May 3, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



501 



The American Naturalist for March con- 

 tains illustrations of some remarkable forms 

 of deep sea fishes dredged by the U. S. 

 Steamer Albatross at depths varying from 

 700 to 1500 fathoms and recently described 

 by Dr. G. Brown Goode and Mr. Tarletou 

 H. Bean in the Proceedings of the U. S. 

 National Museum. The genera have been 

 named Hariotta. Rondletia and Cctomimus. 



M. l'Abbe Maze has communicated to 

 the Paris Academy an account of the earliest 

 meteorological observations made in France. 

 They were carried out by the asti-onomer 

 Boulliau from the 25th of Maj', 1658, to 

 19th of September, 1660. The winter was 

 uuusuallj- cold, whereas April was warnu'r 

 than in any recent year, excepting April, 

 1865. M. Maze also shows that Boulliau 

 used a mercury thermometer 62 years be- 

 fore Fahrenheifs invention. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. 



At the regular meeting of the National 

 Geogi-aphic Society in the large hall of 

 Cosmos Club, Washington, D. C, Friday 

 evening, April 19, Mr. Robert T. Hill, of 

 the U. S. Geological Survey, delivered an 

 address upon the Geography and Geology 

 of Costa Rica and Panama. The fact that 

 he has only recently returned from a tour 

 of scientific investigation of the region, 

 during which he saw a good deal of the 

 prevailing revolutionarj- spirit, gave special 

 interest to his remarks. 



Grateful acknowledgment was made for 

 the opportunity to study the geology of the 

 adjacent continental and island areas fur- 

 nished the speaker by the enlightened lib- 

 erality of Prof. Agassiz. 



Mr. Hill's lecture, illustrated by a large 

 number of very interesting lantern slides, 

 mostly from photographs taken by him dur- 

 ing his recent ti-ip, was partly popular and 

 partly technical in character, descrijitive of 

 the topography, vegetation, products, archi- 



tecture and customs of the widely contrast- 

 ing regions of the Isthmus of Panama and 

 the modern Spanish American Republic of 

 Costa Rica to the northward. 



The Isthmus was discussed as a type of 

 the low-lying costal lands of the tropical 

 region, where Caucasian population could 

 only be maintained by constant immigra- 

 tion, and which would be uninhabited did 

 it not lie in the track of commerce between 

 two oceans. All of its population, except 

 a few unconquered Indian tribes, is concen- 

 trated in the two seaports of Colon and 

 Panama, or along the right of way of the 

 railwaj' and canal. On either side it is 

 still an unconquered jungle. The impor- 

 tant commercial and political American in- 

 terests in this region were discussed, show- 

 ing that its traffic is entirely in the control of 

 Americans, and that it is an important point 

 between our Atlantic and Pacific sea-ports. 



Costa Rica, on the other hand, is an ex- 

 ample of the higher and better climatic 

 conditions existing in the Tropical Ameri- 

 can region, where indigenous civilization 

 flourishes under healthy climate conditions. 

 ]\Ir. Hill spoke of this as an ideal country 

 and praised the hospitality and progressive 

 spirit of the people. Illustrations were 

 given of the entire course of the Panama 

 canal, showing the topograph}', cuttings, 

 machinery and laborers at present working 

 upon the construction. While not commit- 

 ting himself to any preference of canal 

 routes, he said that the aftairs of the Pana- 

 ma Canal Companj- had been painted in 

 this countrj- much darker than they de- 

 served. A far greater amount of work had 

 l)ecn accomplished than is supposed. The 

 machinery instead of rotting is kept in the 

 best of condition and tlie aflairs of the 

 Company are not as hopelessly involved as 

 represented. A lil)cral sum is still in the 

 treasury, and while tlie concern is in the 

 hands of the courts, it looks as if the French 

 had no intention, after having completed 



