466 Chronicles of Science. [July, 



plored that extremely interesting and little known country, Mexico, in 

 company with Mr. Edward Tylor, the author of ' Anahuac,' a work of 

 great research, and still later of a very thoughtful, carefully col- 

 lected, and judicious book, entitled ' Eesearches into the Early History 

 of Mankind.' These two works of his friend and companion indicate 

 the line of research of Henry Christy, and in him the scientific world 

 has to regret a patient collector and a learned thinker. Mr. Christy 

 was no mere musty antiquarian ; but his sympathy and his charity 

 were warmly extended to many in their need — to the Irish during the 

 famine, to the Danes during the war. 



After our losses, let us reckon our prospective gains. Next in im- 

 portance to the exploration of the neighbourhood of the North Pole, 

 which we defer noticing until we come to the proceedings of the 

 Geographical Society, ranks the proposal for the exploration of Pales- 

 tine. This is certainly an association of things new and old, which 

 ought to keep us in mind of our own ignorance, and make us a little 

 humble as to our scientific acquirements. That the country most in- 

 teresting to us, not only on religious grounds, but even on a mere 

 historical basis, —for the history of the Jews is the oldest, and of old 

 histories the best known of all, — that this land should be so little 

 known to us that we cannot determine very many important localities ; 

 that we should know nothing, comparatively speaking, of its geo- 

 logical formation ; and that the remains of its ancient races once 

 hidden beneath the soil, have never been disturbed by the spade of 

 the explorer, is extraordinary, to say the least of it, and if we can 

 afford, for a time, to forget the disgrace which this entails upon us, it 

 may be a most fortunate circumstance, since all that may be hence- 

 forth brought to light will be most carefully preserved, and accurate 

 note will be taken of the position and accompaniments of each sepa- 

 rate discovery. The survey of Jerusalem and of the level of the 

 Dead Sea by the sappers under Captain Wilson, E.E., has suggested 

 to a body of clergymen and laymen the propriety of forming a fund, 

 similar to the Assyrian Exploration Fund, for extending this kind of 

 survey and increasing its usefulness. There is much in the geology 

 of the Holy Land, especially in the condition of the valley of the 

 Jordan and the Dead Sea, that will excite the curiosity of the lovers 

 of this science. The architecture of this country, perhaps, affords a 

 wider scope than any in existence, since we have Jewish, Roman, 

 Crusading, and Moslem modifications, all embraced within a small 

 area, though extending over a vast period of time. Probably a not 

 unimportant light may be thrown upon the origin of our own so-called 

 Norman style, as originating from the influence of the Crusading 

 and Moslem buildings upon one another. Again, the Holy sites have 

 ever afforded a bone of contention for sects and topographers to 

 wrangle over. Many of these must be, once for all, determined by a 

 really careful survey, and the pretensions of such men as Dr. Priotti 

 and Mr. James Fergusson will be estimated at their full value. The 

 botany, zoology, and meteorology of this country all deserve attention, 

 and though they have received some light from the labours of Tristram 

 and others, and though a survey cannot be expected to effect much in 



