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—s 
Sune 11, 1885] 
NATURE 135 
less than twenty-two years of age. Throughout his life 
he has had the opportunity of exploring nearly all the surface of 
Russia in Europe, from Olonetz to the Crimea and from Poland 
to the Ural, penetrating also into the Kirghiz Steppes in the 
Asiatic dominions of the empire. The results of his varied ex- 
plorations are embodied in 130 monographs, some of which are 
bulky works. His first work of importance, the ‘‘ Exploration 
of Southern Ural,” was published in 1831, in connection with 
Hofmann. Five years later it was followed by a description of 
the Kirghiz Steppes and by ashort paper on the Ural and Altay 
Mountains. In 1838 he began to puilish the results of his ex- 
plorations of the Baltic provinces, which were thenceforth con- 
tinued throughout his life. In 1840 he studied the lake region 
of North-west Russia and of the Valdai Hills, and next year 
made the first attempt to embody all that was known regarding 
the geological structure of Russia by publishing the first geo- 
logical map of the country. The coal-fields of the Moscow 
basin then attracted his attention, and in 1845 he published the 
results of his researches into the structure of the Ust-Urt and its 
slopes towards the Sea of Aral. In 1850 he published an in- 
teresting sketch of the Devonian Rocks of Middle Russsa. In 
1857 there appeared his notice as to the rising of the Baltic 
shore and the action of ice and water on it, being the first of a 
series which led him afterwards to investigate the subject of 
boulders. After having spent four years in the exploration of 
the Olonetz region, he embodied the results of his observations 
in a work published in 1860. His researches into the physical 
conditions of St. Petersburgh, the artesian well bored in that 
capital, and the Alexander monolith, made his name popular 
even among unscientific readers. A work on Lake Peipus and 
the Narova river appeared in 1864, and completed his researches 
in the lake region of North-west Russia. Next year a second 
revised edition of his geological map of Russia, including the 
Ural and Caucasus, and a map of the Russian coal-basins, were 
published by the indefatigable geologist. The supposed drying 
up of the Sea of Azov was the subject of several papers and 
reports presented by him to the Academy of Sciences, as also 
the extension of the coal-fields from the Don, through Tula 
and Kaluya, to Courland and Eastern Prussia. In 1870 he 
published his ‘‘ Studies on Boulders,” the second part of which 
appeared only three years ago. In 1879 he issued a geological 
and physico-geographical description of the Aralo-Caspian 
region. A paper, written together with M. Yakovleff on the 
_ same subject, in 1883, was his last contribution to the Memoiis 
of the Academy of Sciences. In all these works, Helmersen 
appeared asa follower of the school of geologists represented by 
Leopold von Buch and Alexander Humboldt. Instead of merely 
describing the fossils of a given formation, and minutely study- 
ing its various stratigraphical and palzontological horizons, he 
tried to discover the leading physical and geographical features 
of the country he explored, and devoted great attention to dyna- 
mical geology. His works are as valuable to the geographer as 
to the ge logist. For twenty-five consecutive years Helmersen 
was Professor at the Mining Institute of St. Petersburg, and 
since 1844 he was one of the most active members of the 
Academy of Sciences. In 1851 he was elected a foreign member 
of the Geological Society of London—an honour well bestowed 
on one of the most industrious and distinguished gevlogists whom 
Russia has produced. 
THE last issue of the /evestia of the Russian Geographical 
Society contains a map showing M. Potanin’s last journey in 
China, from Peking to Kookoo-koto and Lang-tcheou (73° 30’ 
E. long.), to illustrate M. Potanin’s letters dated Boro-b:lga‘un 
and Lang-tcheou, September and November 13th, 1884. The 
Ordos, described with so dark features by Huc, looked more 
attractive than might have been expected. True, the whole 
of the country between the Yellow river and Boro-Balgasun is 
covered with sand; but moving sand is rare, the éarhhans 
being usually fortified by vegetation. The skiabyk—a species 
of Artemisia—is the most frequent growth in the éarkhans, the 
Cavities between them being thickly covered with bushes of 
Caragana, archa, and jashil. Water is found wherever the sub- 
soil appears from beneath the sand ; numerous sweet water 
ponds make there their appearance, and they are surrounded 
with moist pasture-grounds. The dry grounds between the sands 
are covered with Steppe vegetation, the Ca/imeris colouring 
sometimes wide spaces in white. Sarrazin, millet, and hemp 
are cultivated on these dry grounds. Altogether, the eastern 
Ordos may be considered as a rich country for cattle breeding, if 
supported by some agriculture. Two old towns, now in ruins’ 
were pa-sed on the borders of the Ordos. Boro-balgasun, 
too, was formerly a town, within the ruined walls of which there 
are now but a few Mongolian huts, and the house of the Belgian 
missionaries. In the Van principality M. Potanin visited the 
Edjen-khoro place, on the ‘(chamkhak river ; it consists of two 
tents where the bones of Chengiz-khan are said to be preserved. 
On Sept. 22, the expedition left Boro-balgasun. They visited 
the salt lake Baga-shikyr, and for five days crossed a region 
covered with low hills and almost uninhabited, notwithstanding 
the good pasturage which spread between the éa7khans, these 
last becoming more thinly spread than in the east. Ruins of 
Mussulman villages destroyed during the last insurrection are not 
uncommon. Lin-tcheou, on the Hoang-ho, is surrounded by 
fruit-gardens. South of it numerous villages extend for some 
fifty miles along a canal which runs parallel to the Hoang-ho and 
crosses on aqueducts its iributaries. Its banks offer an uninter- 
rupted fruit garden, with a few rice-fields. All this richness is, 
however, of recent origin, the former gardens having been all 
destroyed by Chinese after the last insurrection. Altogether, 
the region bears traces of desolation ; whole towns have been 
quite destroyed. ‘The town Tsin-tsi-pou was the centre of the 
insurrection. South of this town, M. Potanin left the valley of 
the Hoang-ho, and crossed the series of flat ridges which reach 
towards the south, 6,000 feet to 7,000 feet abovethesea-level. Still 
they have gentle slopes, owing to their covering of Loess which 
reaches a thickness of from 200 to 300 feet. The hills are 
formed of red sandstone, with some layers of pudding-stone 
north of the Tao-tsoui river, while south of Tsin-youang the 
ridge consists of silicious and clay-slate. The sandstone con- 
tains beds of salt, which impregnates also the soil and is 
worked to some extent; it is raised also from a number of 
small lakes. The Loess covers the whole of the country from 
Ping-yang-sia to Lang-tcheou, spreading also over the summits 
of the higher ridges. The population is of Turk origin, 
and though it has assumed Chinese customs it maintains 
its Mussulman religion. In the hilly tracts dwellings, 
and even inns, are dug out in the Loess, Lang-tcheou is 
a great city, picturesquely built on the right bank of the Hoang- 
ho at the foot of ahigh mountain ridge. A floating bridge crosses 
the great river. The plants collected for the herbarium by the 
expedition were but few, owing to the late season ; but alto- 
gether in the whole region there are no trees excepting those 
which are cultivated; even the higher ridges are devoid of 
trees and but scarcely clothed with grass. From Lang-tcheou, 
where the astronomer, M. Skassy, remained with the scien- 
tific collection, M. Potanin went to the west-to visit the Salors 
and Shorongols, who inhabit that region, while M. Berezovsky 
proposed to advance further south to Hoy-sian, situated on the 
water-divide between the Yellow and the Blue Rivers. The 
scientific results of the expedition promise to be very interesting. 
The astronomer, M. Skassy, has determined the position of 
fifteen places and mapped the route. M. Berezovsky has col 
lected 140 samples of birds, and M. Potanin bring- back collections 
of plants, insects, and reptiles, as also a geological collection. 
A RECENT number of the ¥afan Gazéte contains a series of 
notes on each of the islands forming the Kurile group, which 
stretches from Jeso northward to Kamtschatka, and which for 
the past ten years have belonged to Japan. The notes are 
arranged by Prof. Milne, from his own notes and those of 
Mr. Snow, who has spent many consecutive summers amongst 
the islands. They refer mainly to the numerous volcanoes among 
the Kuriles, but much information on other points relating to this 
little-known group is given. The name applied by the Japanese 
to the chain is ‘‘ Chishima,” or ‘‘ the thousand islands,” but there 
are really not more than thirty or forty. Of these, Iturup and 
Kunashiri, the most southern members of the group, are the 
largest. They ‘‘ form the first links of the chain which yolcanic 
agencies have built up whilst attempting to join Japan and Asia.” 
Iturup is 113 miles long and 77 in greatest width; Kunashiri is 
62 miles by 17. They are all very desolate, and sparsely popu- 
lated in summer by Japanese and Ainos, who come to fish. In 
Iturup, between the coast and the mountains, there is a kind of 
jungle composed mainly of bamboo grass, which is impassable. 
The explorer has therefore to follow the bed of a stream or 
the bear tracks. Prof. Milne thinks it not unlikely that the 
Iturup bear may be a species new to science. From the spect- 
mens seen in cages it seems to resemble the grizzly bear of 
North America, 
