716 REPORT— 1891. 



thought, the one regarding acclimatisation as impossible, the other more sanguine- 

 and pronouncing it possible. Piobably the truth will be found to be a mean betweea 

 the two. In considering the subject, it is necessary to specify first, the various nations 

 who are to be acclimatised, and secondly, the places where they are to be located. 

 As regards the first point, the national characteristics, habits, customs, and environ- 

 ment must be taken into account, and with respect to the second, the nature of the 

 country, its climatology, its inhabitants, their mortality and endemic diseases must 

 be brought under survey. The next point is to classify the various European 

 nations, and it becomes evident that they can only become readily acclimatised in 

 the temperate zone, where climatic and other conditions are approximately akin to 

 their present habitat. 



In reference to Europeans becoming acclimatised in the Tropics, what are 

 those factors which prevent it or which must be overcome before it is 

 possible ? They are as follows : — Heat, cold, damp, various endemic diseases, 

 especially malaria, and those constitutional conditions induced by climate which 

 either destroy the immigrants or diminish their fertility after one or two genera- 

 tions. Progress has been made during recent years in enabling persons to reside 

 longer and to enjoy greater health in the Tropics. What probability is there that 

 science will accomplish still more in rendering acclimatisation possible for 

 Europeans in tropical countries ? 



2. Changes in Coast Lines. By Dr. J. S. Phene. 



Dr. Pheu6 pointed out that the changes in the configuration of the coast lines 

 of the earth exceeded even the large estimate of those who attributed so much to 

 erosion by rivers, glaciers, and general aqueous causes. The contiguous currents 

 in the Gulf of Florida, which originated the Gulf Stream, attested by the result* 

 of their operation decades of millions of years ; and the configuration of what 

 were now the British Islands appeared mainly due to that influence. 



3. Morocco as a Field for Geographers. By J. E. Budgett Meakin. 



Only a small portion of the country is at all fairly known, and on the whole it 

 may be considered, not only for geographers, but for all men of science, as virgin soil. 

 Only one traveller has explored the famous Atlas to any extent, and given to 

 the world satisfactory maps and other topographical data. This is the Baron de 

 Foucauld, who travelled some years ago in the disguise of a Jewish Rabbi. The 

 failure of all others who have attempted this task has been due to their unsuit- 

 ability, chieflj' arising from their ignorance of the people and the language. Rohlfs 

 penetrated as far as De Foucauld, on the whole, but had no means of preserving a 

 scientific record. The only authority with regard to the flora and geology of any 

 portion of the highlands is the work of Hooker and Ball. There is no reliable 

 map of Morocco, the only real attempt having been made by Capt. Baudouin, for 

 the French War Office, in 1848. This is compiled partly from actual observation 

 and the records of travellers, but for the most part depends on the vague informa- 

 tion of natives. 



The configuration of the Atlas is considerably diflerent from that shown on 

 most maps. Instead of one long chain stretching in a south-westerly direction, it 

 is in reality composed of three more or less parallel lines, which are best defined as 

 the Medium, the Great, and the Lesser Atlas ; the first named being the northern- 

 most, and the last bordering on the Sahara. Of these only the centre of the Great 

 Atlas has been to any extent explored. 



4. On the Aborigines of Western Australia. By Miss E. M. Clerke, 



The monastic settlement of New Nursia, seventy miles from Perth, in Westero 

 Australia, is the most striking refutation of the generally received belief in the 

 irredeemable degradation of the Australian aborigines. Founded in 1846, by two 



