4o8 



The National Geographic Magazine 



skulls of Mastodon, and skulls, teeth, 

 and bones of the great saber-toothed 

 tiger Machcerodus, specimens of which 

 have also been found in England. One 

 of the prizes was the remains of perhaps 

 the largest tortoise ever found in Europe. 

 Very few bones of rodents or of birds 

 were found, but a considerable collec- 

 tion of land shells was obtained. Dr. 

 A. S. Woodward, who was in charge 

 of the excavations, has forwarded to 

 the British Museum 47 large cases of 

 fossils. 



Bathymetfical Survey of the Fresh- 

 water Lakes of England — In his presi- 

 dential address to the Geographical 

 Section of the British Association, at 

 Glasgow, Dr. Hugh R. Mill announced 

 that Sir John Murray and Mr. Eaurence 

 Pullar had resolved to complete the 

 bathymetrical survey of the fresh- water 

 lakes of the British Islands. Mr. Pullar 

 has conveyed to trustees a sum of money 

 sufficient to enable the investigation to 

 be commenced at once and to be carried 

 through in a thorough and comprehen- 

 sive manner. The work is intended as 

 a memorial to Mr. Pullar' s son, Mr. 

 Fred Pullar, who had begun the sur- 

 vey of the lochs of Scotland and was 

 drowned in Airthrey Loch in February, 

 1901, while endeavoring to save others. 

 Sir John Murray has agreed to direct the 

 scheme and to be, responsible for carry- 

 ing it out. All the lakes of the British 

 Islands will be sounded and mapped as 

 a preliminary to the complete limnolog- 

 ical investigation. The nature of the 

 deposits, the composition of the water, 

 the rainfall of the drainage areas, the 

 fluctuations in the level of the surface 

 and in temperature, and the plants and 

 animals in the lakes will be carefully 

 noted. Their geological history will 

 also be an object of study. Probably 

 five years will be required to complete 



the work. Memoirs will be published 

 as the task progresses, giving the com- 

 plete natural history of the lakes of one 

 river basin. 



Damascus and Mecca Railway. — The 



first section of the railway that is to 

 connect Damascus and Mecca was opened 

 in September. Reports from Constan- 

 tinople give an interesting account of 

 the opening ceremonies. Thousands of 

 spectators had gathered at Mezireh in 

 the early morning. Sheep were sacri- 

 ficed and earnest pra57ers offered for the 

 prompt and successful completion of the 

 railway and for the long life of the Sul- 

 tan. Then the governor general of 

 Syria, accompanied by sheiks, ulemas, 

 andprominentmen of Damascus, boarded 

 the railwaj^ carriages, which were decked 

 with Turkish flags, and the train moved 

 off amid the shouts of the enthusiastic 

 Mussulmen. The arrival of the train 

 at the other end of the section, Dera, 

 was likewise greeted by an immense 

 crowd. The Sultan in his palace on the 

 Bosphorus, 1,000 miles away, mean- 

 while was receiving bulletins telling of 

 the successful opening of the railroad. 

 Much importance is given by the 

 Turkish papers of the capital to the 

 construction of this route. They credit 

 the Sultan with originating the plan, 

 and state that as soon as the connections 

 between Damascus and Mecca and Me- 

 dina are completed he will push the 

 construction of the road northward to 

 connect with the Anatolian railway to 

 Constantinople. The political impor- 

 tance of this road cannot be overesti- 

 mated. It will bind together the prov-. 

 inces from Constantinople to the Gulf 

 of Aden, and enable the Sultan to con- 

 centrate his troops at any point between 

 the capital and the gulf, either to quell 

 domestic disorder or resist foreign en- 

 croachment. 



