1886. } Geology and Paleontology. 53 
to be descended from two brothers, Darode and Tsak, Ogadayn 
was a son of the former. 
The Lake Moris —Mr. Cope Whitehouse described to the British 
Association the basin of the Reian Moeris in Egypt, and spoke of 
the possibility of the restoration of this historic lake. South of 
the Fayoum exists a depression of several hundred square miles, 
not less than 150 feet below the Mediterranean, and in the parts 
visited by the writer, 175 to 180 feet deep. The area is irregular, 
curving like a horn from near Behnessa to the ridge which 
separates it from the Fayoum. Ruins exist in its southern part. 
The level of the ruins proved that the ancient station of Ptole- 
mais might have been as shown in the text and maps of Ptolemy, 
_ onahorn-shaped lake about thirty-five miles long and fifteen wide. 
The Kassai Tributary of the Congo—Lieut. Wissman speaks 
enthusiastically of the Kassai as a magnificent fluvial artery, fre- 
quently of enormous breadth, leading into the heart of the new 
Congo State. The country on its banks is of wonderful fertility. 
During the forty-two days occupied in the voyage from Luluaburg 
to Kwamouth, the health of the expedition was excellent, the five 
whites and 200 negroes all arriving in good health at Leopold- 
ville on July 16th. The Sankaru and Lubilash are one river, 
which turns westward, and joins the Kassai. The Kassai receives 
the great Koango, and enters the main river by the Kwamouth, 
after receiving the waters of Lake Leopold. 
African News——The country between Blantyre and Quilli- 
mane has heen described by Mr. H. E. O'Neill and Mr. D. J. 
Rankin in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. 
The Portuguese authority has recently been considerably ex- 
tended up the Shiré towards Lake Nyassa. The Kassai, the 
great southern tributary of the Congo, instead of entering the 
main stream north of the equator, joins it in 3° 13’ S. lat. Mr. 
D. D. Veth, leader of a Dutch expedition into Portuguese West 
Africa, died on May toth, between Benguela and Humpata. 
GEOLOGY AND PALÆONTOLOGY. 
INTERNAL CHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL EROSION A FACTOR IN 
Continent AND Mountain Buitpinc.—As soon as it is affirmed 
that since early Laurentian times the great continental folds and 
depressions have not’ changed places, so soon it becomes neces- 
Sary to explain how these great ridges and troughs have per- 
sisted, as such, in spite of the amount of erosion and sedimenta- 
tion which are known to have taken place and which we know to 
be still going on at no small rate. Either the pre-Laurentian 
equalities of surface were vastly greater than they are now, or 
€, during all the ages the ocean beds have been constantly re- 
ceiving sediment and sinking, while the continents have been as 
_ Constantly eroded and rising. But this latter hypothesis implies 
