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covered by Mr. Rowlands, though he seems to confuse it with Ain El Gadeirat). Many facts support this supposition, for instance, the suitability as a strategic position for a camp of long duration. There is abundance of water there even at the present day, and springs are found at Ain Muweilah to the north and Biyar Maayin to the south. The probability is great that a large host like the Israelites, encumbered with their families and herds, would take the easy route by the open country to the west of the Azazimeh mountains in preference to the barren and rugged passes south-west of the Dead Sea.

The desert of the Tih consists of a succession of limestone plateaux intersected by several wadies, of which the most important are W. El Arísh, which is joined near Nakhl by W. Rowag, W. Garaiyeh, with its tributaries Mayin, Jerur, Muweileh, W. El Ain, which runs into W. El Abyadh, W. Rehaibeh and W. Seba, which drain into the Mediterranean. W. Ghamr and W. Jeráfeh-the names of which have been interchanged by former travellers-fall into the northern slope of the Arabeh, and so run into the Dead Sea, as also do Wadies Murreh, Maderah, and Figreh, which debouch into the Ghor es Sáfi.

The southernmost limit is Jebel el Ráhah and Jebel el Tíh on he S. W., and Jebel el 'Ejmeh on the S. and S. E., which together form a cliff running from Suez to Akabah, and projecting into the peninsula of Sinai much in the same way as that peninsula projects into the Red Sea. The height of this cliff at its most elevated point-on Jebel el 'Ejmeh-is about 4,200 feet above the sea, and from its summit the ground descends north-westwards.

To the N.E. of the Tih rises a third steppe or promontory, its northern portion corresponding to the "Negeb" or south-country of Scripture, its southern part bearing the name of Jebel Magráh, sometimes also called "the mountains of the Azázimeh," from the tribe of Arabs which inhabits it. To the S.E. of this mountainous region we came upon the only bed of sandstone which occurs throughout the whole country. It belongs to the same formation (New Red sandstone) as that at Petra and the lower strata of the Dead Sea basin.

Having carefully considered the best means of thoroughly examining the Tíh plateau, Mr. Palmer and myself determined to proceed along the base of Jebel el Tíh, and leaving to the west the Nagbs Emreíkheh and er Rákineh-the passes on the ordinary routes for travellers proceeding northwards from Mount Sinai-to cross Jebel el 'Ejmeh wherever it might prove practicable, and thus proceed through a hitherto untraversed district to Nakhl, where we had established a depôt of provisions, and where we should have to make arrangements with a different tribe of Arabs for carrying our baggage northwards.

This plan was carried out, and we entered the Tih by the Nagb el Mirád on January 12, 1870. From the summit of the clifffor Jebel el 'Ejmeh has no pretensions to be called a mountain-a magnificent view is obtained of the Sinaitic peninsula. The range itself is composed of mountain limestone, so worn and broken by the action of frost and weather that the hills are covered with fine detritus, which, after rain, would produce some herbage, but when we were there only a few dried-up, stunted bushes were to be seen, which here as elsewhere in the desert supply good and abundant fuel.

From Jebel el 'Ejmeh the steep, bleak, waterworn hills gradually slope down and fall away into the great plains, or rather, low plateaux, which stretch across to the Mediterranean. The sameness of outline and dreariness of this country is something terrible: the few shrubs that exist are grey or brown, and seemingly withered and dead; no animal life enlivens the scene--at times perhaps a stray vulture or raven may be seen sailing far away in the blue sky, a frightened lizard will start from beneath one's feet, or a small flight of locusts be disturbed from their scanty meal on some "retem bush." Water on the road there was absolutely none; a supply for four days had to be carried from El Biyár, a well strongly impregnated with Epsom salts, and lying a few miles to the south of Nagb el Mirád.

Under these conditions we can scarcely expect to meet with many signs of life. Judging from the numerous cairns and other primeval remains, this district must at one time have been populous. Wearily did I tramp day after day, gun in hand, but I was seldom rewarded with any thing more than a stray beetle or lizard, and now and then some small desert bird, and on very rare occasions a hare or snake.

As from former experience we had found that it was impossible to work a country thoroughly when mounted, we only employed enough camels to carry our baggage. The camel-drivers acted as guides, and, to a certain extent, as attendants, for we took no ser

vants whatever. This added to our already heavy work, yet it enabled us to get on much more satisfactorily with the various Arab tribes than we could otherwise have done.

From the Nagb el Mírád our course lay down Wady Rouág, which takes its rise in the highest part of Jebel el 'Ejmeh, about eighteen miles east of the head of Wady el Arísh, with which it holds a nearly parallel course till it joins it at a short distance to the north-east of Nakhl. The district between Wady el Arish and Wady Rowág is drained by W. Ghabiyeh, which falls into the latter about twenty-five miles from the Nagb el Mirad; after this junction the country becomes open and comparatively level. Here the ground is almost as hard as a macadamised road, and is covered with a layer of small, black, polished flints, which glisten in the sun as though they were wet. This polish must be attributed to the dust and grit kept in motion by the almost incessant winds, which are frequently very violent. Many of the monuments in Egypt bear witness to the destructive action of the grit. In this desert sand is almost unknown. There are only two or three sandy tracts, and these may be traversed in a few hours at most. The largest sandy district we had to cross was the Rumeilet Hámed, to the north of Khalasah (the ancient Elusa) where the prevailing north-west winds have formed extensive dunes. This sand, however, seems to have been entirely brought from the coast.

On arriving at Nakhl we found a small fort with wells and cisterns. In this dreary spot, encompassed by glaring white hills, a few miserable soldiers are maintained by the Egyptian Government for the protection of the Hajj caravan, the place being halfway between Suez and Akabah. Here we were obliged to dismiss the Towarah Arabs, and taking up our provisions which we had sent on from Suez, we entered into an agreement with the Teyáhah, who, after considerable discussion and futile attempts to extort a large "ghafr" or black mail, engaged to take us anywhere we wished through their country.

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Of the various tribes which inhabit the Desert of the Tíh, the most numerous and powerful are the Teyáhah, of whom there are two divisions, the Sagairát and the Benaiyat, and truly they were, as their name implies, "birds of prey.' They possess large herds of camels whose numbers are frequently increased by the product of the raids which they make on their hereditary foes the 'Anazeh, whose territory lies around Palmyra and to the east of the Hauràn, and is about twenty days' journey from the Tíh. These forays are sometimes carried out on a large scale; on the last occasion the Teyáhah numbered 1,000 guns. times the plunder amounts to many hundred camels, but at others the owners come down in force and the aggressors are compelled to retire. Bloodshed in these freebooting expeditions and even actual warfare is avoided as much as possible, for it results in a blood feud which is always much dreaded by a Bedawi, since it binds the relatives of anyone who has perished either by murder or manslaughter-the Arabs do not distinguish between themto avenge his death. The blood feud or vendetta thus exercises a most salutary influence, for without it the value of human life would be totally disregarded in these wild regions which lie beyond the pale of the law.

The Terabín, the tribe next in importance, occupy the country east of the Teyáhah, their territory extending from Jebel Bisher and Bir Abu Suweirah on the Sinai road some forty miles southeast of Suez, as far as Gaza to the north.

The Haiwátt live in the mountains to the west and north-west of Akabah, and are not numerous.

The Azázimch occupy the mountainous region which I have before mentioned as bearing their name: this tribe is not large, and they are exceedingly poor; their only food consists of the milk and cheese obtained from their camels and goats and such roots as they can dig up. On very rare occasions they may have the luck to shoot some wild animal which, whether it be ibex or hyena, is equally acceptable to their not over squeamish stomachs. They are obliged to live in very small and scattered communities, from the fact that-with the exception of one or two brackish and unpalateable springs, their only water supply is derived from the rains collected in hollows of rocks in the ravines and wady beds, and even these are few and far between. This water was usually putrid and full of most uninviting animalculæ : however, as no other was to be had, we were obliged to drink it.

From Nakhl we went in a north-easterly direction to Wády Garaiyeh, thence to Jebel'Araif, which we ascended; though it is little more than 2,000 ft. high; the view is very extensive. We then proceeded to cross Wady Mayín, W. Lussán, and W. Jerúr, and afterwards reached Ain Muweileh (the supposed

site of Hagar's well). Here are very numerous primeval stone remains, the most remarkable being piles of stones placed in rows at the edges of the cliffs which face the East. Cannot they be the remains of the old Baal worship followed by the Amorites, whose name is still preserved in the country to the north of W. Muweileh, at Dheigat el 'Amerín (the ravine of the Amorites), Ras 'Amir, and Sheikh el 'Amiri? At various places on our route, especially at 'Uggábeh-between Nakhl and W. Garayieh --on S. el 'Ejmell, S.'Araif in Wady Lussán, we found very large numbers of cairns, stone circles with graves, and open spaces, which, to judge from the burnt earth within them, seem to have been designed for sacrificial purposes; also enclosures, girt by rude stone walls; and, in W. el Biyàr, circular dwellings, some of which are still standing, quite perfect. In W. Rowág nearly every hill is topped by a cairn; there are three on the summit of Jebel Araif, and we noticed that they frequently occurred as far north as Bir Seba and El Milh (Molada).

At Muwéileh and near a neighbouring spring, Ain Guseimeh, are several caves. At the former place there is one cut in the face of the cliff, and entered by a staircase, ascending from a smaller cave below; this has been at one time the dwelling of a Christian hermit, as we noticed crosses rudely painted in red and traces of frescoes. At this place, too, we found, with the exception of one place in W. Lussán, the first signs of regular cultivation in former times. Stones are laid in lines across the wady-beds to check and, at the same time, distribute the drainage, and to prevent the soil being washed down by a sudden seil or flood.

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ruins of S'adi,* which do not seem to have been visited or even heard of by former travellers. At Rehaibeh the ruins are of much greater extent than at S'adi, but so confused that it is impossible to trace the plan of any single building. There are numerous wells, cisterns, and other remains of cultivation in the neighbourhood. From Rehaibeh we went to Khalasah and

Bir Seba: the ruins at the former place have nearly disappeared, as the inhabitants of Gaza find it cheaper to send camels for the already squared stones than to quarry them near their town. Owing to the drought we found Bir Seba barren and deserted, though our Arabs assured us that in good seasons the grass is knee-deep, and furnishes ample pasturage for countless flocks and herds. Our unlooked-for appearance in out-of-the-way districts was usually considered by the natives to be in some manner connected with the exceptional drought, and on several occasions we were either implored to bring rain or cursed for the want of it, since the Arabs firmly believe that every Nasráni holds the weather under his control.

From Bir Seba we went to Jerusalem, and, after a short stay there, returned to Hebron, where we engaged three of the Jehalin Arabs, with their camels, to convey our baggage to Petra. Taking a new route, we passed Tell Arad and El Milh, and struck into the unexplored mountains of the 'Azázimeh, where we discovered the ruins of the El 'Abdeh (Eboda), which are of considerable extent, and similarly placed to those of El Meshrifeh, most of the dwellings here, as there, being half excavated and half built. Of the buildings now standing, the greater part are of Christian times. The natives are perfect savages, and detained us for two hours from visiting the ruins by collecting in a gang to the number of thirteen on the top of a pass, singing their war-song, throwing down stones, and occasionally firing off one of their old match-locks in bravado, and swearing by God and the Prophet that no one should come up. As the pass was very narrow, almost precipitous, we judged it best to propitiate them, a task accomplished, after much discussion, at the cost of eight shillings. They then escorted us to the ruins, where we took such measurements and photographs as we required. From 'Abdeh we went through the 'Azazimeh mountain, a region so awfully desolate as to defy description, struck the 'Arabah at the junction of W. Jerafeh with W. Ghamz, and crossed thence to Petra. Here the Liyathineh fully maintained their character for brutality and insolence. Infidels in all but the name of Moslims, they are descended from the tribe of Khaiberi Jews, who bear such a bad character in Arabia. To add to our discomfort, we were snowed up for two days in a tent only just large enough for us both to lie down in. During a stay of six days, however, Petra was thoroughly examined by us and accu

Our next point was El Birein, so called from the two wells in the wady; here are traces of considerable ruins, a fiskiyeh, or reservoir, and aqueduct, the latter ruined, and the former nearly So. In the wady are some old butmeh or terebinth trees, remarkable as being the first trees, with the exception of two " seyáls or acacias, that we had seen since leaving Sinai. About six miles N. W. of El Birein lie the ruins of El'Aujeh, confounded by Dr. Robinson with 'Abdeh, which I shall presently mention, situated on a low spur running into W. Hanein. This valley, however, on account of a superstition attaching to its real name, has always been called by the Arabs, when speaking to travellers, W. Hafir. Some five or six square miles of the wady are covered with ruined walls of gardens and fields; the sides of the watercourse are built up with large stones, and dams still exist across it, though all the valley is now barren and neglected. Ten miles to the east of El 'Aujeh we discovered the ruins of a fortress called "El Meshrifeh," erched on a projecting spur, and defended on two sides by steep cliffs, which overlook a broad plain formed by the sweep of Wady el Abyadh as it debouches from Jebel Magrah; the south face of the cliff is fortified by escarp-rately mapped. We then bent our steps northwards, and at El ments and towers of massive masonry, and on the summit are ruins of several houses, and of a small church; on the third side a thick wall runs across the level crest of the spur. Beneath the towers and in connection with them are numerous rock-hewn chambers; also traces of a more ancient and, indeed, primeval wall, and pieces of masonry of a date far anterior to the rest of the buildings.

On the plain above mentioned and three miles and a half to the S. E. of El Meshrifeh we found the ruins of a considerable town called S'baita. This name seems to have been heard of by former travellers, who confounded the site with Rehaibeh; but I believe we were the first Europeans to visit the ruins. Here, as in many other cases, we experienced considerable difficulty, owing to the apprehensions of our Bedawin, who did their best to dissuade us from going there. I succeeded, however, in taking sketches and photographs of the chief points of interest. The town contains three churches, which, like those at El Aujeh el Meshrifeh and S adi, must, I think, be referred to the 5th century. There are also two reservoirs, and a tower with a rudely ornamented gateway. With the exception of a fragment or two at El Aujeh, this was the only instance of sculpture we saw, and not a single inscription was anywhere to be found.

The structure of the buildings at S'baita is worth noticing: the upper stories of the houses are supported on wide, low-spanned arches two feet wide with intervals of three feet between them, and upon these is placed the flooring of the upper rooms, which consists of narrow slabs of stone. Numerous ruined towers and walled gardens and enclosures, extending to a distance of several miles from the town, attest its former importance. The vineyards, too, marked by the "Teleilát el 'Aneb," which I mentioned before, extend over large tracts in this neighbourhood.

From S'baita we went to Rehaibeh, examining en route the

Barid, about seven miles from Petra, discovered a colony of dwellings and temples cut in the rock, and some rudely chipped Nabathæan inscriptions. The walls and ceilings of the rockchambers were decorated with frescoes, some coarse others well executed. We next travelled down the 'Arabah to the Dead Sea, and having examined the Lisan, went up into Moab. Here we stopped about three weeks and wandered over the country in search of inscriptions, as Mr. Palmer had specially come to ascertain if another Moabite stone was in existence. At last, however, we both came to the conclusion that above ground there are none. From Moab we crossed the Jordan, near Jericho, and returned to Jerusalem.

(To be continued.)

SCIENTIFIC SERIALS

THE fifth part of the nineteenth volume of the Palæontographica
recently published, is devoted to the description by Prof. Schenk,
of fossil plants from the north German Wealden formation. The
plants here described and figured upon 8 plates are all cryptoga.
mous, and with the exception of a single Chara, and four Equiseta
belong to the group of ferns, of which 21 species are noticed; but it
must be remarked that Prof. Schenk has considerably lessened the
apparent number of species by reducing a great many of the
names given by former authors to the rank of synonyms.
the same time he describes and figures seven forms as new species,
one as the type of a new genus, Marsilidium, belonging to the
Rhizocarpeæ, and he also establishes the new genus Matonidium
for Laccopteris Gopperti, Schimper. The other new species be-
long to the genera Sphenopteris, Alethopteris, Laccopteris, Olean-
* S'adi is two-and-a-half miles E.S. E. of Rehaibeh.

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dridium, Dictyophyllum and Protopteris, the last being doubtfully represented by a portion of a tree-like stem.

THE second part of, Tome xx. of the Mémoires de la Sociéte de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève (1870) contains an exceedingly important zoological paper, namely, a supplement to Prof. Claparède's descriptive account of the Chatopod Annelides of the Gulf of Naples. This not only includes descriptions of many new forms discovered by M. Claparède during the winter of 1868-69, but furnishes him with an opportunity of effecting a combination between his own observations and those of Prof. Ehlers, whose valuable work on the Chaetophorous Annelides appeared almost simultaneously with Prof. Claparède's former publication. The memoir is illustrated with fourteen beautiful plates. This part also contains descriptions by Dr. J. E. Duby of some minor little-known exotic mosses, accompanied by four plates.

THE first and second numbers of the Bollettino del R. Comitato Geologico d'Italia, published together for the months of January and February of the present year, contain some interesting papers, among which, perhaps, the most important is that on the temperature of the rocks in the Mont Cenis tunnel, communicated by the engineer, M. F. Giordano. The highest temperature observed was 29′50° C. (=8510° F.) at a distance of 6,450 metres (about 21,000 feet) from the southern opening, at the same time that the temperature of the rock at 400 metres (about 1,300 feet) from the opening was only 11° C. (= 38.2° F.). M. Giordano also publishes notes on the geological constitution of the Roman Campagna, illustrated with three long sections. These numbers also contain a translation into Italian of G. von Rath's memoir on the environs of the lake of Bolsena, an extract from a paper by Prof. T. Taramelli on the Eocene formation of Feiuli, and some short bibliographical notices.

THE editor of the Geological Magazine, in his April number (No. 82), has resumed his series of notices of eminent living geologists with a sketch of the scientific life of Mr. Thomas Davidson, illustrated with a good portrait. That Mr. Davidson's labours on the Brachiopoda fully entitle him to such an honour no one will be inclined to deny, but one is somewhat startled at learning what is the real result of his activity, chiefly in this field of research, and being told that his published writings occupy about 2,220 pages, and are illustrated with 244 plates, all or nearly of them drawn by his own hand! Mr. H. B. Woodward describes a curious example of the inversion of strata belonging to the carboniferous series at Vobster, in Somersetshire, to the north of the Mendip Hills, where coal is worked beneath mountain limestone. This phenomenon has been ascribed to a folding over of the main ridge of the Mendips, but the author adduces what seem to be good reasons in opposition to this view, and en leavours to account for it by local disturbance associated with faults. He illustrates his views by means of a diagram section. -Mr. G. H. Kinahan communicates a paper on Eolian drift or blowing sands in Ireland, in which he explains these peculiar deposits as being the products of the action of glaciers during the glacial period.-M. De Rance describes the pre-glacial geography of nor hern Cheshire. The number also contains a reprint of Mr. David Forbes' lecture on the nature of the earth's interior, and the usual reviews and short communications.

2.

THE Transactions of the Linnean Society, vol. xxvii. part 3, has just been issued, containing three papers, each illustrated with 4to. plates :-Observations on the Lichens collected by Dr. Robert Brown in West Greenland in 1867, by Dr. W. Lauder Lindsay; On the Vertebrate Skeleton, by Mr. St. George Mivart; and Descriptions of some British Spiders new to science, by the Rev. O. P. Cambridge. Mr. Mivart's article is devoted to a discussion of the following questions:-I. What is the best way to seek a priori a general view of the axial skeleton? What is the essential nature of ribs, transverse processes, and sternum? 3. What is the essential nature of branchial arches, and in what relation do they stand to the ribs? 4. What is the essential nature, as compared with branchial arches, of the hyoidean arch, mandible, and more anterior structures? 5. What relations exist between the "chevron" bones and other parts of the vertebrate skeleton? The appendicular skeleton, as distinct from the axial skeleton, consisting of the anterior and posterior limbs, is also discussed.

THE Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Dublin for the sessions 1867-68, 1868-69, vol. v. parts iii. and iv., was published on May 3, 1871. Among the more important papers

we notice :-Prof. W. King "On some Palliobranchiate Shells from the Irish Atlantic;" Prof. Macalister "On the Myology of the Otter," "On the pyloric appendages of the common Trout," "On the Flora of Kinross-shire," and "On the arrangement of Pronator Muscles in the limbs of Vertebrate Animals.-Dr. D. Moore "On the Botanical Congress of Paris of 1867," and "On Addenda to British and Irish Muscology." Dr. A. W Foot "On some points observed in the dissection of an Aylesbury Duck.” Rev. E. O'Meara “On'some new Arran Diatomaceæ " (Plate 13). W. Archer "On a peculiar cyst-like structure enclosing examples of Staurastrum cuspidatum," &c., and "On some Freshwater Rhizopoda" (Plates 8, 9, 10). Prof. E. P. Wright "On Tubipora musica" (Plate 11). Notes of a tour in the spring and summer of 1868 to Sicily and Portugal (Plate 12). These Parts conclude vol. v., and have title page, index, and appendices.

SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES

LONDON

Royal Institution of Great Britain, May 8.-Sir Henry Holland, Bart., M. D., president, in the chair.-The following Vice-presidents were nominated for the ensuing year :-Duke of Northumberland, Lord Lindsay, W. Spottiswoode, the Treasurer, Sir Frederick Pollock. William S. Burton, Arthur Samuel Hobson, Richard Liebreich, Abraham De Mattos Mocatta, and Edward Stanhope Pearson, were elected members. John Tyndall, F.R.S., was re-elected Professor of Natural Philosophy.

Zoological Society, April 29 (Anniversary Meeting). Viscount Walden, president, in the chair. After some preliminary business, the report of the Council was read by Mr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., the secretary. It stated that the number of Fellows of the Society on the 1st of January last was 3,021, showing a net addition of fifty-five ordinary members to the roll during the year 1870. Twelve new corresponding members had likewise been elected during the year 1870. The total income of the society during the year 1870 was stated to have been 23.257., being 4887. more than that of the preceding year. The total ordinary expenditure had been 21,364/., in which sum had been included every item necessary to keep the society's establishment in its present state of efficiency. Besides this the sum of 3,0437. had been devoted to extraordinary expenditure, in the shape of new buildings and works in the gardens. Of these works the most important was the new elephant-house, on completing which the sum of 2,324/. had been expended. This, when added to the sums spent upon the same building in former years, had raised the total cost of that building to 6,356., in which, however, the yards, ponds, fences, terrace walk in front, and the necessary arrangement of the adjoining grounds were included. Other works carried on in the society's gardens during the past year had been the completion of the new first-class refreshment room, and the extension of the system of heating the buildings by hot-water apparatus. The total number of visitors to the society's gardens during the year 1870 had been 573,004, showing an increase of 156 over the corresponding number in 1869. The greatest daily number of admissions in 1870 (28,457) was on Whit Monday, the 5th of June; the least number (28) on the 3rd of March; the average daily number of admissions throughout the year had been 1,570. The number of animals contained in the society's menagerie on the 31st of December, 1870, was stated to have been 2,118, showing an increase of 105 when compared with the corresponding number at the same date in the previous year. Among the additions made to the collection during the year 1870 had been a considerable number of special interest, either on account of their scientific novelty or from not having been previously brought to England in a living state. Full particulars concerning these were given, as also a list of the species that had bred in the society's gardens during the year. The report then proceeded to give a long list of donors and their several donations to the menagerie, after which, in conclusion, the council contrasted the present state of the society's affairs with that which had existed ten years ago. In 1860, they observed, the total number of Fellows was 1,716; it was now 3,021; in 1860 the namber of visitors to the society's gardens had been 394.906; in 1870 it had been 573,004. The total income of the society in 1860 was 16,8647. ; in 1870 it had amounted to 23,2577. In 1860 the reserve fund was 3,000l. Reduced Three per Cents. ; it had now been augmented to 7,000/. of the same stock. Moreover, during the past ten years, sums amounting altogether to upwards

of 46,000/. had been devoted to the permanent improvement of the society's garden establishment, the expenditure of which had enabled the council to renew nearly the whole of the more important buildings on an improved and enlarged scale. These facts, it was believed, could not be otherwise than gratifying to the Fellows of the society. The society then proceeded to ballot for the council and officers for the ensuing year, when Lord Calthorpe, Mr. Francis Galton, F. R. S., Captain the Count Gleichen, R. N., Mr. John Gould, F.R.S., and Dr. Hamilton were elected into the council, in the place of Professor Huxley, F.R.S., Mr. J. Travers Smith, Lord Walsingham, Mr. G. R. Waterhouse, and the Bishop of Winchester, who retired the refrom, and Viscount Walden was re-elected president; Mr. Robert Drummond, treasurer; and Mr. P. L. Sclater, F. R.S., secretary.

Zoological Society, May 2.-Viscount Walden, President, in the chair. A letter was read from W. H. Hudson, addressed to the secretary, containing observations on the habits of the various swallows met with in and around Buenos Ayres.-Mr. P. L. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on the shell of a rivertortoise of the genus Pelomedusa, obtained by Mr. Chapman on the Upper Zambesi.-Prof. Flower exhibited and made remarks on the mounted skeleton of the young hippoptoamus, recently born in the Society's Gardens. --The Viscount Walden read a paper on the Birds of the island of Celebes, in which the materials hitherto available for the elaboration of its avi-fauna were brought together and discussed. Out of the generic forms met with in Celebes, thirty-eight appeared to be Indian, and twenty-three Australian in character. To these were added a strong element of individuality, shown by the presence of sixty-five species, and nine genera unknown elsewhere. The avi-fauna of Celebes, so far as was certainly known, was composed of 193 species; but the author observed that a considerable portion of the centre of the island remained unexplored, which gave a prospect of future discoveries.-A communication was read from Mr. W. Harper Pease, of Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, containing a catalogue of all the known land-shells inhabiting Polynesia, together with remarks on their synonomy, distribution, and variation, and descriptions of some new genera and species.-A communication was read from Dr. John Anderson, Curator of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, containing the description of a new generic form of newt from Western Yunan, proposed to be called Tulototriton verrucosus.— -A second communication from Dr. J. Anderson contained some drawings of and notes on the original specimens of Testudo phayrei, Blyth, in the Indian Museum. Having examined the skull in the British Museum upon which Scaphia falconeri, Grav, had been based, and re-examined the smaller example of Testudo phayrei at Calcutta, Dr. Anderson had come to the conclusion that Mr. Theobald's account of its history was strictly accurate.-A communication was read from Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., entitled Notes on the species of Brady pida in the British Museum.

Geological Society, April 26.-Prof. Morris, vice-president, in the chair.- Mr. Robert Russell, of the Geological Survey of England and Wales, was elected a Fellow of the Society. The following communications were read :-I. "On a new species of Coral from the Red Crag of Waldringfield," by Prof. P. Martin Duncan, F.R.S. Prof. Duncan described, under the name of Solenastræa Prestwichi, a small compound coral obtained by Mr. A. Bell from Waldringfield, and stated that it was particularly interesting as belonging to a reef-forming type of corals which has persisted at least from the Eocene period to the present day. The single specimen consisted of several small crowded corallites, having calices from to inch in diameter, united by a cellular epithecal conenchyma. It was much rolled and worn before its deposition in the Red Crag, and hence the author regarded it as a derivative fossil in that formation, and he stated that it probably belonged to the rich reef-building coral-fauna which succeeded that of the Nummulitic period. Mr. Etheridge remarked that the origin of this interesting fossil seemed uncertain. It appeared, however, to be derived from some other source, and not to have originally belonged to the Red Crag. In England the genus was hitherto unknown in beds newer than those of Brockenhurst. The presence of this single specimen showed how much we had still to learn with regard to the crag formation. It was to be hoped that the coral might eventually be found attached to some organism from which its age might be determined. Prof. T. Rupert Jones remarked that he would be glad to hear of more corals being discovered in the so-called Coralline Crag. He inquired whether coenenchymatous corals

were necessarily reef-corals, observing that this coral was referred to the Miocene on account of its presumed reef-forming character. He added that some of the Foraminifera of the White Crag had the aspect of existing Western Mediterranean forms, and thus supported some of Prof. Duncan's remarks. Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys observed that the distinction between the Coralline and Red Crag seemed to be every day diminishing. The appearance of the fossil seemed to betoken its derivative character. Like other speakers, he complimented Mr. Alfred Bell on his great intelligence in the collection of crag fossils. Prof. Duncan, in reply, maintained that the differences between deep-sea and reef-building corals were well established, and around modern reefs in the deeper sea the forms were quite distinct, and the deep-sea corals never presented the coenenchyma distinctive of the reef-building form. This, he suggested, might be connected with the difference in the amount of sea-water with which it was brought in contact, which in the surf was much greater than in the almost motionless depths of the sea.-2. "Notes on the Minerals of Strontian, Argyleshire," by Robert H. Scott, M. A., F. R.S. The paper stated that the existing lists of minerals to be found at Strontian were incorrect. The discovery of apophyllite, talc, and zircon seemed to be hardly sufficiently confirmed. On the other hand, Mr. Scott named several species which he had himself observed in situ, and which are not noticed in any of the books, viz., two felspars, orthoclase, and an anorthic felspar in the granite; two varieties of pyroxenic minerals in the granite and syenites, neither of which have as yet been analysed; natrolite in the trap-dykes, muscovite or margarodite in very large plates, lepidomelane and schorl. Specimens of these minerals and of the others found at the mines were exhibited ; but it was s ated that, owing to the fact that the old workings at the mines in Glen Strontian had been allowed to fall in, it was now no longer possible to ascertain much about the association of the species. The one is galena, containing very little silver. The gangue is remarkable for the absence of fluor and the comparative rarity of blende and heavy spar. Harmotome is found principally at a mine called Bell's Grove, both in the opaque variety and in the clear one called morvenite. Brewsterite occurs at the mine called Middle Shap, and at the mine Whitesmith stron tianite is found with brewsterite, but without harmotome. Calcite is alse very common. Within the last few years a new mine has been opened called Corrantee, which is in the gneiss, whereas the other mines lie on the junction of the granite and gneiss. At this mine several fine specimens of calcite have occurred, many of them coated with twin crystals of harmotome, similar to those from Andreasberg, whereas the crystals found at the old mine are not so clearly macled. Associated with these were found a number of small hexagonal prisms, perfectly clear, and exhibiting a very obtuse dihedral termination. They gave the blowpipe reaction of harmotome; and on analysis by Dr. J. E. Reynolds, proved to be that mineral. Descloiseaux has already described a quadrifacial termination to harmotome, with an angle of 178° 20'. Mr. Scott submitted that possibly the crystals which he exhibited might bear faces which had a close relation to those described by Descloiseaux. He concluded by stating that Strontian promised as rich a harvest to the mineralogist as any locality is these islands. Mr. W. W. Smyth mentioned the wonderful collection of minerals from Strontian which had been brought to the Great Exhibition of 1861, which gave a most striking idea of the mineral riches of the locality. The occurrence of such a series of different substances in one locality in the granite was almost unparalleled, though in the Andreasberg mines, in clay state, they were to some extent rivalled. The features, however, differed in the two places, more silver and a greater number of zeolites being present in the Hartz mines. Mr. D. Forbes observed that harmotome occurred also at the Kongsberg silvermines in Norway, at a distance from granite. He thought it remarkable that these crystals of peculiar form occurred in the same spot and in connection with crystals of the same substance, but of the ordinary form. Mr. Davis remarked that celestine was also to be placed on the list of the minerals from Strontian. Harmotome had been found in the same form of double crystals at Bodenwies in Bavaria. Mr. Scott stated, in reply to a question from the chairman, that the mineral had not been as yet optically examined, but that if he could procure more of it he should be happy to place it at the disposal of any gentleman who would examine it As regarded the idea that harmotome usually occurred near the surface, he could give no information about the old mines, as they had been allowed to fall in ; but most certainly the new specimens from Corrantee came from surface-workings. He was very glad to learn from Mr. Davis that celestine had

been found at the locality; and he felt sure that careful search would double or treble the number of species known to occur there. With reference to what had fallen from Prof. Smyth, he could fully corroborate his observations as to the difference between the forms of calcite associated with harmotome at Andreasberg, in the Hartz, and at Strontian. It was remarkable that the general facies of the crystals of calcite occurring at Corrantee, where the lode was entirely in the gneiss, differed from that usually observed in the old mines in Glen Strontian, which were partly in the granite and partly in the gneiss. 3. "On the probable origin of Deposits of 'Loess' in North China and Eastern Asia." By Mr. T. W. Kingsmill, of Shanghai. Communicated by Prof. Huxley, F. R.S., V.P.G.S. The author stated that the Baron von Richthofen had lately applied the term "Loess" to a light clay deposit covering immense tracts in the north of China. The author regarded this formation as in great measure corresponding to the Kunkur of India, and thought that it probably extended far into the elevated plains of Central Asia. Richthofen considered that this deposit had been produced by subaerial action upon a surface of dry land; the author argued that it is of marine origin, having been deposited when the region which it covers was depressed at least 6,000 feet, a depression the occurrence of which since the commencement of the Tertiary period he considered to be proved by the mode of deposition of the Upper Nanking sandstones and conglomerates, the bold escarpments of the hills on either side of the Yangtsze, and other peculiarities of the country. Prof. Ramsay remarked that the author had not proved that the loess he described was really stratified. He could not agree with his views of the inland escarpments he mentioned having been old coast lines. It was only accidentally that sea cliffs had any connection with the line of strike of the strata, whereas inland cliffs always followed the strike. He thought the phenomena were rather in accordance with a long exposure of the land to subaërial influences than with the loess, having been of marine origin. Even in England, in those parts which had long been free from marine action, beds of brick earth had been formed. He also instanced the plains of Picardy as exhibiting a vast extent of such subaërial beds. Prof. T. Rupert Jones said that though the area treated of by Mr. Kingsmill was too large to have its geology explained merely by reference to rain-wash and valley deposits, whatever his lowlevel loess might be, the higher accumulations of loamy deposits, stated to be 1,000 feet thick at an elevation of 3,000 feet, and regarded by Mr. Kingsmill as the quiet water sediments of a great gulf with the miocene conglomerates and sandstones of Nanking and elsewhere for its marginal equivalents, appeared to require different explanation. All loess need not be of sea origin; in oscillations of land marine deposits must be carried up to great heights: and, referring to Mr. H. M. Jenkins's determination of the marine origin of the loess of Belgium, Prof. Jones thought it highly probable that some at least of that in China may have been similarly formed. Mr. Hughes said that the author appeared to have grouped together all the superficial deposits of a vast area without explaining very clearly the grounds upon which he identified those deposits at distant points. He did not prove that what he called the shore deposit was marine, or that it was of the same age as the loam which he described, and which Mr. Hughes thought, from the description, was far more likely to be subaërial. Mr. Evans and Mr. Etheridge suggested the probability of much of the so-called loess might be derived from higher loamy beds, possibly derived from the decomposition of limestone rocks containing sand and clay, and redeposited by the action of rain. The following specimens were exhibited :-Minerals from Strontian; exhibited by Mr. Scott, in illustration of his paper. Corals; exhibited by Prof. Duncan, in illustration of his paper.

Royal Geographical Society, April 25.-Major-General Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, K. C. B., vice-president, in the chair. The following new Fellows were elected :- Mr. G. E. Bell; StaffCommander Charles Burney, R. N.; Messrs. Walter J. Ellis ; J. C. W. P. Graham; Simon Little; Henry Syme. A letter was read from Mr. R. B. Shaw to Sir Koderick Murchison, on that portion of his recent journey to Yarkand (with Mr. Forsyth) in which, detached from the rest of the party, he explored the rugged country between the western extremity of the Thibetan Plateau and the Valley of the Upper Shayok. He described the plateau (17,000 feet high) as ending abruptly on the west in a great limestone range, which, like the masonry revétement of an embankment, has protected the level table-land from the wearing influence of the rains from clouds sweeping up the

Shayok Valley. Standing on the edge of the plateau, the whole country westward appeared as an irregular mass of snowy peaks and narrow precipitous valleys. In attempting to descend one of the valleys towards the Karakoram road, the party suffered fearfully in struggling for three days through the broken ice of a torrent at the bottom of a stupendous chasm, from which, in some places, the light of day was nearly excluded. -A second communication was read "On the Journey of the Mirza across the Pamir Steppe to Yarkand and Kashgar," by Major Montgomerie. This was a detailed report of the journey of an Afghan gentleman, instructed by the officers of the Trigonometrical Survey to traverse the Mahomedan countries across the Hindoo Koosh and Pamir Steppe, eastward to the plains of Eastern Turkestan. The journey was successful in its main object; and we have now, for the first time, a scientific account of those little-known regions, with the means of fixing the geographical position of all the important places. The Mirza proceeded from Fyzabad eastward, along one of the head-waters of the Oxus, arising in Lake Pamir-Kul (13,300 feet), and thence to Tash Kurgan, Yanghissar and Kashgar. Crossing the elevated region of the Pamir, he suffered fearfully from the cold, although well clad, even to the lining of his boots, in warm woollen clothing. Sir Henry Rawlinson explained to the meeting that the Mirza's route was the same as that followed by Marco Polo and Benedict Goez, and in later times by Mahomed Amin. also stated that the vexed problem of the longitude of Yarkand (placed by the Schlagintweits about 200 miles too far to the west) had been solved by the recent lunar observations of Mr. Shaw, the computation of which had been completed that day, at the Geographical Society, by Mr. W. Ellis of the Greenwich Observatory. These observations placed Yarkand in E. long. 77° 14′ 45′′. Colonel Walker, of the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, and Sir A. Scott Waugh also addressed the meeting, chiefly on the subject of the employment of native observers in the geographical exploration of the regions beyond the British boundaties.

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Chemical Society, May 4.-Dr. Warren De La Rue, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. The following gentlemen were elected Fellows :-Messrs. R. S. Best, C. S. Cross, W. H. Darling, G. H. Ogston, I. Schweitzer, and. W. A. Smith. Dr. Völcker delivered a lecture "On the Productive Powers of Soils in Relation to the Loss of Plant Food by Drainage.' The lecturer began by showing the futility of the belief that a soil-analysis could reveal whether a land was productive or not. To those who only imperfectly know the teachings of modern agricultural science, it appears very simple to remedy a deficient soil by finding out through analysis the wanting constituents, and then to supply them. But this is not so. Not only is it difficult exactly to analyse a soil, but many other conditions besides the composition of a land have to be observed. The state of combination in which the mineral constituents of a land are found, the physical condition of the soil, the presence or absence of some matter injurious to the growth of plants, all these are so many important points upon which soil-analysis throws no light whatever. The lecturer equally

opposes the views of those who advocate that in a system of rational farming there should be kept up a debtor and creditor account as regards the constituents which are removed from the soil in the crops grown upon it, and the quantity of fertilising matter restored to it in the shape of manure. The fertility of the soil cannot be maintained, much less increased, if only as much fertilising constituents would be applied to the land as one removes from it in the crops. Dr. Völcker then discussed the relative values of various mineral salts as manures, quoting in support of his views the results of the classical field experiments of Lawes and Gilbert; and this then led the lecturer to speak of the examination of land-drainage waters. Lawes and Gilbert, throughout a long series of experiments on the growth of wheat, have experienced a great loss of nitrogen; the amount of nitrogen supplied in the manures was greater than that recovered in the increased produce. It appeared to Dr. Völcker that the nitrogen lost might have passed into the drains. Careful collection of such drainage waters, and their analysis, proved Dr. Völcker's supposition to be correct. It became clear that, in whatever form the nitrogen is applied to the soil, a large proportion of it is carried off chiefly in the form of nitrates. At all times of the year, but especially during the active period of growth of the crops, nitrates are found in the watery liquid which circulates in the land, whereas ammonia salts are never met with in any appreciably large quantities. It may therefore be assumed tha

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