662 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 356. 



survey. He met with no hostility on the part 

 of the natives and had no fighting during the 

 whole journey. The physical diflQculties Were, 

 however, often very great. Describing his 

 journey, Herr Neumann said : " Baron Erlanger 

 and myself, accompanied by three Europeans — 

 Dr. Ellenbech and Messrs. Heutemuller and 

 Hillgart — left Zeila in January of last year, and 

 journeyed into Somaliland, where we had con- 

 siderable difficulty, and were unable to proceed 

 east owing to the movements of the Mad Mul- 

 lah. After crossing the Shibel River we trav- 

 ersed with difficulty a district full of caves 

 and came to the land of the Arosi Galles. We 

 visited the holy towns of Sheikh Hussein and the 

 holy mountains of Abulnass and Abulcassim, 

 which have never previously been explored. 

 Subsequently we traveled northwest by a new 

 route to Adis Abeba, crossing a plateau 9,000 

 feet high. We left the capital in November 

 last, and proceeded southwest along the 

 lakes to Lakes Stephanie and Rudolf. We 

 adopted the new eastern route of the Great 

 Rift Valley instead of following the tracks 

 of Captain Wellby or Mr. Harrison. Between 

 the Hawash River and Lake Stephanie we 

 discovered that, instead of five lakes, there 

 are no less than seven lakes, probably all relics 

 of the great diluvial lake basin. After a slow 

 and tedious journey we crossed the Omo River 

 and traveled through the quite unknown Abys- 

 sinian provinces of Ksha and Konta, which 

 have only been occupied since the Italian M'ar. 

 Subsequently I came to Kaffa, one of the richest 

 provinces of Abyssinia, covered with dense 

 forest, in which there is much coffee cultiva- 

 tion. My object now was to explore the 

 sources of the G^lo River, an important affluent 

 of the Sobat. I first passed through the land of 

 Gimirra and the independent countries of Bin- 

 escho and Scheko. Shortly afterwards I found 

 the Gelo River and followed its course, but the 

 further I proceeded the more difficult became 

 the traveling. My caravan was now in a ter- 

 rible plight. Glanders had again bi'oken out, 

 and out of 65 animals I had only 13 mules, two 

 horses, and two donkeys left. I was therefore 

 compelled to throw away tents, clothes, stores, 

 etc., in fact everything but my books and col- 

 lections. Our condition was made harder by 



reason of the fact that we were going through 

 a country which had almost been depopulated 

 owing to Abyssinian raids. Suddenly a steamer 

 appeared, having on board Slatin Pasha and 

 Bluett Bey, Mudir of Fashoda, who took us in 

 safety to Khartum." During the whole of this 

 long and arduous journey Herr Neumann never 

 had any trouble with the natives. 



Before the Section of Mathematics and 

 Physical Science of the British Association, 

 Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, the superintendent of 

 the -National Physical Laboratory, exhibited 

 plans of the new institution now being erected 

 at Bushey, gave a short history of the building, 

 and described the objects with which it has 

 been founded. According to the account in the 

 London Times he said that the main building 

 consisted of a substantial central block about 

 70 feet square standing on a vaulted basement. 

 At each corner there was a large wing practi- 

 cally single-storied ; the rooms in these were 

 being fitted up for various special purposes. 

 In the central building itself would be two gen- 

 eral laboratories. There would be a large en- 

 trance-hall, arranged as an apparatus room, 

 and a library. The basement contained six 

 rooms of fair size ; the floor had been covered 

 with a thick layer of concrete. The walls 

 were very thick, so that they were extremely 

 steady, and the temperature and conditions all 

 favorable for steady work. In addition there 

 were other smaller rooms in the basement ; 

 two of these were entirely surrounded by thick 

 interior walls and arrangements would be fitted 

 to maintain a steady temperature throughout 

 the year. At the back was another wing con- 

 taining a number of rooms suited for special 

 researches, and there a lift had been fitted and 

 also a mercury column having a height of 

 about 50 feet. For the more delicate physical 

 work the ground-floor and basement of the old 

 house afforded ample accommodation. For 

 the engineering work a room 80 feet by 50 

 feet had been built, lighted from the north 

 by a weaving shed roof. It was divided lon- 

 gitudinally into two bays by a series of 

 rolled steel pillars. The one bay would con- 

 tain a light traveling crane ; along the other 

 ran a line of shafting for driving the machinery 

 and for experimental purposes. Adjoining this 



