August 26, 1886 | 
NATORE 
than a thousand members. The paper which attracted most 
attention was one by Prof. Forel, on Lake Leman. He gaye an 
historic sketch of the examination of the bed of the lake from 
Delabéche in 1819 down to the present day, from which it ap- 
peared that the knowledge of the central portion is very incom- 
plete, while the rest of the lake is now well known. It is clear 
that there are two parts in the lake of wholly different character 
—one small and shallow, the other large, deep, and Alpine in its 
character. These two are separated by the Yvoise bank or bar, 
which is really a glacial moraine, as shown by the flints dredged 
up. These fragments of rock, found sometimes at a depth of 61 
metres, are covered with moss of a beautiful green—a fact which 
appears to demand a reconsideration of the theory that light will 
not penetrate to more than 25 metres. A discovery in connec- 
tion with the lake which M. Forel regards as a most interesting 
one in physical geography is that of a sub-lacustrine ravine 
through which the Rhone flows. Prof. Forel’s long and laborious 
study of the lake entitled him, the President said, to the title 
“Prophet of Leman.” Dr. Dufresne described the orohydro- 
graphy of Brazil, and M. Brun recounted his adventures on the 
Gran Chaco. The Association discussed at some length various 
questions connected with the teaching of geography, especially 
‘the compilation by the allied societies of a manual of geography, 
and the establishment of geographical museums, 
THE current number of the Verhandlungen of the Berlin 
Geographical Society (Bd. xiii. No. 6) contains two papers on 
the Congo region : one by Dr. Biittner on his journey from San 
Salvador to the Quango, and thence to Stanley Pool ; the other 
by Lieut. Kund, who, with Lieut. Tappenbeck, was sent out 
by the German African Society in 1884. Their task was to 
explore the southern tributaries of the Congo, and to study their 
navigable qualities between Koango and Kassai. The length of 
the journey was, in all, 800 German miles, of which 340 was by 
water, and 460 by land. They succeeded in finding, between 
Koango and Kassai, three navigable rivers, the Wambu, Saie, 
and Kiulu ; and they regard Lukenje, with its people, as practi- 
cally a new discovery in the Congo basin. Dr. Joest writes on 
Minahassa, a peninsula in the north-east Celebes. 
THE Zeitschrift (Bd. xxi. Heft 3) contains less matter of 
specially geographical interest than usual. A short paper, with 
an excellent map, discusses the improvements, which appear to 
have been great, made in recent years in roads and other means 
of communication in Asiatic Turkey. The greater part of the 
number is occupied with an exhaustive examination, by Herr 
Jung, of the census of India for 1881. The only real geo- 
graphical paper is a summary of the report presented to the 
Brazilian Government on the surveys made for the purpose of 
the frontier between that empire and Venezuela. 
THE last number of the Zzves¢éa of the Russian Geographical 
Society (1886, ii.) is of great interest. It contains a beautiful 
map of the upper course of the Amu-daria, on the scale of 20 
miles to an inch, including the space between the 36th and qtst 
degrees of latitude, and the 66th and 76th degrees of longitude. 
The whole of the Pamir appears on this map according to the 
recent surveys and barometric levellings of the Pamir Expedition, 
while a number of other surveys, including those of M. Kosya- 
koff (who accompanied Dr. Regel), the astronomical determina- 
tions of MM. Scharnhorst, Bansdorf, Schwartz, Skassi, Putyata, 
and Mr. Forsyth, as also the sketch map ‘“‘of M. S. in and 
around Badakshan,” have been taken into account. The same 
issue contains a very interesting paper by M. Grum-Grzymailo 
on the Pamir region ; a paper, by M. Makaroff, on the double 
currents in straits, and especially in the Bosphorus (being a 
summing up of papers on this subject published in the JZemoirs 
of the St. Petersburg Academy of Science) ; a most interesting 
account of the earthquakes at Tokmak in 1885; and, finally, 
the minutes of the proceedings of the Society brought up to a 
recent date, that is, embodying the sittings of the Society and its 
Sections as far as April last. 
THE last issue (Nos. 5 and 6, 1885) of the Yournal of the 
North China branch of the Royal Asiatic Society has a paper 
by Mr. Phillips on the seaports of India and Ceylon, described 
by Chinese voyagers of the fifteenth century, with an account of 
Chinese navigation. It is illustrated by a very curious old chart 
said to have been used by Chinese sailors who visited these 
distant places. In the present paper the route from Sumatra by 
the Nicobars to Ceylon is described ; at a future time the writer 
will continue the maps to Arabia and Persia. 
The method of i 
399 
navigation by star charts, one of which is given, is very interest- 
ing. The whole paper shows that the Chinese visited these seas 
long before European nayigators found their way there. 
THE INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL 
ENGINEEERS 
THE summer meeting of this Institution for the reading and 
discussion of papers was held on the mornings of the 17th 
and 18th inst., at the Theatre of the Institution of Civil 
Engineers. On the afternoons of these days, and on the 19th 
and 2oth, various works in and about London were visited. The 
Institution was entertained three years ago by the Belgian 
Engineers at Liége, and on this occasion Belgian Engineers 
have enjoyed the hospitality of the London members of the 
Institution. 
The proceedings commenced with a few introductory remarks. 
and a welcome by the President, Mr. Jeremiah Head, after 
which he read an address, taking as the text of his discours2 the 
“Depression of Trade,” to which Dr. Percy referred at the 
meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute in Glasgow last 
autumn, attributing it to over-production. 
Mr. Head drew attention to the circumstance that mechanical 
engineers had done their utmost to make possible what had 
actually occurred, illustrating his remarks by recalling to the 
minds of the members some of their recent visits to works in 
various parts of England, where ‘‘ the advantages of adhesion to- 
a few types, and to but a few sizes of each type, of working to 
gauges throughout, of the piece-work system, of making for 
stock as regards all details, and taking from stock when erecting 
so as to avoid delays, impressed themselves strongly upon the 
members, who realised what rapid strides had been made in the 
direction of increased production at diminished cost.” He 
instanced a steam-navvy, which was capable of doing the work 
of 80 to 120 human navvies, thus turning them into the ranks of 
the unemployed, and the flooding of our markets with American 
and Swiss watches, which, according to the evidence of a 
Liverpool watchmaker, was killing the British industry. The 
probable causes of these unfortunate circumstances were ‘‘ diffu- 
sion instead of concentration, and adherence to old habits in- 
stead of quick appreciation of new and better ones.” 
Passing from the subject of the aid rendered by mechanical 
improvements towards over-production, the speaker referred to 
various commodities we send abroad as affecting our trade. 
“Some of these commodities may, in their production and sale, 
beneficially affect us now, and may also bring other benefits 
in the future ; others may be profitable for the time being, but 
may tend to destroy future trade.” 
The address was listened to with interest and attention by the 
members, the meeting being one of the largest that has taken 
place in the metropolis for some time. 
Two papers only were read on this occasion, the one by Mr. 
Borodin, of Kieff, and the other by Mr. Sandiford, of Lahore, 
both being on the working of compound locomotives, Mr. 
Borodin’s paper also having reference to steam-jacketing. Mr. 
Borodin employed Mr. G. A. Hirn’s system of investigation, 
with some modifications necessary to adapt it to locomotives 
working without condensation. Tests were first made in the 
locomotive testing-shop, where there was no dynamometer, and as 
only 90 per cent. could be utilised, high grades of expansion and 
comparatively low pressures had to be employed. The arrange- 
ments made were very complete ; pressure-gauges and counters 
were observed, and indicator-diagrams taken at frequent inter- 
vals, the readings of which were tabulated. The results of each 
one and of all the tests, without exception, indicated a decreased 
consumption of moist steam when the jackets were working, the 
effect of the jackets including a decrease in the quantity of steam 
condensed during admission. a decrease in re-evaporation of 
water during expansion, and an increase of mean pressure in the 
cylinders. When variable rates of expansion were employed it 
was found that the consumption of steam per effective horse- 
power was larger at the higher rates of expansion, from which 
the conclusion may be drawn that when cylinders are too large 
they prevent economy in the consumption of steam. 
The second set of trials was made with experimental trains, 
on ordinary and compound locomotives respectively, with jackets 
working and not working, but unfortunately as regards these 
experiments ‘‘the great want of success in the attempts to 
measure the quantity of water condensed in the jackets, as well 
