622 
Whitehall, on October 2d, Mr. JohnC. Fell (Presi- 
dent), in the chair. According to the account in 
the London Times, a paper was read by Mr. J. 
Bridges Lee on ‘ Photographic Surveying.’ The 
author set out in detail the special advantages 
of the photographic method. Among these ad- 
vantages are: (1) A more complete and accu- 
rate record than can be obtained by any other 
means ; (2) saving of time in the field ; (8) ability 
to take full advantage of short clear interludes 
in unsettled weather; (4) special advantages 
for military purposes in an enemy’s country ; 
(5) utility for travelers rapidly traversing a 
country ; (6) usefulness for detecting geological 
and physiographical changes; (7) economy in 
operation. The author then passed in review 
the various kinds of photo-topographic appa- 
ratus which had beeen designed and con- 
structed, pointing out the distinctive features 
of most of the best known instruments. All 
the best photographic survey work everywhere 
had been done with plane projection instru- 
ments. The author described the improve- 
ments made by him, designed to facilitate the 
subsequent interpretation of the photographs. 
These improvements consist of certain mechan- 
ical appliances inside the camera for securing 
an automatic record on the face of every picture 
taken of the horizon and principal vertical lines, 
of the compass bearing of the optic axis or 
principal plane, of a scale of horizontal angles 
applicable to all points visible in the picture, 
and of memoranda of useful information rela- 
ting to the particular picture. 
REUTER’S AGENCY reports that Dr. Carl 
Peters, the explorer, left Portuguese territory at 
the beginning of August, and crossed into Ma- 
shonaland, taking with him two of his prospec- 
tors, Messrs. Blocker and Gramann. The rest 
of his expedition he left in the neighborhood of 
the ancient ruins re-discovered by him near the 
Zambesi. He expresses his intention of estab- 
lishing a permanent station on the Inyanga 
Highlands, and from that point of exploring the 
whole of Mashonaland from north to south. 
Besides gold, Dr. Peters claims to have dis- 
covered mica, saltpeter, and diamonds in a dis- 
trict practically uninhabited at an altitude of 
8,000 feet, and, he believes, easily capable of 
cultivation. As the rainy season is now setting 
SCIENCE. 
[N. S. Vou. X. No. 252. 
in Dr. Peters will, after exploring some dis- 
tricts on the Pungwe River, proceed to Beira 
en route for England. 
AT a special meeting of the American For- 
estry Association at Columbus, in connection 
with the meeting of the American Association, 
resolutions were adopted recommending : 
1. The creation of an international commission, 
through M. Meline, of Paris, to arrange for a Con- 
gress of Forestry at the Paris Exposition of 1900. 
2. The purchase and reservation, by the State of 
Ohio, of tracts of timber land at the headwaters of 
the principal rivers of the State in order to prevent 
the increasing loss of life and property by flood, and 
for the better preservation of a water supply in time 
of drought. 
3. The establishment of colleges and schools of 
forestry in the various States, with as much assistance 
as possible, in encouragement of the work, from the 
Department of Agriculture. 
4. Commending the policy adopted by the State of 
Pennsylvania in the appointment of an expert forester 
to organize and conduct the forest interests of the 
State, and to educate its citizens in practical forestry. 
5. Urging the suitable presentation of the subject 
of forestry at the meetings of teachers’ associations, 
farmers’ institutes, and other similar gatherings, ‘‘ to 
the end that the people may be taught to give earnest 
attention to this much-neglected, but vitally impor- 
tant interest.”’ 
THE Vienna correspondent of the London 
Times writes that the trials of the system of 
rapid telegraphy invented by two Hungarians, 
MM. Pollak and Virag, which took place be- 
tween Budapest and Berlin at midnight on 
September 29th, are represented to have practi- 
cally justified the claims made on behalf of the 
new process. The experiments were conducted 
at both ends under the personal direction of the 
inventors in the presence of experts, including 
representatives of the Hungarian and French 
governments and one of the American cable 
companies. These are alleged to have given 
the extraordinary result of a transmission of 
no fewer than 220 words in ten seconds without 
prejudicing the clearness of the message. A 
perforated roll of paper, similar to that at pres- 
ent in use, is employed for the dispatch of the 
message, which is made visible and fixed photo- 
graphically at the receiving station. Instead 
