OcTonEK 10, 1SS3.1 



SCIENCE. 



547 



li.ive contained six or eight cubic feet. Along llic 

 sides of this gorge were the exposed trunks referred 

 to, all standing perfectly erect, and cut off at about 

 the same level. Some were but a few foet high, and 

 others as much as fifteen, the difference arising from 

 the slope of the ground on which the trees grew. 

 The trunks were of mature trees in the main, and 

 were evidently Abies Sitkensis, with a few of either 

 Thuja giganlea or .Juuiperus, perhaps J. occidentalis. 

 These trees must have been filled in tightly by drift 

 to a height of fifteen feet before being cut off: other- 

 wise the trunks now standing would have been split 

 down on the side opposite to that which received the 

 blow. The facts seemed to indieate th.it the many 

 feet of drift which had buried p.art of the trees in the 

 first instance were the work of a single season, and 

 that the subsequent total destruction of every vestige 

 of these great forests was the work of another one, 

 soon following. As in the case of the facts noted in 

 Hood's 15ay, the conclusion was justified, that the 

 total destruction of the forests, the covering of their 

 site by hundreds of feet of drift, and the subsequent 

 exposal of their remains, were all the work of a few- 

 hundred years. — {Acad. nat. sc. Pldlad.; meeliiui 

 Aug. 2S.) [294 



MINERALOGY. 

 Stibnite from Japan. — Within the last few 

 months most remarkable specimens of stibnite from 

 Mount Kosang, in southern Japan, have been received 

 in America. For great size and beauty, as well as 

 comple.xity of form, they rival all specimens of the 

 same species from other localities, while the crystals 

 have arrived at a degree of perfection rarely met with 

 in metallic minerals. The crystals have been care- 

 fully studied and fully described by E. S. Dana. 

 Their great complexity of form is of the highest sci- 

 entific interest. There had previously been identified 

 on stibnite forty-five crystal planes. Of these, thirty 

 have been observed on the Japanese crystals, and, in 

 addition, forty new ones. The habit of the crystals 

 is quite constant, being prismatic, elongated in the 

 direction of the vertical axis, single crystals obtain- 

 ing often a length of over twenty inches and a width 

 of two inches. The prismatic planes are deeply 

 striated. The crystals are usually terminated by a 

 few polished pyramidal f.aces. They are usually 

 quite simple in form; very complicated, large crystals 

 occurring only occasionally, while the more compli- 

 cated ones are usually small. The planes in the zone 

 between the brachypinacoid (010) and unit macro- 

 dome (101) are tl.o;e which ordinarily terminate the 

 crystal. Another remarkable /.one is between the 

 brachypinacoid (010) and macrodome (203), consist- 

 ing of ten planes, all but one of which are new, .and 

 as many as nine of which have been observed on a 

 single crystal. A bending in the direction of the 

 macrodiagonal axis is a feature of the crystals, ami 

 seems to be characteristic of the species. In the 

 Japanese crystals this bending seems to be confined 

 to the termination. A corkscrew-like twist has been 

 observed in slender crystals. The lustre of the crys- 

 tals is very remarkable, and is to be compared to 

 highly polished steel, while the perfect brachy- 



pin.acoidal cleav.age yields a cleavage-surface of re- 

 markable beauty. — (/Iwcr. journ. «c., Sept., 1888.) 

 «. I-. p. [295 



GEOGRAPHY. 



Railw^ays in the Caspian region. — General 

 ChernaictT, the governor of Turkestan, has recently 

 gone over the route from Kungr.ad to the Caspian in 

 person, and finds it well suited for vehicles, liven a 

 railway between the delta of the Oxus and the Gulf 

 Mertvi-kuttuk has been talked of. The connection 

 of Tiflis and Baku by rail is completed, and the jour- 

 ney can now be m.ade between the IJIack and Caspian 

 seas in thirty hours without change. — {Coiiiptes ren- 

 dus soc. (jemjr., June.) w. u. D. [296 



Prjevalski's travels. —This iiidefatig.able explor- 

 er has just started for Kiachta, on the Siberian bor- 

 der of China, in order to continue his researches in 

 central Asia. On this occasion he w ill endeavor to 

 penetr.ate the north-west part of Thibet, without 

 giving up his original idea of reaching Lassa, or at 

 least as far as Hatang or Tziamdo. He will have a 

 well-armed escort of some twenty men, fully equipped 

 for two j-ears' service. The publication of the third 

 volume of his travels has just been finished. During 

 these he has travelled 20,530 kilometies; topographi- 

 cally sketched over 12,00u kilometres along his line of 

 travel, in countries previously quite unknown; de- 

 termined the altitude of 212 points, and the latitude 

 of 48 localities; and has collected ten or twelve thou- 

 sand specimens of animals and plants belonging to 

 over two thousand species. — ( Comptes rendus soe. 

 Oiogr., June.) w. n. d. [297 



{Africa.) 



Notes. — C. Doelter has ascended the Rio Grande 

 as far as Futa Djallun, but w.as prevented from going 

 fartlier east by a war among the natives. He believes 

 that the Rio Grande has been incorrectly mapped, 

 and doubts its alleged identity with the Tomani 



River. The English have annexed the Guinea 



coast from the right bank of the Mann.ah Kiver 

 toward the Liberian boundary-line, — a distance of 

 eight leagues in a north-westerly direction; and the 

 Portuguese government has ceded to England the 

 fort of St. John de Ajuda, situated on the Dahomey 

 coast. Ajuda, or Whyd.ah, is situated a short distance 

 from the coast, on a shallow lagoon. The port is a 

 poor one, like all those on the Guinea coast; and 

 there are very few white residents. It is said that 

 the cession w.as contingent on the recognition, by 

 England, of the acquired rights of Portugal on the 



Congo. Robert Flegel, during the past season, 



has discovered the source of the Binud, an afSuent 

 from the east of the lower Niger, and also of the 

 Logud, which discharges into Lake Chad. In this 

 way he has been able to trace the watershed between 

 the two basins, through a previously unexplored dis- 

 trict. Uore has arrived at Ujiji on Lake Tangan- 

 yika, .and proposes to establish a regular postal service 

 on the lake, between the missionary and other sta- 

 tions. Dr. Baxter has attempted an exploration 



of the country of the Massai adjacent to Mpuapua. 



