14-6 report— 1877'. 



land carriage. Dr. Kirk found the fly dangerously prevalent in several of the best 

 localities. It is not known, however, to exist at Lindi, which on this account 

 could be recommended as the most suitable station and starting-point for the 

 interior. 



On the Line of Levels run from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee. 

 By Lieut. Kitchener, H.E. 



The levelling was commenced in June, 1875, under the direction of Lieut. 

 Conder, R.C., but was interrupted a few weeks afterwards by an unfortunate dis- 

 turbance at Safed, which for a time put an end to all survey operations in 

 Palestine. The work was taken up again in March, 1877, under circumstances of 

 some difficulty, and carried to a successful conclusion by Lieut. Kitchener. There 

 had been no opportunity at present of examining the field-books and applying any 

 corrections which might be necessary ; but the reporter thought it might be stated 

 that the line of levels, 86£ miles, was run with two instruments, a 10" spirit-level 

 and a 7" thedolite, read by independent observers, and that the result gave the 

 Sea of Galilee a depression of 682 544 feet. The fine of levels has been marked 

 by 31 bench-marks, cut on the rock or on solid masonry in places where they 

 are not likely to be destroyed by the natives, and the positions of the bench- 

 marks have been fixed and laid down on the 1-inch map of Palestine which is 

 being constructed by a party of Royal Engineers, under the auspices of the Pales- 

 tine Exploration Fund. The levelling commenced on the shores of the Mediter- 

 ranean at Haifa, and was carried thence across the Akka plain, past the villages 

 of Jidru, Kefr Etta, and El Mejdel; from the last-mentioned place it was con- 

 tinued up the Wady el Melek, along the southern side of the plain of the But- 

 tauf, and over the ridge to the Wady el Hamam, down which it proceeded, and, 

 passing through a great gorge between cliffs over 1030 feet high, was carried 

 over the plain to its termination at the edge of the sea. 



On the German Expedition to Western Siberia. 

 By Dr. 0. Finsch. 



The object of the expedition was to explore the isthmus which separates the 

 river Obi, near Obdorsk, from Kara Bay. The expeditionary party consisted of 

 Dr. Finsch, Count Waldburgzeil, and Dr. Brehrn. On their outward journey from 

 Moscow they made a long detour southward towards the Altai before descending 

 the Obi, passing through Kasan, Ekaterinburg, and Tjumen to Tobolsk ; thence, 

 crossing the Irtish on the ice (in early April), to Omsk, Semipalatinsk, and Lake 

 Zaisan. Turning to the northward they travelled via Barnaul to Tomsk, and em- 

 barked on the Obi, at the latter place, for Samarow, where a lotka or decked boat, 

 propelled chiefly by oars, was placed at their disposal for the work of exploration. 

 Nine days on board this craft brought them to Obdorsk, whence they proceeded 

 to ascend the Chuya, a considerable tributary which drains the eastern side of the 

 isthmus, and seemed to hold out promise of a navigable route over a considerable 

 portion of the interval separating the navigable waters of the great river from the 

 Arctic Ocean, at a point accessible by trading ships from Western Europe. The 

 object of the expedition (which was preceded in the same month by a Russian 

 party having the same mission) was to ascend this river as far as practicable, and 

 thence find the nearest and best road, by river as it was hoped, to the sea at 

 Kara Bay- The navigation of the Obi downward from Obdorsk was exciting, 

 owing to the immense waves of the giant river, which so terrified the native 

 crew that they would gladly have returned had they not been bound by contract. 

 The vessel kept close under the right bank, which presented high steep walls of 

 clay or sand, the opposite (left) bank being low and fringed with forest, beyond 

 which rise in picturesque beauty the snow-covered summits of the Ural mountains. 

 Their first halting-place was Knidski-Yursti, a station composed of six Ostiak 

 houses constructed of timber, and the chief residence of the venerable Ostiak 



