520 



NA rURE 



{^March 31, 1887 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during 

 the past week include a Malayan liear (Ursiis iiialaymtus) from 

 Malacca, presented by Mrs. Bingham ; a Common Squirrel 

 {Sciuriis vulgaris), British, presented by Mr. H. B. Meadows ; 

 two Tree Pipits {Anlkus arlioieus), British, presented by Mr. 

 VV. B. Tegetmeier ; two Dwarf Chameleons {Chanucleon 

 pitmilus), two Robben Island Snakes (Coroiiella phocarnm), a 



Toad {Bi(fo aiigusticefs) from South Africa, presented 



by the Rev. G. H. R. Fisk ; two Pondicherry Vultures (Vullur 

 cahus) from India, two Ocellated Sand Skinks {Seps ocellatiis). 

 South European, purchased ; two Black Lemurs {Lemur macao), 

 a White- fronted Lemur (Lemur alliifroiis), born in the Gardens. 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 

 WEEK 1SS7 APRIL 3-9 

 /pOR the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 

 Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 

 is here employed.) 



Al Greenwich oil April 3 

 Sun rises, 5h. 33m. ; souths, I2h. 3m. 22-6s. ; sets, iSh. 34m. ; 



decl. on meridian, 5° iS' N. : Sidereal Time at Sunset, 



7h. 2im. 

 Moon (Full on April 8) rises, I2h. 29m. ; souths, 2oh. 12m. ; 



sets, 3h. 44m.* ; decl. on meridian, 15° 47' N. 



2 13 S. 

 15 46 N. 



6 44 N. 

 II 12 S. 



22 29 N. 

 nd the setting 



Occultations of Slars by l/te Moon (visible at Greenwich) 



Corresponding 



1 Star iMag. Disap. Reap. angles from ver- 



'=' ^ f tex to right for 



inverted image 



M signifies maximum ; 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 

 The new number of the Mitthciluiigcn of the Vienna Geo- 

 graphical Society contains several letters written by Dr. O. 

 Lenz during his journey from Kasonge, on the Upper Congo, 

 and the Shire River, to the south of Lake Nyassa (June to 

 December 1886). These letters are, to a large extent, occupied 

 with details of the troubles which Dr. Lenz had with his men. 

 Kasonge is a most unhealthy town. Bohndorf, Lenz's com- 

 panion, was struck down with fever, and had to be carried most 

 of the way, while small-pox broke out among his men, seriously 

 hampering the proper work of the Expedition. Lenz left Kasonge 

 on June 30, and reached the Island of Kavala, off the west 

 shore of Lake Tanganyika, the head-quarters of Capt. Hore, 

 on August 7. On the route he passed many villages recently 

 built by Zanzibaris, the native population having retired into 

 the forests and mountains. The region is mainly an open 

 table-land, sometimes of a beautiful park-like aspect, and with 

 the river-valleys thickly wooded. As Tanganyika was ap- 

 proached, the plateau rose to a height of 3000 to 4000 feet, 

 with mountains rising from its surface to an equal height. The 

 chief rock was granite, with crystalline slates, and wooded 

 spurs. After staying a few days with Mr. Hore, Dr. Lenz 

 crossed to Ujiji, which he reached on August 15. Here he 

 found himself compelled to give up his proposed journey to 

 Emin Pasha, and in a large boat he and his men sailed down 

 the lake to the. south shore, which he reached on September 

 27. Mr. Hore informed him that the Lukuga River now flows 

 with a strong current out of Lake Tanganyika to the Lualaba. 

 Mr. Hore, who has known the lake for ten years, .assured Dr. 

 Lenz that during that time its level has fallen 15 feet, and as 

 the latter sailed down the lake he saw clearly enough the marks 

 of the old shore-lines. With difticulty Dr. Lenz obtained 

 assistance on tlie inhospitable south shore to continue his 

 journey onwards to Lake Nyassa. This route has been traversed 

 several times, and Dr. Lenz does not in these letters add much 

 to our knowledge. It is a plateau with mountains rising from it 

 to a considerable height, and to the south-west of Lake Tan- 

 ganyika he came upon the sources of the Chambeze, which, 

 flowing into Lake Bangweolo, may be said to form the remotest 

 sources of the Congo. On October 17 he reached Nkonde, on 

 Lake Nyassa, a stat'on of the African Lakes Company, and 

 thence made his way down tlie lake and on to the River Shire, 

 whence his last letter is dated, in December 1886. 



In the same number will be found tlie conclusion of Herr 

 Glaser's paper on his journeys in South Arabia, in which he 

 gives some important information on the various classes of the 

 population. He speaks in the worst possible terms of the 

 climate of the region : highland and lowland are equally bad, 

 and deadly for Europeans. 



The leading paper in the last number of the Verhandlimgen 

 of the Berlin Geographical Society is Dr. Wolf's account of his 

 important exploring work on the Sankuru, the great southern 

 tributary of the Congo. This he navigated upwards from the 

 Kasai, exploring its three great sources, the Lomomi, the Lus- 

 sambo, and the Lubi. It is on the whole a magnificent water-way, 

 its banks in many parts thickly wooded and densely populated. He 

 gives much information concerning the two leading peoples here, 

 the Bakutu and the Baluba, both of them evidently intruders on 

 the Batua, the pygmy people referred to in our last number, the 

 former coming from the north-west and the latter from the 

 south-east. Herr Stiiudinger adds considerably to our know- 

 ledge of the Niger region in his narrative of his journey from 

 Loko, on the Binue, to the kingdoms of Saria, Kano, Sanfarra, 

 Sokoto, and Gando. 



Herr Ferdinand Seeland contributed to a recent meeting 

 of the Austro-German Alpine Club some useful data on the rate 

 of movement of the Pasterz Glacier. On October 3 last he 

 found the glacier entirely free from snow, and he was lucky 

 enough to find six pegs which he inserted in 1882 near the Hof- 

 mann Hut straight across the glacier to the base of the 

 Glockner, and also two stones which he laid down in if 84. In 

 the four years 1S82-86 the first peg had moved downwards 

 121 '5 m. (i.e. at the rate of 3'5 mm. per hour), the second 162 m. 

 (4-6 mm.), the third 175-5 m. (5 mm.), the fourth 192-3 m. 

 (5'5 mm.), the fifth 201 5 m. (5-8 mm.), and the sixth 

 I98'6 m. (57 mm.). Of the stones, in the two years one 

 had moved 104-2 m. (5-9 mm.), the other 100-7 "">• (5'8 mm.). 

 According to these results (in the direction from the north 

 edge of the glacier towards the centre), the mean rate of 



