Usoga, Mr. Jackson says:-" Comparing Usoga with Uganda, I believe that the former is the richer of the two. The greater part-in fact nearly all—of the ivory in Uganda comes from Usoga and Unyoro, the latter being very rich. Elgumi, to the north and north-east of Usoga, is another country very rich in ivory, and can easily be opened up from Wakoli's place." Mr. Jackson speaks of Wakoli in very favourable terms, and he left his station in charge of a headman, with 32 men, 31 loads of goods, 21 rifles, and 300 rounds of ammunition.

The medical report by Dr. A. D. Mackinnon refers to his experience of the climate in the following terms:

"Taken as a whole, the climate, so far as one can judge from simply passing through, is, for Africa, very healthy. Most places, at the months we visited them, were dry, the heat nowhere being excessive during the day; at night it was always pleasantly cool, with the exception of Mianzini, where it was often frosty at night, and the higher mountainous parts, where it is decidedly chilly. Malarial poison is almost entirely absent, even on the lower grounds and about the lakes. Everywhere the natives look strong and robust, which is always a good sign of the country. From the coast to Ukamba, at Muchako's, which I have seen in the months of December, January, and August, it is dry and fairly hot. During rainy weather, the air was warm and moist during the day; at night it was often cold and chilly, also in the morning till about nine o'clock. During the other months it is often chilly during the day, the mornings being misty and cold.

"Kikuyu.-On both occasions we were here in the month of August, when it was misty, cold, and wet.

"Naivasha Lake and plains were fairly hot and dry.

"Mau Escarpment.-During September and October it was very wet and cold, especially inside the forest.

'Sotik, Lumbwa, and Burgomese.-Fine, slightly moist and warm air. We were there in October.

"Lower Kavirondo and Lake Victoria.-We passed here in October, when it was rather hot and dry.

"Upper Kavirondo.-I saw this country during the months of November, December, March, April, May, and June. In the dry season the heat during the day is slightly oppressive and dry; at night, however, it is pleasantly cool. During the rains in March to June it is cooler; rain falls in heavy showers either in the afternoon or morning, but from the nature of the country it soon dries up, leaving the air cool and not excessively moist.

"Karamojo and country around Mount Elgon to Ngaboto.-These, during December, January, and February, were rather hot and very dry.

"Usoga.-I was here in March, when the rains were on, when it was rather hot and moist, the air not circulating very freely, owing to the large extent of banana plantations.

"Kavirondo to Baringo, July.-Dry, but pleasantly cool during the day; at night often cold.

"Baringo to Naivasha, July.—The plains here were cool and pleasant, the air being dry, very heavy dews falling on some nights."

As regards drinking-water, which is so important a consideration for caravans, Dr. Mackinnon reports :

"In Kikuyu the water is good. At Mianzini it is fair, but comes from a small

swamp. From here to Lake Naivasha it is fair, coming from a weakly-flowing spring (Langora). The water of the lake is very good for its nature. On Mau the water is excellent after the places occupied by Masai villages have been passed, as there the cattle spoil it. In Sotik and other districts, to Lower Kavirondo, the water is good. In Lower and Upper Kavirondo, the water suffers from the number of villages in the districts and the cattle. In Karamojo and about Mount Elgon the water is very good. At Ngaboto it was scarce, and had to be dug for in the sandy bed of a river, but was not bad. In Usoga the water was good, being chiefly from streams and springs. From Kavirondo to Baringo it is everywhere good. From Baringo to Lake Naivasha it is also good, especially that from the hot springs in and near Doreta, where it has to be cooled for drinking purposes. From Naivasha to Kisidong there was none when we passed. At Kisidong Mkubwa it comes from a hot spring and is very good. From here Kikuyu is again entered."

The health of the European members of the expedition was, throughout, excellent. The Swahili, on the whole, enjoyed good health. The total number of deaths from disease was twenty-one; seven died of dysentery, and four of blood-poisoning. Attacks of dysentery were ascribed to the occasional short allowance of food; the fevers seldom prevailed for more than three days, the usual course being one day.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.

THE REV. DR. STEWART read the paper we publish this month, on "South Africa: Past and Present," at a meeting in the Society's Hall, Edinburgh, on 26th February. Mr. A. L. Bruce, Hon. Treasurer of the Society, presided. A cordial vote of thanks was awarded to the lecturer on the motion of Dr. George Smith.

Dr. Stewart repeated his lecture at a joint meeting of the Glasgow Branch of the Society and the Philosophical Society of Glasgow, on the 11th March. Mr. Renny Watson, Chairman of the Branch, presided; and Dr. Muir moved the vote of thanks to the lecturer.

A meeting of the Society was held in Edinburgh on 19th March-Dr. John Murray, Vice-President, in the chair. Colonel Sir Charles Wilson, R.E., K.C.B., Director-General of the Ordnance Survey, read a paper on “The Ordnance Survey : Its Methods and Processes." On the motion of Sir Douglas Maclagan, seconded by Sheriff Æneas Mackay, a cordial vote of thanks was awarded to Sir Charles Wilson.

GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES.

ASIA.

The Peninsula of Kamtchatka.-Though this country passed in 1696 into the hands of the Russians, it is still one of the least known (parts of their empire. Professor Umlauft (Deutsche Rundschau, xiii. Jahr. Heft 3) gives its area as 104,200 square miles. It is traversed along its whole length by a mighty chain of mountains, which rise into the regions of eternal snow. On the eastern side are numerous volcanoes, of which twenty-one are now active. Dittmar's map (1850)

shows only twelve active volcanoes, from which it may be inferred that the subterranean forces have developed a large amount of energy since his time. At the southern extremity of the peninsula numerous isolated volcanic cones rise from the low ground, of which the Apatcha only is active. To the north of this mountain the country begins to rise, and at length two chains are formed, of which the western extends through the whole peninsula. Only one volcano, the Icha, is situated actually within the range, but several others lie between it and the western coast. Below the 57th parallel the river Tigil has eroded a narrow valley through the range, and a little further north a deep depression interrupts the continuity, but the elevation soon increases again, and is continued in the Voyampolka Mountains. The eastern range is far shorter, extending only to the 55th parallel. It also contains only one volcano; but the short range which runs off from it in a south-easterly direction to Cape Shipunskie contains several, among them the Koryaka, which attains a height of 11,218 feet. They are particularly numerous in the elevated country which adjoins the eastern range and entirely fills the space between the middle and lower Kamtchatka River and the eastern coast. Here stands the Klutshef, the culminating summit of the peninsula, 15,757 feet high. On the left bank of the Kamtchatka the Timaska, a low chain with rounded summits, runs eastward, and is joined on the north by the Novikofskaia Vershina, ending in Cape Stolbovi. Beyond the 57th parallel northwards there is only the one range. Numerous hot springs testify to the volcanic character of the eastern part of Kamtchatka. Dittmar found the temperature of a spring near the Mikishina to be 120° F. on December 16th, when the temperature of the air was -11°. Owing to the great atmospheric moisture and the abundant rainfall, the country is irrigated by numerous rivers, of which the Kamtckatka is the largest. The Shupanof, on the east, and the Bolshaya, Icha, and Tigil, on the west, are also important streams. The climate is changeable and severe, and much colder than that of countries in the same latitude on the other side of the Old World. When Dittmar visited the country, there was ice in May on an inlet of Avatcha Bay, and on the west coast, which is much colder, the thermometer stood at sunrise on August 2d at about 34° F. In winter, temperatures of -40° and lower were recorded. The snow-line lies at a height of about 5300 feet.

In Kamtchatka, as in Central Siberia, the vegetation is surprisingly exuberant. Rich meadow-land alternates with dense woods, composed, in the south, of poplars willows, and birches. Where the woods are thin, bushes grow freely, and flowering plants bedeck the ground. Wild animals are abundant, and hunting and fishing are the chief means of procuring food. The most important game are wild reindeer, wild sheep, hares, otters, sables, and ermine. Bears, wolves, and foxes are also numerous. Of birds, heathcock, swans, geese and ducks, and sea-fowl may be mentioned. In the southern rivers salmon is plentiful. The southern part of the peninsula is inhabited by Kamtchadales, numbering some 4000 souls. They have submitted to Russian influence, and are Christians in name, but still cling to the rites of Shamanism. Their mud huts have given place to houses, round which gardens are laid out. They keep cattle and a few horses and fowls, but neither sheep nor pigs. In the north about 3000 Koriaks live, who are still in a primitive state, and subsist on the produce of the chase and fishing. Their most important domestic animals are dogs, which draw their sleighs.

The Date in the Philippines.-Freiherr von Benko, Captain in the Austrian Navy, has published a pamphlet, in which he calls attention to the singular fact

that until half a century ago the inhabitants of the Philippines were a day behind those of neighbouring countries in their reckoning. It is easy to understand that the time on the meridian opposite to ours must differ by 12 hours, but who shall say whether those twelve hours are to be added or subtracted from our reckoning? Practically this has generally been settled by the first discoverers, according as they sailed eastwards or westwards. Legaspi, the conqueror and coloniser of the Philippines, sailed to the islands from the east, and brought what may be called the eastern date with him. Later on, however, when the Pope divided the world between the Spaniards and the Portuguese, giving the former the half lying beyond a meridian passing 100 leagues west of the Azores (afterwards removed to 370 leagues) the islands, owing to the inability of navigators in those days to calculate the longitude with any approach to accuracy, remained in the hands of the Spaniards, and the date was changed to that of their American possessions. But, in 1844, the Governor-General of the Philippines decreed that considering it convenient that the mode of reckoning days in these islands shall be uniform with that prevailing in Europe, China, and other countries situated to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, . . . I ordain, with the assent of His Excellency the Archbishop, that, for this year only, Tuesday December 31st be suppressed, and that the day following Monday the 30th of the same month be styled Wednesday January 1st 1845." That the date has been made to conform with that of Eastern countries is a circumstance not generally known, as Freiherr von Benko proves by quotations from geographical authors and encyclopædias, among others Meyer's Konvers. Lexikon.

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The Arctic Route to Siberia.-At the end of last July two ships and a tug left London, and, though detained by the ice, which was driven by the north-easterly winds into the Kara Sea in exceptionally large quantities, reached Karaul, 160 miles up the Yenisei, without accidents. After remaining there for nineteen days, they made the return voyage in twenty-six days, having, therefore, been absent eighty-four days. The real difficulty lay in ascending the river from Golcheka to Karaul, which the Russian Government had assigned as the port of discharge. In 1889, Captain Wiggins did not venture to take the Labrador up, because he thought that the water was too shallow, and he had no steam launch to lead the way. It was found, however, that there was a channel with sufficient water for vessels of any draught. Professor Nordenskiöld, in a letter congratulating the promoters of the undertaking, declares that this successful voyage will hereafter be regarded "as an event rivalling in importance the return to Portugal of the first fleet loaded with merchandise from India."-Nature, Nov. 27th, 1890.

AFRICA.

Mount Kénia and the Surrounding Region.-The Ergänzungsheft No. 99 of Petermanns Mitt. is a detailed description of the country traversed by Count Teleki and the author, Lieutenant von Höhnel, in the expedition of 1887-88, when they discovered the Rudolf Lake. Notes on Kilima-njaro and Ugweno, from Dr. Meyer's reports, have appeared in our Magazine in Vol. vi. pp. 156 and 261; and the basins of the Rudolf and Stefanie Lakes are described in Vol. v. p. 665, from an earlier report of Lieut. von Höhnel. The present extract will, therefore, treat only of the Kénia region and its connections with Kilima-njaro on the south-east, and Samburu on the north-west. Were the crests removed, the continent of Africa would be found to maintain a slope from the Indian Ocean to a culminating point, over 7000 feet high, situated near the Equator in long. 36° E. Following this slope, a flat plain extends north-westwards from Kilima-njaro, and is bounded on the north by a

series of ranges, the Ngatuk, the Doenye Erok la Matumbate, the Tumoké and the Naebormutu, while on the east it is limited by the Julu chain and the outliers of the Ulu mountains. The ranges to the north rise to a height of about 6500 feet, and the Tumoké and Naebormutu are succeeded by the Mavarasha and Gurugeish ranges, after which this metamorphic group is terminated by the relatively low Doenye Mellevo. On the east a strip of low flat land separates it from the Ulu highlands, which stretch northwards from the Julu range to the foot of Kénia, where they terminate in the Kyanjabi mountain, 6500 feet high. Their eastern flank is skirted by the river Azi. The rock of which they are composed is gneiss, and the ground is in general sandy and stony, and cultivation is possible only in the moister and more fruitful valleys. Near Turuka, to the north of the Doenye Mellevo, the route begins to ascend up to a vast plateau, which extends to about the parallel of 2° N. lat. After passing the Doenye Erok la Kapotéi, a flat-topped elevation of such large extent as almost to deserve the name of plateau, and the Doenye Lamuyo, a long mountain with several summits rising to a height of 6800 feet, the top of the plateau is reached. It extends over all the wide region known as Leikipia, and to the north and west has an elevation of 6500 to 7800 feet, while on the other sides it is only 4900 to 5800 feet high, except where, on the eastern side, Mount Kénia towers above it. To the west the plateau descends by huge steps to the great depression which runs nearly north and south through Central Africa, while on the east it sinks down by imperceptible gradations. On the former side stand several chains of mountains, the Subugia and Dondole mountains to the south of the Equator, and the Marmanett on the northern side. The southern part is occupied by an extensive group of mountains, named by Joseph Thomson the Aberdare Range, rising in the south to a height of 13,000 feet, and here called Settima. To the west of the range stand two isolated mountains, the Goyito and Kinango, both about 13,000 feet high, and between it and the Dondole mountains lies a depression, 30-36 miles long from north to south and 11-15 miles broad, where excellent pasture-land abounds. Here stands the swamp Kope-Kope, which gives birth to the Guasso Narok.

Kénia is a huge truncated pyramid, supporting a precipitous rocky pinnacle. Its flanks rise more gently and more uniformly than those of Kilima-njaro, until a height of about 15,000 feet is attained, and then pass suddenly into the walls of the rocky summit, 2600 to 3000 feet in height. The explorers ascended the mountain to a height of 15,350 feet, about the edge of the crater, and estimate the total height at about 18,400 feet. The base on which the mountain stands has a considerable dip to the east, the western foot standing at an elevation of about 3300 feet and the eastern at only half that height. This base is encircled by a narrow belt of forest, composed of trees taller and stouter than those that grow on Kilima-njaro. At a height of 8500 feet an almost impassable belt of bamboo takes its place, which at a height of about 10,000 feet breaks up into solitary clumps and soon after disappears, the upper slopes of the mountain being carpeted with moss, the Senecio Johnstoni, and the varieties of Lobeliacea characteristic of Kilima-njaro. These are found nearly up to the limit of eternal snow, which on the west side is met with at a height of 15,000 feet, and on the east side 300 to 400 feet lower. The snow-limit, then, lies lower than on Kilima-njaro, though the latter is further from the Equator and nearer to the coast. The pinnacle already mentioned rises on the west side of the broad flat pedestal. It is a fragment of the crater which remained standing after the rest fell in. The circular base of the crater encloses a caldron-shaped hollow, filled with snow and ice to a depth of 600 to 1000 feet below the edge. On the east side masses of ice extend beyond the crater-walls, but on the west the rocks are so steep that the snow lies only in a