372 
NATURE 
Dr. Posewitz refers to recent formations in the Island of Banka, 
off the east coast of Sumatra. This is an instance of an island, 
undisturbed by volcanic activity, in which erosion and denuda- 
tion are constantly at work forming the coast. Herr Strass has 
a paper in the same number dealing with the statistics of 
emigration from Germany between 1871 and 1884. No. 8, 
which is the last published, contains a report by Herr Pohle on 
the expedition sent in 1884 to that part of the coast of South- 
Western Africa between the Orange River and Walfisch Bay, 
which came at that time into the possession of Herr Liideritz. 
The expedition was intended mainly to ascertain what useful 
minerals existed in the new territory, and also to study its fauna, 
flora, and soil. The report is one of considerable length, and 
deals with all these points. The paper on the forests of North 
America is based on Prof. Sargent’s report, contained in the 
ninth volume of the United States Census Report for 1884. 
THE Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society for 
August contain several papers of interest. In ‘‘ Recent Portu- 
guese Explorations in the Zambezi Region” two journeys are 
described—one between the Zambezi and Pungué, the other 
between Tete on the Zambezi and Makanga. Mr. J. W. 
Wells, in a short paper, contributes some information on the 
delta of the Tocantins, in Brazil, and there is also a summary 
(the first, we believe, that has appeared in English) of the 
Von den Steinen exploration of the Xingu. The results of this 
expedition confirm the conclusion with regard to the geology of 
the interior of Brazil arrived at by the late Prof. Hartt, and by 
Mr. Wells, that south of the Amazon valley the whole interior 
of Brazil was at one time an immense plateau, and that the 
changes which it has undergone are due to water denudation. 
But the most important communication in this month’s Pyro- 
cecdtngs is the report of the measures adopted by the Council 
of the Society for the improvement of geographical educa- 
tion. These are of two classes, to be carried out with 
the co-operation or assistance of the two Universities and 
the Education Office respectively. Under the first head the 
Council offer to appoint and pay a lecturer or reader in geo- 
graphy to deliver courses of lectures at both Universities, 
arranged so as to suit students in the Honour Schools; or, in 
the alternative, to join with both Universities in appointing and 
paying a reader in geography. In addition, the Council offers 
to contribute the funds for an exhibition. In connection with 
the Education Office, the Council offers various prizes in money 
and books to pupil teachers. Further, a donation of 30/. for 
the present year is made in aid of the geographical lectures in 
the University extension courses ; copies of the Proceedings are 
to be sent to various public school libraries, and travellers and 
geographers are to be put in communication with the head 
masters of public schools. The proposal for a readership in 
geography at the Universities is obviously the most important 
of these, and the result of the communications now passing 
between the President and the Vice-Chancellors will be awaited 
with much interest. 
THE last number (Bd. xxix. No. 4) of the Afittheilungen of 
the Geographical Society of Vienna has for its first article a 
discussion, by Prof. Penck, of the proportion of the areas of 
land and water on the surface of the globe. The writer gives at 
the outset an interesting sketch of the history of the subject, 
and of the various theories which have prevailed from time to 
time on the subject, beginning with Columbus, who thought the 
proportion of land to water was as 6to 1. Starting from the 
generally accepted proportion of Wagner as that of I to 2°76, 
Prof. Penck advances various reasons for believing this to be 
unreliable, especially our ignorance of the regions around the 
North and South Poles. The blanks on our maps are still too 
numerous and important to permit of any reasonable approach 
to accuracy being made. Dr. Paulitschke writes on the hydro- 
graphy of the Upper Webi, one of the two hydrographic pro- 
blems of the Somali peninsula, the other being the Juba, which 
Capt. Cecchi calls complicata e mistertosa. The writer appears 
to throw much light on the first from his own explorations, He 
thinks we must seek the source of the Webi in one of the lakes 
of Gurage. Prof. Blumentritt criticises that part of Dr. Mon- 
tano’s recent work on the Philippines which deals with the 
ethnology of Mindanao. Accepting for his present purpose 
(though he refuses to do so as a general proposition) Montano’s 
division of the inhabitants into three main heads—Negritos, 
Indonesians, and Malays—he advances various reasons for hold- 
ing that that writer does not arrange the tribes of Mindanao 
accurately under these heads. 
regions. Indeed, for years past he has made every department 
of research connected with the Philippines his own, until now 
he is without a living rival. 
A REPORT has been received at the Hydrographic Depart- 
ment of the Admiralty from Commander Moore, of the survey- 
ing-vessel Raméler, relative to the existence of an island lying 
between L’Echiquier group and Durour Island, recently dis- 
covered by Mr. Allison, commanding the British steamer /e/ 
Lung, when on the passage from Sydney to Shanghai. This 
island is covered with trees, and appeared to be 2 or 3 miles 
long in a north-west and south-east direction, and 100 to 150 
feet in height. Both Durour Island and this were visible at 
the same time from the Fei Luzg when passing between them. 
The approximate position as reported is lat. 1° 25’ S., long. 
143° 26’ E. The Hydrographer to the Admiralty says that, 
unless the positions of the islands already on the chart are more 
inaccurate than they are believed to be, there is little doubt that 
the island now reported is a new discovery. 
THE August number of the Scottish Geographical Magazine 
contains a translation of Col. Fontana’s lecture on the Pata- 
gonian Andes to the Argentine Geographical Institute, describ- 
ing his recent journey from Chubut to the slopes of the Andes. 
The latter are mentioned with great enthusiasm: they teem with 
fertility, and Nature is as exuberant there as farther north in the 
Gran Chaco. Finally, the sub-Andean portions of Patagonia 
are described as the country of the future, being another added 
to the long list of countries of the future. 
IN tome x. fascicule 5, of the Budletin of the Geographical 
Society of Antwerp, M. van den Gheyn discusses the question 
whether there is unity, duality, or plurality of races in Australia, 
and comes to a conclusion in favour of unity. He thinks that 
the differences found amongst them are to be.explained by 
mixture with the Indonesians on the one side and the Polynesians 
on the other. 
THE French Minister of Public Instruction has intrusted M. 
Alfred Marche with a mission to the Marianne Islands to study 
the geography, natural history, anthropology, and ethnography 
of the Archipelago, 
THE AUGUST PERSEIDS 
THE shower of Perseids has been a fairly conspicuous one this 
year notwithstanding the somewhat unfavourable circum- 
stances attending the display. On the nights of August 9, 10, 
and 11 the nearly- full moon was visible during the greater part 
of the time available for observation, and robbed the phenomenon 
of its chief prominence during the evening hours. Those, how- 
ever, who continued to watch the heavens until after the moon 
set on the early morning of the 11th must have been rewarded 
by a tolerably rich exhibition of meteors. The number observ- 
able by one person fell little short of 100 per hour, and this rate 
compared with similar observations in past years proves the late 
display to have fully maintained its decided character. Numeri- 
cally this shower of Perseids cannot be placed in the same 
category as the brilliant meteoric storms of November 13, 1866, 
and November 27, 1872 and 1885, but it must be remembered 
that the August shower is one which returns anzzza/ly, and appa- 
rently without much variation in its leading features. Its frequent 
and regular appearances compensate for whatever it lacks in other 
respects, and it yields many fine meteors of the same type as the 
Leonids, flashing out with remarkable swiftness, and projecting 
lines of phosphorescence upon the background of the sky. 
The importance of watching every recurrence of the leading 
meteor showers is acknowledged on all hands, for if we would 
successfully trace out the modern history and developments of 
these wonderful systems we must first carefully secure the mate- 
rials to form the basis of such investigations. 
With reference to the shower of Perseids this year, the obser- 
vations were much interrupted by cloudy weather. Preparation 
had been made here to commence a look-out during the last 
week in July for avant-couriers of the stream, but the nights 
were persistently overcast, and it was not until August 2 that a 
good view was obtained. Clouds were, it is true, somewhat 
prevalent before midnight, but afterwards the firmament became 
very clear, and it remained uniformly serene until daybreak. 
[ August 19, 1886 | 
4 These are based chiefly on the 
languages ; but if it does nothing else, the paper demonstrates: 
the wide knowledge which Prof. Blumentritt possesses of these 
; 
N 
ll Oe 
