isS 



iVA TURE 



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tions. M. Maikofif presented a report of the Committee 

 appointed to discuss the subject of a thorough historical and 

 ethnographical exploration of Bulgaria. Cul. Lebedefif presented 

 a sl<etch of the orography of the Balkan peninsula, according to 

 the last geodelic-il and topographical operations in Bulgaria by 

 officers of the Ku^sian General Staff. The orography of much 

 of the Balkan peninsula has been pretty well studied, a complete 

 trigommetrical report having been ompleted, and a relief -map 

 on a large scale, like that of the Caucasus, is now In preparation. 



A LIVELY controversy having arisen between the cantons of 

 Geneva and Vaud as to the importance of the dam erected at 

 Geneva witli reference to tlie level of Lake Leman, the yournal 

 dt Genh'C has published during the past month a series of papers 

 by M. H. de .Saussure on Lake Leman, the changes of its level, 

 the destructive action of its waves, and generally on its physical 

 conditions. These papers have a great scientific value. We 

 notice also several papers on the same subject published by the 

 Gazette de Lausanne in answer to M. de Saussure's articles. 



We notice an intere^ing note by MM. Polonsky and Meyer 

 on that part of the ea-tern shore of the Caspian which is de- 

 scribed as Tentiak-sor, and is a former lake now transformed 

 into a series of lagoons separated by muddy spaces. Its 

 origin is explained by M. Meyer by a falling of level of the 

 Caspian. Prof. Lenz having made an incision in a rock at 

 Baku in 1S30, the subsequent measitremeits showed that the 

 level stood— in 1837, r6 feet lower; in 1847, 07 feet higher ; 

 in 1S4S, 1-3 foot; in 1852, 2-9 feet; in 1S53, 2'5 feet; and in 

 1S61, 3'9 feet lower than in 1S37. This circumstance would be 

 in complete ace Drd with the general diminution of water in all 

 Asiatic lakes, and would perfectly explain a multitude of 

 important pbysico-geographical pheiomena. 



Heft v. of Petennann's Milthtlhingen begins with an article 

 by C. Marten, on the Inhabited Part of Chili South of the River 

 Valdivia ; Dr. Kehm gives some collected information on the 

 gold-fields of Wassa, on the LTpper Ankobra, north from the 

 Gold Coast ; Dr. Junker narrates his journey through the Libyan 

 Desert to the Natron Lakes ; and Herr Bemhard von Struve 

 writes on the history of trade-routes in East Siberia. The 

 Erganzungheft No. 61 consists of a physico-geographical account 

 of the Portuguese Mountain group, the Serra da Estrella, with 

 special reference to its forestal conditions, by Herr J. Rivoli. 

 In the June number Dr. A. Regel gives an interesting account 

 of a vi-it he made last year to Turfan, in Central Asia. Dr. 

 Emin-Bey descri'ies his journey from Dufile to Fatiko in Decem- 

 ber, 1S78, and January, 1S79. Herr Lindemann gives some 

 statistical mformation on the forests of Bavaria in connection 

 with a map of the Bav.arian Spessart. Herr E. R. Flegel gives 

 a detaile 1 naiTative of his journey in the Henry Venn in July 

 and Augiist last year, up the Binue, from Gande to Djen. 



iH^jtapin Mai! states that development in the trade between 

 Japan and Corea iq confidently anticipated in con:equence of the 

 opening of the port of Gensan. The Japanese residents at 

 Fusan, in the south of the Corean peninsula, are said already to 

 exceed 14,000 in number, and we may therefore hope that we 

 shall soon have more detailed information regarding the interior 

 of the country than has hitherto been accessible. 



The Melbourne correspondent of the Colonies and India states 

 that Mr. White, of the Reed Beds, near Adelaide, has fitted out 

 the schooner lilsea, and has left on an exploring cruise to New 

 Guinea for the pu pose of making natural hiitory investigations, 

 which are expected to occupy two years. 



In the introduction to his lately published report on the trade 

 and commerce of the Caucasian Provinces, Mr. Lyall, H.B.M.'s 

 Connil for Tiflis and Poti, gives a succinct account of the geo- 

 graphical features of this region, accompanied by remarks 0.1 its 

 cliaiate, resources, communications, &c. Though the informa- 

 tion is not perhaps entirely new, it is interesting to be able to 

 take in at a glance so much relating to a tract of country which 

 is daily becoming more and more important. 



CoL. Flatters, who liad left Wargla on March 15 with a 

 column of 100 men for an exploration in connection with the 

 mtended Trans-Algerian Railway, returned to Wargla on May 

 20, after having travelled 600 miles in the direction of Raof, 

 without meeting any opposition from the natives. He intends 

 to resume his explorations in the months of September or 

 October, in another direction. He was unable to discover 

 the Ighorghor Wed, which is marked on every map. 



From Augu t 5 to 10 next the French Geographical Society 

 will meet at Nancy for their triennial meeting. 



We have received Parts J2 to 16, "each contaiiing three maps, 

 of the new edition of Stieler's " Hand-Atlas." 



The Russian Department of Estates his just published an 

 interesting atlas of six maps, representing the di-tribntion of 

 soils in Russia. The atlas is accompanied by a text by M. 

 Dokoutchaeff. The maps w-ere drawn five years ago by M. 

 Tchaslavsky, who has studied this subject during miny years. 



THE ROYAL OBSER VA TOR V 



'T'HE following are the points that seem to us of most interest 

 "^ in the Report of the Astronomer-Royal to the Board of 

 Visitors at their recent Visitation : — 



The Admiralty have decided not to proceed with the erection 

 of a new library at pre-ent, though the space has been cleared, 

 admitting of the erection of a building fifty by twenty feet. The 

 Astronomer- Royal proposes to erect here a room of one story, 

 but with galleries at mid-heiglit, so that there would never be 

 need to use a Ladder. Among other clianges occurring in this 

 clearance, he has removed the electrometer mast (a source of 

 some expense and some danger) ; the perfect success of Sir 

 William Thomson's electrometer rendering all further app.aratus 

 for the same purpose unnecessary. With regard to the library 

 the Report st.ates that no change has been made in plan, but in 

 some departments the number of books has increased rapidly. 

 " Fundamental astronomy advances slowly, magnetism is almost 

 stationary, geodesy progresses, photography and spectroscopy 

 increase very fast, and meteorology the most rapidly of all. The 

 Transactions of foreign Academies increase in number. This is 

 owing, I imagine, to the general scientific activity, both of Aca- 

 demicians and of private men of science, in most foreign 

 countries, and to the facilities given for transmission, by the 

 courtesy of publishers and by the extension of book post." 



LTnder the head of Astronomical Observations, the Report 

 says: "The ^un, moon, planets, and fund.imental s'ars are the 

 regular subjects of observa'ion on the meridian, special attention 

 being devoted to the moon, which is also observed at every 

 available opportunity with the altazimuth. Other stars are ob- 

 served from a working cat.ilogue of about 2,50ostars, with which 

 good progress has been made in the past year, though a large 

 number of sta-s still remain for observation. About 1,100 stars 

 were observed in 1879." Between May 20, 1879, and May 9, 

 iSSo, the following obervations were m.ade : — With the transit 

 circle 4,164 transits, the separate liiibj being connected as 

 separate observations ; 3,953 circle-observations; with the reflex- 

 zeiiith tube, 23 pairs of observation of 7 Draconis ; with the 

 altazimuth, 713 azimuths of the moon and stars and 352 zenith 

 di-tances of the moon. A set of micrometer-measures of the 

 outer satellite of Mars and several sets of measures of the .satel- 

 lites of Saturn, w'ere obtained last autumn with the sou'.h-ea-t 

 equatorial, and a few drawings of Mars and Jupiter were made 

 near the time of opposition, A remarkable proof of the excep- 

 tionally bad weather of last summer is found in the fact that in 

 July it caused the lo s of a whole month's ob-ervations of the 

 sun. 



Under the heading of Spectroscopic and Photographic Ob- 

 servations we find the following statement: — "The sun's 

 chromosphere has been examined on thirty seven days during 

 the period to which this Report refers, and on thirty four days 

 prominences were seen. Whenever practicable, the appearance 

 of the prominences as seen on each of the chromospheric lines 

 has been recorded, and on four d.iys a detailed examination of 

 the whole spectrum of the chromosphere was made at twenty- 

 four points of the sun's limb. Three sun-spots have been ex- 

 .amined with reference to the broadening of lines in their spectra, 

 and fifteen photographs have been taken of the spectra of three 

 sun spots. As regards the spectroscopic determination of star- 

 motions, 113 measures have been made of the displacement of 

 the F line in the spectra of 29 stars, 44 of the l\ line in 19 stars, 

 and 6 of the l>i line in 3 stars. Of these 51 stars 21 had not 

 previously been examined. In the case of three of the stars a 

 dispersive power equivalent to that given by fifteen prisms of 

 60- was used. The stars are taken from a working list of 150 

 stars, which may eventually be extended to include all stars 

 down to the fourth magnitude, and it is expected that in course 

 of time the motions of about 300 stars m.ay be spectroscopically 

 determined. The spectra of comets c (Swift's) and d (Palisa's) 



