GEOGRAPHIC MISCELLANEA 



TjiK Weatlier Bureau f^erviee is to l)e extended l)y the establislmient of ob- 

 servatories in all Mexican (Julf ports Iwtween Tamj)ico and Progreso. They 

 will be under the charge of the weather officials at Galveston, Texas. 



Thk Indian famine has increased to such an extent that it now affects an area 

 of territory in which there is a population of over 60,000,000. The government 

 gives relief work to al)Out four millions, and food to five millions more. 



Dr Nansen will lead a scientific party to the northern seas this summer for 

 the study of the ocean currents in the vicinity Df Iceland. The expedition, 

 which is organized under the auspices of the Norwegian government, will re- 

 turn in the autumn. 



The work of te.sting arctic currents by setting wooden casks adrift on the ice 

 north of this continent will be continued this year l)y the (-Jeograidiical Society 

 of Philadelphia. lOacli cask contains a l)Ottle having in it a Ijlank form to be 

 filled out by tiie finder. The work was begun by the Society last year at the 

 suggestion of Admiral Melville. 



In view of the imprisonment of General Cronjc and other Boer ofilcers at St 

 Helena, it may be interesting to know that a subinarine cable has been laid 

 from C'ai)e Town to the island, where it was landed in November, 1899. The 

 present tariff is $170 per word, but on the completion of the line the rate will 

 be reduced to 97 cents to England. 



Mr Grove K.vrl Gh.iskkt, of the United States Geological Survey, President 

 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a fre(pient 

 contributor to t!ie National Geo(;kai'hic Magazine, has been awarded the 

 AVollaston IMedal for 1899. This medal is given anmially by the Geological 

 Society of London for the most important geological discovery of the year. 



TirE number of ves.sels that passed through the Baltic Canal during the twelve 

 months ending March ;U, 1899, was 25,81(5, with an aggregate tonnage of 

 3,117,840. This was an increase of 2,708 ships and 048,045 tons over the pre- 

 ceding year. The total receipts amounted to !?.'>88,000, and while this was an 

 increa.se of 25 i)er cent over the previous year, it still fell short of the cost of 

 maintenance by $103,800. 



The death is announced of Mr Brandt, the chief engineer in charge of the 

 work of digging the Simplon Tunnel through the Alps, which will open a new 

 route between north and south Europe. Mr Brandt was the inventor of the 

 hydraulic rotary drilling machine with which the work is being done, and also 

 of an ingenious machine for removing the debris after the blasts. This ma- 

 chine throws a powerful stream of water by jerking iuiijulses into the stones 

 loosened by the blast and thereby loosens the dirt. Another invention of Mr 

 Brandt's, a system of ventilation, has been tried in the mines in Spain and has 

 proved effective. The excavation of the A rlberg Tunnel in 1867, through wliich 

 railroad comnuinication is made between Switzerland and Austria, was directed 

 by Mr Brandt. 



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