April 27, 1SS3.] 



SCIENCE. 



343 



times backing through the east when the centre passes 

 inland. Australia sends storm-warnings by cable to 

 New Zealand. Nearly every barometric depression 

 observed in the former region reaches the latter, re- 

 quiring two or three days for the intermediate ocean- 

 passase. — {Trans, roy. soc. Victoria, xyH'i.) w. m. d. 



[717 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



Haiwaiian Islands. — Preparatory to his studies 

 of the Cascade range, Capt. Dutton, of the U. S. 

 geological survey, visited the Hawaiian Islands last 

 year. He regards Kilauea formed independently of 

 Manna Loa, and describes its lava-lake. The colos- 

 sal eruptions of Mauna Loa were especially remark- 

 able: that of 1S5.5 would have built Vesuvius. The 

 mountain has no cinder-cones; and when in eruption 

 there is no roar of vapors or cloud of steam, but a 

 huge river of fiery lava wells forth like water from a 

 radial fissure on the mountain flank, sometimes begin- 

 ning as a great fountain several hundred feet high, 

 then swiftly flowing down toward the sea. The lava 

 being very liquid, the volcano is abnormally flat, and, 

 as yet, it has no streams or ravines upon it; but 

 there are many long tunnels in the lava, which lead 

 the drainage underground. Mauna Kea has numer- 

 ous cinder-cones, which form striking features on its 

 slopes. The difference between the erosion on its 

 windward and leeward sides is very marked. The 

 other islands were also examined. Haleakala, on 

 Maui, presents grand scenery in its deep valleys; 

 Oahu and Kaui are also deeply eroded, implying a 

 cessation of their activity earlier than that of Hawaii, 

 but not necessarily an earlier beginning. — [Amer. 

 journ. sc. 1SS3, 219. ) w. it. D. [718 



GEOGRAPHY. 



(Arciic.) 



Norw^egian arctic fishery in 1882. — The fish- 

 eries from Troraso and Haramerfest employed 575 

 persons, in 67 vessels of 2,654 tons total burden, and 

 produced, in 1882, 148 walrus, 5,839 seal of all spe- 

 cies, 117 beluga, 49 polar-bears, 211 reindeer, 332 kilos 

 eider-down, 65 hectolitres whale-blubber, 261,400 had- 

 dock, 369 hectolitres of haddock-livers, and 2,430 of 

 other fish-livers, — having a total value of some 210-, 

 000 kronor, or about $60,000. — {Deutsch. geogr. hi., 

 vi. i. 1883. ) w. H. D. [719 



Commerce of the 'White Sea. — In curious con- 

 trast with prevalent notions about the arctic regions, 

 are the statistics of trade between the four ports of 

 Norwegian Finmark and the Russian ports of the 

 White Sea, especially Archangel. In 1881 four hun- 

 dred and seventy vessels, employing over two thou- 

 sand men, visited the Finmark ports; and in 1882 a 

 still larger number, bringing goods, chiefly the prod- 

 uct of tlie rich fisheries of the White Sea, to the 

 amount of more than §700,000, and receiving cargoes 

 for Russia of nearly equal value. — {Deulsch. geoyr. 

 bi, vi. i., 1883.) w. h. d. [720 



(.Ana.) 



Persia. — Stack's 'Six months in Persia' (2 v.. 

 New York, Putnam, 1882) is an entertaining narra- 

 tive of an overland journey by one well fitted for it 

 from his knowledge of the language of the country. 

 His descriptions seldom have an especially geographi- 

 cal turn, as raost of his route had been fully described 

 before; but one would like to hear more of the burial 

 of the old town of Askizar in drifting sands (ii. 4), 

 of the depth to which the rivers have cut in the alluvial 



slope at the foot of the mountains, so as to be out of 

 reach for irrigation, and of the ascent of Demavend 

 (ii. 179). The characteristic Persian landscape is 

 desert plains bordered by rugged mountains, with 

 villages along the lower slopes where they can get a 

 supply of water. The accounts of the people's dis- 

 satisfaction under Persian misgovernment; of their 

 apparent desire for external control, and their wonder 

 whether it will come from Russia or England, of 

 which they have very indistinct notions; and of the 

 polyglot society in the larger towns,— are all of inter- 

 est. A chapter is given on the outfit necessary for 

 travelling in comfort; and a number of route-maps 

 illustrate the several parts of the journey from 

 Busliir to Karraan, Ispahan, Tehran, and the Cas- 

 pian. — w. M. D. [721 



Southern Persia. — Persian exploration seems to 

 be attracting much attention in England; and tlie 

 March number of the Royal geographical society's 

 proceedings is almost entirely occupied with the ac- 

 counts of recent travellers there, and the discussions 

 their narratives excited. Col. Champain points out 

 the small amount of trade carried on with Persia by 

 British merchants, and shows that Russian wares are 

 superseding British in the Persian markets. This 

 lie ascribes to the wretched condition of the roads 

 from the southern coast of tlie country and in Turk- 

 ish Arabia, and advocates an attempt to improve 

 them, as well as to build a railroad from Baghdad to 

 Khanakin (100 m. ), and to improve the channel of 

 the Kariin River where obstructed by rocks at Ahwaz. 

 G. S. Mackenzie, of the house of Gray, Paul, & Co., 

 at Bnshir, on the Persian Gulf, described his expe- 

 rience on inland journeys, made some years ago, as 

 far as Ispahan ; and, while he considered it too soon to 

 project railroads there, he thought much could be 

 done by improving the rivers and roads. Capt. H. 

 L. Welis gives detailed narrative and surveys of sev- 

 eral routes across the mountainous country from 

 Bushir, inland to Ispahan, and from Lake Niris, near 

 Shiraz on the south-east, as far as the Karun River, 

 300 miles to the north-west. Although far better 

 than the deserts of central Persia, the towns are 

 generally forlorn and dirty, and the roads are very 

 rough. Lake Niris is also quite unlike the flat 

 swamps of the desert regions farther east, as its 

 shore-line is very irregular, its banks are often pre- 

 cipitous, and numerous rocky islands rise from its 

 blue waters. It was found to have a large extension 

 to the east from its north-western end, not previously 

 explored, known as Taslit or Nargis, joining the 

 main lake by a narrow passage. The lake has no 

 outlet, and its waters are bad but drinkable. Ruins 

 and cuneiform inscriptions were found at several 

 points. — w. M. D. [722 



Yesso. — This northern Japanese island is de- 

 scribed by Dr. Brauns of Halle as even more pictur- 

 esque than Dai Nippon. Its surface is sharply broken 

 by mountain and valley, and the volcanic peaks and 

 leaping streams give it a most attractive landscape. 

 Volcano Bay, north of Hakodate, with numerous 

 cones rising to six thousand feet around it, is named 

 as one of the most beautiful places in the world. 

 The central part of the island contains a bold and 

 high range of old crystalline rocks, bordered by the 

 heavy miocene lignite formation, and the fossiliferous 

 pliocene strata. The volcanic rocks belong with 

 the latter, and consist of the true eruptive masses 

 (Lyman's 'old volcanic formation') and the later 

 stratified tuffs, which often cover extensive areas. 

 No glacial action is recognized in the quaternary 

 deposits. Brief notes are added on the fauna and 

 flora. — ( Fer/i. erdk. Berl., 1883, 43.) w. M. D. [723 



