May 22, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



423 



region of mountains estimated to rise in peaks of 

 from five to eight thousand feet, the source of nu- 

 merous important rivers, whose mouths are often 

 separated by great distances, and whose courses trend 

 to almost every point of the compass, from the moun- 

 tain reservoirs where they take origin. 



Late advices from Zanzibar state that the four 

 explorers sent to the Ussagara by the German colo- 

 nization society have been very unfortunate. They 

 halted between Mpuapua and Condoa, where one 

 died. Dr. Peters and Herr Baumann, stricken with 

 malignant fevers, were obliged to return to Zanzibar 

 in a serious state, while the leader of the party was 

 left alone on the spot in a condition of great destitu- 

 tion. Aid was immediately despatched by the Ger- 

 man traders of Zanzibar, which, it is hoped, will 

 ameliorate his condition. 



Two other German explorers, the brothers Denhart, 

 sent by the Berlin geographical society, had arrived 

 at Zanzibar, where they were joined by Herr 

 Senium ke, for the last five years an explorer with 

 Dr. Fischer. 



The party intend to visit Samburo Lake, and explore 

 the region of the Borani Gallas, as well as to ex- 

 plore the geology and botany of the upper parts of 

 Kilimanjaro and Kenia. 



The death of King Mtesa is confirmed. Those in- 

 terested in the civilization of the country believe his 

 successor will be more likely to assist in the process 

 than the late king, whose volatility and caprice more 

 than undid the good resulting from his occasional 

 favors. Mirambo, sometimes known as the negro 

 Napoleon, is also dead. He was noted for his cour- 

 age, great intelligence, and semi-civilization. His 

 death is likely to plunge the population of a vast 

 region into anarchy; for by his ability, in spite of his 

 humble birth, he had brought into submission a 

 large territory, and made all the neighboring sul- 

 tans his vassals. 



The Algerian fathers have selected a healthy spot 

 for their mission on the west bank of Lake Tan- 

 ganyika, at a village called Chonsa, in about latitude 

 7° 30'. The natives are friendly, and the country a 

 safe one. 



Lieut. Becker's expedition had not started, and the 

 difficulty of getting a sufficient number of porters was 

 very great. This seemed due to the famine, which 

 continues to desolate the interior, and to the uncer- 

 tainties connected with matters in the basin of the 

 Kongo. 



A rumor has reached Paris through Bolivia, from 

 the Gran Chaco region, that certain country-people, 

 travellers in the interior, had found in the forest bits 

 of paper and linen on which one of the Crevaux 

 party had written his name in blood, together with 

 an appeal for succor, and the statement that he had 

 been spared by the Tobas on account of his skill as 

 a musician, and had been obliged to follow the band 

 which held him captive in all their wanderings since 

 the massacre. The story, which has found a place in 

 the printed proceedings of the geographical society 

 of Paris, is, nevertheless, probably an invention of 

 the 'travellers in the interior.' 



An important journey has recently been made by 

 a party commanded by Feilberg on behalf of the 

 Argentine Confederation. Their object was to ex- 

 plore the trade-route between that country and Bo- 

 livia via the Pilcomayo. They comprised sixty-two 

 men, with flatboats towed by two small steamers, 

 and were absent fifty-five days. The actual distance 

 in a direct line was probably forty-five leagues ; but, 

 taking the sinuosities of the river into account, the 

 party travelled about eighty leagues. Up to this 

 point, the navigation was not bad except for snags 

 and sunken tree-trunks in the channel, but here it 

 became impossible on account of a series of rapids 

 which descend over a rocky surface with only a few 

 inches of water, though the river was in flood. The 

 question of a trade-route by this way is therefore 

 definitely settled in the negative. The party found 

 that below the rapids, sixty leagues above the mouth, 

 a large affluent came into the Pilcomayo, with as 

 much water, or perhaps even more, but which is not 

 found on any chart. It was obstructed by sunken 

 trees, but otherwise showed no impediments, and 

 was ascended for twelve leagues. Feilberg hopes to 

 explore it farther. The country along these rivers 

 appeared healthy, and rich with fine pasturage. It 

 appears now to be certain that the only feasible trade- 

 route will be one carried overland. 



THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. 



The fourteenth annual meeting of this society was 

 held in the lecture-room of the National museum at 

 Washington, May 5-7; the president of the society, 

 Hon. Theodore Lyman, in the chair. The attend- 

 ance throughout was fair, and the papers were, 

 for the most part, exceedingly interesting. The roll 

 of membership now includes about a hundred and 

 fifty names, twenty-four new members having been 

 elected during the meeting. 



Prof. R. E. C. Stearns read a paper on the giant 

 clams of Puget Sound. He referred to Glycimeris 

 generosa as the ' boss clam ' of North America. It 

 was first described by Dr. Augustus A. Gould from 

 specimens (probably of the shells only) obtained by 

 the Wilkes exploring expedition, 1838-42. The dis- 

 tribution of this clam extends southerly along the 

 west coast of America to San Diego, where it has 

 been found by Mr. Hemphill ; and it is more abundant 

 in its northern than in its southern habitat. It is an 

 excellent article of food, and is called by the Indians 

 geoduck. It has been known to attain a weight of 

 sixteen pounds, and a length of from one and a half 

 to two feet. 



A paper by Dr. James A. Henshall, on the hiberna- 

 tion of the black bass, was read by Mr. Mather. The 

 writer advanced the theory that hibernation was a 

 voluntary act, and did not necessarily involve a state 

 of profound torpidity. He admitted that other fish 

 were active in the same waters where black bass were 

 hibernating, but accounted for this by saying that 

 there was no supply of food for the bass. In the 



