

 Messrs. Teall, T. Roberts, Marr, and Harker. 



In Physiology the usual lectures are being given by Prof 

 Foster, Drs. Lea, Gaskell, and Hill, and Mr. Langley. Prof. 

 Macalisler lectures on the Organs of Digestion and Reproduction ; 

 Prof. Newton on the Geographical Distribution of Vertebrates. 

 Mr. Hans Gadow's course is on the Morphology of the Sauro- 

 psida (recent and e.xtinct) ; other courses are conducted by 

 Messrs. Sedgwick, Harmer, and Weldon. 



Dr. Vines's general elementary course of Botany is continued, 

 supplemented by Mr. F. Darwin on the Biology of Plants (ad- 

 vanced) ; Mr. Gardiner on the Anatomy of Plants (advanced) ; 

 Mr. Potter's demonstrations on Advanced Systematic Botany. 



Advanced work in Mathematics is represented by Prof. 

 Stokes on Physical Optics, Prof. Adams on Lunar Theory, and 

 Prof Thomson on Electro-magnetism. Mr. Glazebrook is lec- 

 turing on the Theory of Light, Mr. Hobson on Higher 

 Dynamics, Mr. Macaulayon Thermodynamics, and Mr. Forsjth 

 on Higher Algebra. Dr. Besant lectures on Analysis, Mr. 

 H. M. Taylor on Higher Plane Curves, Mr. .Stearn on Electro- 

 statics, Mr. Larmor on '1 heory of Conduction and Analytical 

 Optics. 



The number of students inscribed in the several Universities 

 of the Italian kingdom amounts to 15,151 ; excepting 200 who 

 follow the free Universities, all of them follow the Government 

 teachers, viz. law students, 5133 ; medical, 6132 ; science, 1627 ; 

 literature and philosophy, 441. The largest nunjber of students 

 in proportion to the population is recorded in Central Italy, the 

 largest number of law students in the Neapolitan States, the 

 largest number of science students in Northern Italy, the largest 

 proportional number of philosophical and literary students n 

 Central Italy. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



The Quaytcvly yoitrnal of Micfoscopifal ScUnc<\ No. ci. , 

 November 1S85, contains : — On the relations of the yolk to 

 the gastrula in Teleosteans and in other Vertebrate types, by J. 

 T. Cunningham (plates 1-4). — On the structure and function of 

 the sphceridia of the Echinoidea, by Howard Ayers (plate 5). 

 Suggests that these organs have for their function the percep- 

 tion of chemical changes in the surrounding water (i.e. taste 



