M6 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 227. 



Egyptian governmeut for the Nile explora- 

 tion, the two surveys should mutually ben- 

 efit each other. The materials aiforded by 

 the one cannot but throw light upon those 

 of the other, many of the species of the two 

 great rivers being closely allied. 



As regards the scope and working of the 

 survey, it is suggested, as a preliminary 

 step, that a series of stations should be 

 established along the river, extending, at 

 intervals, from the Delta to Lado, in the 

 territory Teased by the Egyptian govern- 

 ment to the Congo Free State, and as far to 

 the south of this as possible. Instructions 

 for collecting fishes, written in English and 

 Arabic, will be sent to some responsible 

 ofificial in each of these localities, accom- 

 panied by a collecting box and alcohol, sup- 

 plied by the British Museum, while the ser- 

 vices of fishermen and others will be en- 

 listed in the work, a fair price being paid 

 to them for the fishes they collect. 



Dr. Keatinge, the officer in charge of the 

 Museum of ISTatural History of the Medical 

 School of Cairo, has been entrusted with 

 the general supervision of the service of the 

 survey. He will see to the reception of the 

 collecting materials from the British Mu- 

 seum, to their distribution to the different 

 stations, to their reception when returned 

 filled with fishes, and to forwarding them 

 to London. The actual superintendence of 

 the working of the survey is to be under- 

 taken by an ofiicer, who will be constantly 

 on the river at all seasons, visiting the dif- 

 ferent stations, inspecting the collections 

 formed, making sure that everything pos- 

 sible is being done to obtain fishes, and gen- 

 erally satisfying himself that the specimens 

 are properly preserved, and that they are 

 fairly representative. He will also par- 

 ticularly note the physical characters of the 

 river at each station, find out as much as 

 possible about the habits of the fishes, the 

 depth at which they are found, the general 

 character of the river bed, the seasons in 



which the fishes breed, and the nature of 

 their food. He will further be required to 

 satisfy himself that the native names have 

 been correctly recorded in Arabic and 

 rightly applied. 



Mr. Leonard Loat has been appointed to 

 this responsible post of superintendent of 

 the survey, and on him will devolve the 

 task of seeing that the work is carried out 

 in a thoroughly efiicient manner. He left 

 London a short time ago for Cairo, and has 

 already commenced operations on Lake 

 Menzaleh. During the first year it is pro- 

 posed to carry the investigation as far as 

 Wady Haifa ; in the second year the river 

 will be worked between Wady Haifa and 

 Berber, and in the third year it is hoped to 

 continue the survey to Sobat, and, if con- 

 ditions are favorable, through the sudd and 

 rapids between Lado and Dufile, and, ulti- 

 mately, perhaps to carry the exploration of 

 the river to its origin in the Albert Nyanza. 

 In this connection it may be stated that the 

 assistance of the authorities of the Congo 

 Free State has been invited, and an assur- 

 ance of their hearty cooperation has, it is 

 understood, been received informally, leav- 

 ing no room for doubt that an official ex- 

 pression to the same effect will be shortly 

 forthcoming. 



These are the lines on which the projected 

 survey of the Nile is to be conducted. It 

 is obvious that, apart from the mere knowl- 

 edge of how many species of fishes exist in 

 the river, great economic questions will 

 come to the front when their life-history is 

 studied. Also it is hoped that the survey 

 may help to elucidate many problems re- 

 lating to the fishes sculptured on the ancient 

 monuments of Egypt. Dr. Anderson is tak- 

 ing special pains to obtain drawings of as 

 many of these fish forms as possible, and he 

 regards it as not improbable that a scientific 

 investigation of the fishes obtained in the 

 river will lead to an identification of many 

 of the species represented in stone. These 



