1 882.] Geography and Travels. 341 



Mineralogical Notes. — A " crystalline bitumen " is found in 

 trap at Port-a-Port bay, Newfoundland. It seems to have re- 

 sulted from the heating action of the igneous dyke upon bitumi- 

 nous shales and limestones. These latter yield petroleum. 



Artificial pseudomorphs of calcite after gypsum have been made 

 by placing a crystal of gypsum in a cold, saturated solution of 

 carbonate of ammonia. The change takes place gradually, and 

 requires several days unless the gypsum is in fine powder, when 



a few hours suffice. The beautiful amianthus from Canada is 



found to be much finer than any asbestos for the manufacture of 

 asbestos fabrics. It is said that the fabrics made from it are light, 

 soft, and white. It is also felted into sheets, which are flexible, 

 and unctuous to the touch. It is known in commerce as " Bos- 



tonite " or " Canadian fiber." An examination of a white slime 



which covered the bottom of a mine in Westphalia showed that 

 it was composed of a mixture of Aluminite, Allophane and Hy- 



drargyllite. A recent analysis of the water of the Dead sea 



showed it to have a spec. grav. of 1.186, and to contain the follow- 

 ing number of grams of solid matter in one litre : 



KCI NaCl NaBr MgCl, CaCl 2 CaSO, 



16.90 74.05 5.02 128.10 35-3 6 »•« 



Gold is reported as having been found in a ledge of quartzite 



near Amity, Orange county, New York. This is a locality 

 already well known to mineralogists as having afforded many 



rare and beautiful species. In a specimen of Cerussite from 



Leadville, Col., analyzed by M. W. lies, a small percentage of 

 Massicot and a trace of chlorine was detected. 



Mineralogists should beware of artificial moss-agates. They 

 are being manufactured of great perfection at Oberstein, Germany. 

 The coloring matter is introduced in chalcedony to form artificial 

 dendrites. 



GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS. 1 



Explorations in Equatorial Africa. — Makua Land and the 

 Interior of Mozambique. — Makua Land, the unexplored region 

 lying between Masasi and Mozambique and south of the Rovuma 

 river has recently been traversed in different directions by three 

 Englishmen. The Rev. Chauncy Maples, of the Universities 

 Mission, advanced as far as Meto, about S. lat. I3°25' E. long. 

 37° 5 8 '- He was prevented by the cowardice of his native fol- 

 lowers from continuing his journey to Mozambique. He heard re- 

 ports of the existence of a snow-capped mountain called Irati, 

 about 130 miles south -south-east of Meto and visible from that 

 point in very clear weather. 



Mr. H. E. O'Neill, British Consul at Mozambique, has recently 

 undertaken the exploration of a route to Lake Nyassa which starts 

 from Kisanga, opposite the island of Ibo. He found the country 



