February 13, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



135 



to make the second known discovery of Himiarite 

 inscriptions, of which there were nine. These were 

 on a block of granite of enormous size, under whose 

 shade travellers have refreshed themselves for many 

 centuries, as these inscriptions, supposed to be more 

 than two thousand years old, sufficiently indicate. 

 They are accompanied by rude outlines of horsemen 

 brandishing the sword and lance, precisely similar to 

 sketches made in Huber's note-book by a living Arab 

 chief at Hail. It is probable that the first Himiarites 

 established themselves in the Tuarin valley on their 

 southward migration. In the numerous revolutions 

 which have devastated Arabia, it is probable that the 

 valley has been many times depopulated. 



Farther on, the party pa' sed a singular rock, which, 

 in falling from the crag, had perched itself on a gran- 

 ite mass by three sharp points. Being somewhat 

 concave below, it resounds like a rather heavy bell to 

 the strokes of a cane, — an infallible sign, according 

 to the Arabs, of concealed treasures. Their camp, a 

 few miles beyond, was in the midst of a remarkable 

 ravine of a uniform width of about fifteen hundred 

 feet, bordered by granite walls about nine hundred 

 feet in height, presenting in the sun remarkable hues 

 of red, violet, brown, and rose. The perfectly level 

 sandy soil was of a peculiar rose color, and the im- 

 pression conveyed was of a gigantic street newly 

 swept and silent. Access to the Gou valley was ob- 

 tained through a very narrow ravine encumbered 

 with fallen blocks', hardly affording passage for a 

 camel. Above this it enlarges into a circular plateau 

 continued on the other side by a long boulevard of 

 magnificent palms. The spot seemed a terrestrial 

 paradise. Flocks of birds, so rare in this parched land, 

 delighted the eye, and their songs broke the silence of 

 the desert in a delightful manner. Vegetation was 

 luxuriant and beautiful; and a flowing spring re- 

 freshed the party, though its temperature was not 

 less than 82° F. 



In travelling about the Jebel Aga, ascent was 

 found practicable only in a very few places. The 

 walls rise abruptly without foot-hills, and are of a 

 gray, red, or reddish-brown granite of coarse grain 

 composed of quartz, with large crystals of red and 

 white felspar with grains of pegmatite. The dip of 

 the beds is about 55° toward the horizon. The wind 

 in this part of Arabia blows always from the west. 



The road passing through the region of Jebel 

 Selma, at no great distance from the Jebel Aga, 

 traverses an isolated volcanic district, where the pas- 

 sage is often only wide enough for single file. Several 

 craters, one twenty-five hundred feet across, still re- 

 main, and, though now safe for travellers, were for- 

 merly the fastnesses of Arab robbers, whose attacks 

 made the region deserve, even more than its natural 

 character, its Arabian name of Gehenna. Beyond, 

 just where the grits replace the basaltic rocks, lies 

 the little town of Feyd, containing some forty houses. 

 Anciently this was a site of renown, for whose de- 

 termination Bitter vainly spent many pages of dis- 

 cussion; but its splendor has departed. Around it, 

 at no great distance, are scattered low hills of vol- 

 canic origin, in some of which the craters are still 



evident. Water lies under a bed of basalt, very hard, 

 and six or seven feet thick, covered with about thirty 

 feet of sand and gravel. The wells, singularly 

 enough, are connected by subterranean tunnels. 

 This water, accessible only at the cost of so much 

 labor, must be raised to water the palm-trees, and is 

 reported to be gradually diminishing, to which the 

 decay of the ancient city is probably due. The des- 

 ert around Feyd is called Aba-el-Krus. 



Thence toward El Kehafah the path traverses a re- 

 gion of volcanic rock, which emerges from the sur- 

 face on either hand in a singular manner. It looks 

 as if the whole region had been once a boiling liquid 

 lava which had been suddenly congealed, leaving 

 solidified bubbles twenty-five to thirty-five feet in 

 diameter, which appear at every step. A little sand 

 is found here and there in crevices, with an occasional 

 shrub growing in it; but apart from this, the desert 

 is absolutely naked rock of indescribable desolation, 

 — a corner of the real Arabia Petraea. The name of 

 this waste is El Sarafah. In this region, according 

 to the Arabs, there are some ten rainy days at the 

 beginning of winter: the rest of the year is literally 

 dry. Beyond Kehafah several small oases were seen 

 of a singular geological structure, which is, however, 

 common in the region. They consist of elliptical 

 dish-like depressions, dipping slightly toward the 

 north, their axes north-west and south-east, and about 

 twenty-four kilometres in length by half as much in 

 width. The margins of these basins are abruptly 

 elevated, rocky walls, about thirty or forty feet in 

 height. The wells pass through twelve or fifteen 

 feet of gravel and rock, beneath which is water in 

 abundance, but too bitter to be potable. - Drinking- 

 water is accessible in but two or three places. The 

 road from Kehafah to 'Ayoun passes the boundary of 

 the safe country, and enters the region of robber no- 

 mads. A singular rock, much resembling the sphinx 

 in form, partly covered with illegible Himiarite and 

 Arabic inscriptions, lies isolated near the route, and 

 beyond a much smaller one, from which a few in- 

 scriptions could be transcribed. The inhabitants of 

 this region are small, shriveHed, and sickly-looking, 

 in strong contrast with the fine physique of the people 

 of El Jebel, which the traveller had left. They are 

 violent fanatics, from whom his safe return was 

 fortunate. The mean temperature of the soil here 

 was 84°; and during one day, with a hot wind, the 

 thermometer rose to 122° F. in the shade. 



STEAM ON STREET-RAILWAYS. 



The Hon. R. C. Parsons recently read a paper 

 before the British institution of civil engineers, in 

 which the progress of steam-locomotion on street- 

 railways was very fully considered. It was asserted 

 that very little success had attended the efforts made 

 to introduce steam as a motor on the common high- 

 way, while the privileges accorded by special legis- 

 lation to the street-railway companies have led to 

 comparatively great success in that direction. 



The British 'Board of trade' regulations have 



