258 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. I., No. 9. 



None are known where the winter, or at least the 

 January temperature, does not average below the 

 freezing-point. The most important previous studies 

 are by Thury. Sur les glaciferes naturelles [Bibl. 

 univ. Geneve, 18(31), and by Browne, Ice-eaves of 

 France and Switzerland (1865). — {Peterin. mittli., 

 1883, 12.) w. M. D. [549 



GEOGRAPHY. 



(.Arctic.) 

 Notes from the north. — The Eussian authori- 

 ties have established meteorological stations at Mesen 



and BereosofE in west Siberia. The international 



station at the mouth of the Lena reached its des- 

 tination in August, and erected its dwelling on the 

 island of Sagastir, with four observatories connected 



with it by covered pathways. The Eussian savant 



Eliseieff is pursuing ethnological studies in Eussian 

 Lapland, and reports tliat there ai'e not in that 

 area nioi-e than three hundred individuals of the 



Lapp race. The ' Louise,' after unsuccessful 



attempts to carry a cargo to the Yenisei in 1881 

 and 1882, linally returned to Europe with the much- 

 handled cargo, which had, part of the time, been 

 stored at Hanimerfest. For some time, at least, it is 

 expected that the commerce of the Weser will flow 

 preferably in any other direction than toward the 

 Yenisei, if, indeed, these repeated failures do not put 



a quietus on trade by the Karagates. The results 



of the hydrographie investigations carried on during 

 the voyage of the schooner ' Willem Barentz ' are ex- 

 hibited in the December number of the Annalen der 



hydroc/raphie for 1883, by Bogoslavski. The ' Jean- 



nette ' survivors left Liverpool for New York on the 



18th instant. A chart of the ' north polar lands ' 



by Berghaus, with special reference to the work of 

 the international polar commission, is on the point 

 of publication by Justus Perthes. The stations will 

 be represented in red, and the limits will extend to 

 latitude 60°. The waters eastward from the Taimyr 

 peninsula have received the name of the Norden- 

 skiold Sea from the autlior of the map, which will, 

 as a matter of course, represent the latest researches, 

 and, moreover, will be sold for the inconsiderable 



sum of one dollar. Tlie Danish expedition in 



Greenland is to be commanded by Lieut. Holm, wlio 

 will give two yijars to the work. Dr. Boas pro- 

 ceeded to the German station at Cumberland Inlet, 

 with the meteorological party, in order to make a 



special study of the Innuit. Poliakoff, who went 



in the summer of 1881 to the island of Saklialin to 

 make collections and explorations tor the St. Peters- 

 biu'g academy of sciences, passed most of the winter 

 on the south-east coast, at Taranka, Patience Bay. 

 Rich collections, and a part of his report, with maps, 

 have already been received, and will soon bfe pub- 

 lished. He willjiow proceed to the western shore of 

 the Gulf of Tartl^ry, and continue his investigations 



between Sakhalin and Vladivostok. An account 



of Dr. Stejncger's journey and observations in Kamt- 

 chatka and the Commander Islands of Bering Sea 

 appears in Matm-cn, — a popular scientific monthly of 

 Christiania, Norway. — AV. H. D. |550 



(Europe.) 

 Moors of Oldenburg. — The construction of 

 canals through the moorlands of the duchy of 

 Oldenburg has given much accurate information 

 about them, which is summarized by chief inspector 

 T. Schacht. Their area is 1,000 D km. (about 400 

 D miles) in a total surface of 5,376 □ km. The lower 

 moors are perfectly level, and occupy depressions 

 once filled with water. The upland moors are faintly 



undulating or slightly convex, sometimes climbing 

 fifty feet above sea-level, and only occupy ground that 

 has free drainage even at its lowest point. They begin 

 at some moist locality with the growth of sphagnum, 

 which, by its power of absorbing and holding moist- 

 ure, spreads over the surrounding surface, and drives 

 out the pre-existing vegetation. The thiclcness of 

 these deposits sometimes reaches thirty feet. Great 

 quantities of peat are taken from the moors, and 

 hardly any other fuel is used in this region. It serves 

 in brickyards, and even in iron and steel works; one 

 establishment at Augustfehn requiring five to seven 

 tons daily. The moors still in growth are impassa- 

 ble, but the older are of firmer surface. Of the latter, 

 270 D km. are under cultivation, and a small part of 

 the remainder is sometimes burnt over for growing 

 buckwheat, filling the air with a dark, penetrating 

 smoke. The moors are underlaid by sand or some- 

 times clay; and not unfrequently the remains of old 

 forests of fir, birch, alder, hazelnut, and, on the 

 higher ground, of oak, are found beneath the peat. 

 Birch stumps are sometimes found growing on a thin 

 layer of turf, showing an alternation of forest and 

 moor conditions before the latter took final possession 

 of the surface. Roman coins and weapons and the 

 remains of plank roads are found four or more metres 

 below the surface, implying a growth of that amount 

 in two thousand years. Similar moorlands are 

 common throughout northern Germany. — (Peterm. 

 mitth., 1883, 5.) w. M. D. [551 



(.Aula.) 

 North-eastern Borneo and Sulu islands. — W. 

 B. Pryer, British north Borneo company's resident at 

 Elopura, furnishes a general description of this region 

 and its tribes. One of the chief features of north- 

 eastern Borneo, or Sabah, is a low plain, some four 

 thousand square miles in extent, enclosed by hills and , 

 mountains of sandstone and limestone on the north, 

 west, and south. It has a heavy rainfall, and receives 

 also the drainage of the high lands to the west in the 

 form of numerous large rivers, along which there are 

 many native villages in spite of the danger from fever. 

 The higher land is thought probably suitable for Eu- 

 ropean settlement. The forest fauna includes the 

 elephant, rhinoceros, orang-outang, and some twenty 

 kinds of monkeys, besides buffalo, deer, pigs, and bear, 

 and many other animals. The largest orang-outang 

 found measured four feet four inches in height; their 

 appearance is deceptive, as they seem much taller. 

 The adjoining islands of the Sulu archipelago are gen- 

 erally volcanic, though no volcanic rock is found on 

 the part of Borneo" visited. The islands are hilly, 

 populous, generally cleared, and fairly well cultivated. 

 They are surrounded by white coral strands, and, 

 with their moderate temperature and pleasant, light 

 breeze, are unusually attractive. The tribes of this 

 region are very numerous. Some interesting details 

 of their customs and condition are given. — (Proc. 

 rotj. fjeogr. .toe, 1883, 90.) w. m. d. [552 



(Pacific Ocean.) 

 Mindanao. — The account of Dr. J. Montano's 

 ethnographic exploration of this island of the Phil- 

 ippine group includes a few notes on its physical 

 appearance. Its rocks are generally eruptive, partly 

 covered with deposits of coral rock, implying a mod- 

 ern upheaval. Similar coral reefs fringe the shore. 

 Near the northern end of the island is the circular 

 Lake Mainit. about five miles in diameter, apparently 

 situated in an ancient crater with steeply sloping 

 borders. Earthquakes are frequent and violent in its 

 vicinity. The surrounding mountains contain warm 

 springs, and, especially when the atmospheric press- 



