but Signor Carpani attributes this fall in part, at least during the last eight years, to neglect of proper precautions in cutting the feathers, and to the practice of cutting as many as possible in order to procure a large immediate return, whereby the market has been glutted with feathers of inferior quality. The quantity exported from Cape Colony in 1886 was 286,300 lbs., and since then it has diminished, being 257,950 lbs. in 1888, and 107,000 lbs. in the first half of 1889. It is possible that the introduction of a better system is hereby indicated. The value of the feathers annually exported from Natal is about £12,000.

AMERICA.

The Eastern Slope of the Andes between the Rio Diamante and the Rio Negro.— In 1887 Dr. Kurtz, Professor of Botany at the University of Cordoba, Argentine Republic, and Dr. W. Bodenbender, were sent out by the Geographical Institute of Buenos Ayres to explore this tract, and the latter has given a preliminary sketch of the geological formation, etc., of the country in Petermann's Mitt., Bd. xxxvi. No. 10. Civilisation ends at the small town of San Rafael, on the Rio Diamante. To the south of that river lies an almost deserted territory of considerable interest from a geological point of view. The first point Dr. Bodenbender notices is the occurrence of isolated masses of archaic slates, with granite, amidst the Jurassic formation, a phenomenon probably to be seen also on the plateau between the rivers Neuquen and Lamay and throughout Patagonia. The Silurian formation occurs in the western spurs of the Cerro Nevado, in the neighbourhood of Tundrigua-probably its southern limit. Numerous strata of sandstone and conglomerate of doubtful age are to be found on the Andes and their skirts. Three different horizons may, in Dr. Boden bender's opinion, be distinguished. The oldest sandstones and conglomerates exist in the Rio Grande, in conjunction with diabase and melaphyre (?). The second horizon is formed of sandstone containing gypsum, which may belong to the Rhætian or Triassic formation, but at any rate contains strata with pre-Jurassic fossils underlying others of the Jurassic period. These rocks cover the greater part of the eastern slope of the Andes from Mendoza to the Rio Lamay. The supposition of several travellers that certain sandstones on the Argentine side are of Tertiary origin has not yet been supported by adequate proofs. The strata containing Jurassic fossils are of very diverse character-grey and marly sandstones, black limestone, conglomerate limestone, slates, sometimes bituminous, white limestone, etc. The most southern point they were found at is the confluence of the Rio Catanlil and Rio Collon Curas. The paleontological collection, handed over to Professor v. Koenen of Göttingen for inspection, is very extensive. Dr. Bodenbender gives a list of the more important species and numerous petrographical details. Near the sources of the Rio Agrio stands the volcano Copahue, on the flanks of which numerous hot springs and solfataras give evidence of great activity in former ages. This place may before long become the most renowned health-resort of Argentina. The general surface of the country is formed of plateaus, intersected by valleys, produced by the splitting asunder and fallingin of the ground. Where gypsum abounds, its solution may have contributed to the formation of these valleys, and in the neighbourhood of the Cerro Colorado earthquakes may have assisted, as is indicated by the name of the route, "Camino de los Terremotos," which passes near it.

Dr. Bodenbender gives the following notes on the general meteorology of the country. The prevailing winds blow from the west or north-west, and from the south or south-west. The NW. winds are usually very violent; the SW. winds bring cold weather in winter and frequent storms in summer. The lowest tempera

ture, in July and August, is 16° F. in San Rafael, 14° F. in Villa Beltran, 9° F. in Norquin, and 10° F. in Junin de los Andes. In summer the thermometer rises to 104° F. Snow falls in all parts, but seldom lies long. As in geological, and still more in hydrographical and meteorological characteristics, so also in scenery and quality of the soil the northern part of this tract presents a striking contrast to the southern. Whereas the rich lake district of Junin de los Andes abounds in water, woods of beech, cypress, araucarias, and apple-trees bearing most delicious fruit, on rich marly soil, the north exhibits chains of mountains, devoid of vegetation, and narrrow valleys choked with stony débris, where swiftly rushing streams prevent the accumulation of good alluvial soil. The whole country stands in need of more channels of communication. Two railways are already projected, the one traversing the department of La Pampa and following the river Neuquen until it crosses the Andes at the latitude of Chus-Malal, the other from Bahia Blanca to the Rio Negro and on to Nahuel-Huapi. The commerce is concentrated at a few small places-Codihue and Norquin on the Rio Agrio, and Chus-Malal on the Rio Neuquen. Norquin, being situated near three easily traversed passes leading into Chile, in a broad, well-watered and well-wooded valley, and having communication with the south by means of the river, has, no doubt, a prosperous future in store. At present the commerce is chiefly with Chile.

AUSTRALASIA.

The Musgrave Range: South Australia.-In the summer of 1889, Mr. Henry Y. L. Brown was sent out by the Government of South Australia to explore this range, which lies in lat. 26° 15' S., and long. 131° 40′ E. Mr. Brown travelled by rail as far as Warrina, at that time the terminus of the transcontinental line. The distance from this place to the eastern flank of the Musgrave Range is 312 miles. The route at first traversed already explored country, over hills of red sandstone, with a strike running from north to south. After passing the Lora not far from its junction with the Akaringa Creek, Mr. Brown advanced to the north-west, and followed the latter stream for a distance of 78 miles. Its bed, through which the water flows in two or three channels, is nearly two miles wide where Mr. Brown first struck it, but gradually contracts as it ascends between stony flats and hills, until at length it is enclosed by precipitous walls 200 feet high. Further on the creek divides into several streams, flowing down from scrub-clothed table-land at an elevation of 1300 feet. Chalk rocks, partly underlying red loam and sandy beds of Tertiary origin, extend for a distance of 140 miles from Warrina, until they terminate in a flat-topped range of quartzite and sandstone lying horizontally. From the Arcoolinna Well (three shallow springs of rather bitter water with a flavour of magnesia) to a "soakage" (watery spot) on Indulkana Creek, the quartzite and sandstone form high, steep, bluffs, rising to a height of 650 feet above the surrounding country, such as Mount Johns and Mount Chandler, the intervening flats being covered with deposits of red sand and loam, through which limestone, slates, and other rocks crop out. As the Musgrave Range is approached, eruptive, metamorphic, and porphyritic granite present themselves. The range stretches from east to west for a distance of 100 miles, with an average breadth of 20 miles. highest summit, Mount Woodroffe, lies in lat. 26° 18′ S. and long. 131° 48′ E., and rises to a height of 2398 feet above its base, and 5228 feet above the sea-level. On the summit eucalyptus grows, while the flanks are covered with Spinifex. The next highest points are Mount Ferdinand and Mount Cuthbert, which rise to 3618 feet above the sea-level. The range is not continuous, the summits being separated by narrow flats, or connected only by saddles of low elevation, some of them

Its

not more than 100 feet high. Several so-called gum creeks-that is, beds filled with sand in which the water disappears as soon as it leaves the rocky substratum -drain the slopes of the range. The rocks of which it is composed are eruptive and metamorphic granite, containing a large proportion of hornblende and but little mica, with intrusive diorite and dolerite. Magnetic iron is present in such quantities as to cause a marked deflection of the needle.

The natives are numerous in the mountains, and are amicably disposed towards white men. The men are, in general, of superior build to those of the plain. They wear no clothing, and at night keep themselves warm by sleeping between two fires or crouching behind bushes. Their weapons are shields, spears, eight to nine feet long, and waddies. Red kangaroos are common on the adjoining plains, and euros on the mountains. Pigeons of various kinds and a few parrots are occasionally seen, but no cockatoos. Lowans' nests are plentiful, but the bird itself is seldom seen. It is about the size of a turkey, and lays its eggs in a heap of sand. The largest trees, red gums (Eucalyptus rostrata), grow in the sandy beds of the creeks, and a tree 30 to 40 feet high and resembling a willow is frequently met with in the loamy soil at the base of the mountains. Various herbs and grasses, the wild geranium eagerly devoured by cattle, the salt-bush (Artiplex nummularia), bluebush (Kochia sedifolia), and cotton-bush nearly complete the list of the forms of vegetation. On his return Mr. Brown retraced his steps as far as the "soakage" in Indulkana Creek, then, turning eastwards, marched thirty miles to the Alberga, which he followed for some distance, and, finally, passing Angle Pool, beside Mount O'Halloran, reached Warrina on October 7th.-Henry Greffrath in Petermann's Mitt., Bd. xxxvi. No. 10.

The Finisterre Mountains in German New Guinea.-Herr Hugo Zöller made an expedition to this range in October 1888, and has published some of the results in Petermann's Mitt., Bd. xxxvi. No. 10. The spurs of the Finisterre Mountains do not, as was supposed, extend to the sea, but between this range and Astrolabe Bay is interposed a lower range, having an average height of 1200 or 1500 feet, and a maximum height, probably in the Kubary peak, of about 2500 feet. The northern flank exhibits yellow sandstone, in some places calcareous and in others argillaceous, from which Dr. Helwig, who was one of the party, extracted some very fine fossils, while on the long, narrow plateau, lying more to the south, between Kadda and Tsiringi, conglomerates and tuffs are found. On the Finisterre range eruptive rocks, such as porphyry, andesite, trachyte, etc., were discovered. Its volcanic origin, thus indicated, cannot, owing to the effects of erosion, be detected by its outward appearance. Beyond the Finisterre range rise the Kraetke Mountains, and beyond these again the Bismarck chain, which sweeps in a long curve in the direction of Finschhafen. Its highest point, the Otto Mountain, is probably the loftiest elevation in the German territory. This, as well as the other peaks of the group, are concealed from the coast by the intervening Kraetke range, the highest summit of which was named by the explorer after himself. The chief characteristic of this mountainous country is the narrowness of the ridges and valleys, and the consequent steepness of the slopes. The top of the main ridge of the Finisterre mountains barely afforded the travellers sufficient room to encamp on. Although many other questions were solved during this expedition, it still remains a mystery where the large quantity of water that descends on to this mountainous region during the rainy season is discharged. The streams which, like the Kabenau river, descending from the longitudinal valleys of the Finisterre Mountains, force their way through the coast range, are merely rushing torrents; while from the Kaiserin Augusta and Ottilia rivers south-eastwards, to some dis

tance beyond Finschhafen, no large rivers have yet been discovered. Dr. Helwig's valuable botanical collections were, most of them, lost, and it is not yet known whether the botanist was able to draw up a report before his death, which occurred shortly after his return. It is, however, Herr Zöller's opinion that the dense forests of the Finisterre range consist of trees all of the same, or of very similar, species. Around their straight and lofty trunks a host of parasitic plants twine their tendrils, giving place in elevated situations to long-bearded mosses, while the ground is covered nearly everywhere with bushes and plants of the most varied forms. Palms became rarer as the travellers ascended; wild bananas and taro were found up to quite half the elevation attained by the explorers. While the flora of the mountains is distinguished from that of the coast by its great uniformity, the fauna exhibits the same extraordinary abundance of brilliantly plumaged birds and the same scarcity of quadrupeds. Parrots, cockatoos, and delicatelyflavoured crested pigeons may be shot, and an enormous snake; herons and birds of prey are eaten by the natives. Numerous footprints of wild boars and cassowaries were noticed. Near the coast the natives live in widely-scattered, wellbuilt, villages. After passing an uninhabited belt the travellers met with the inland natives, who greeted them with flights of arrows. They are nomads, and live entirely by the chase. The higher mountain districts, between 3600 and 5400 feet, are seldom visited by these nomads, while above the latter height no trace of the presence of human beings was noticed. Their absence may be explained by the fall of temperature; the thermometer, which marked 95° F. when Herr Zöller left the coast, sank to 46° F. at an elevation of 8725 feet.

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Mitt. d. K. K. Geog. Ges. zu Wien, states that Signor E. Modigliani, known as the explorer of Nias, started in July for Sumatra, where he intends to explore the neighbourhood of the Toba Lake.

Dr. Oscar Baumann has extended his surveys beyond the Usambara Country, to the foot of Kilima-njaro on the north, and across the Pangani river on the south, and has thus furnished a surer basis for the observations of Last, Fischer, Stuhlmann, and Pfeil.-Petermann's Mitt. Bd. xxxvi. No. 10.

M. Cholet, a French official, has followed the Sanga River., discovered by G. de Brazza, as far as 2° 50′ N. lat. and ̧16° 20′ 9′′ E. long., and confirms the opinion of de Brazza as to its length and importance. It flows into the Congo between the Likuala and M'bangi. Its tributary, the N'goko, M. Cholet ascended to 3° 30′ N. lat.-Petermann's Mitt. Bd. xxxvi. No. 10.

The Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna intends to send out a Deep-Sea Expedition to the Levant. It is to sail from Pola at the end of July, and to commence its investigations in the Cretan waters. The scientific staff will be composed of Dr. von Marenzeller and Professor Grobben (zoology), Professor Luksch (physics), and Dr. Natterer (chemistry).-Mitt. der K.K. Geog. Gesell. zu Wien, Bd. xxxii. No. 7.

It was reported in the Revue de Géographie, November 1890, that M. de Brettes, who lately attempted to cross the Chaco, was on the eve of sailing for Grand Bassam, with the intention of marching through Kong, Say on the Upper Niger, Sokoto and Zinder to Barua on the north-western shore of Lake Tsad. His object is to open up new routes for commerce in this part of Africa, which has lately been placed within the French sphere of influence by the Anglo-French treaty.

The commerce of La Rochelle, which is now three times as large as it was thirty years ago, has necessitated the formation of a new Port capable of receiving vessels of heavy tonnage. The site chosen is the roadstead of La Pallice, about 23 miles from the town. It is admirably protected against tempests by the islands of Ré and Oleron, and is connected with the open sea by the Pertuis Breton and the Pertuis d'Antioche. The port consists of an outer harbour, enclosed by two jetties, each about 460 yards long, and a basin covering 28 acres. The total length of the quays is 1250 yards.—Boll. del Ministero degli Affari Esteri, vol. ii. fasc. iv.

The Mitt. des Vereins für Erdkunde zu Leipzig, 1890, contains a useful article by Dr. Ludwig Hösel on the Cereals of North and Central Africa. The author gives the different botanical names for the same plant, and discusses the signification of the ordinary names as employed by travellers. The distribution of each plant is determined by numerous references to the works of well-known explorers, and the methods of cultivation and modes of preparing for consumption the cereals in use among the native tribes are described. The necessary temperature, atmospheric moisture, and soil find also a place in the article. Lastly, a map showing the limits of the various cereals is appended.

In a letter to The Times, on October 27th, 1890, Mr. H. M. Stanley stated that the formation of the Congo State cost King Leopold about £350,000. After the Conference of Berlin the annual Expenditure of the State was borne by the King, with the exception of about £20,000 derived from taxes. This expenditure increased from £80,000 to £120,000 annually, and in 1887, owing to the cost of new and powerful steamers, new stations, and the equipment of a native force, it rose to £170,000 annually. To meet these demands the State receives £40,000 from the King, £80,000 from the Belgian Government, and £25,000 from export duties, etc. There is, therefore, a deficit of £25,000, which the new taxes, now proposed, are to make good.

NEW BOOKS.

The First Crossing of Greenland. By FRIDTJOF NANSEN. Translated from the Norwegian by Hubert Majendie Gepp. With Maps and numerous London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1890. 2 vols. Pp. 510,

Illustrations.

If, during the long delay in the publication of Dr. Nansen's narrative, public interest in his intrepid feat of exploration may have declined, it will undoubtedly be revived by the appearance of the two handsome volumes recording "the first crossing of Greenland." In many respects no more valuable and interesting volumes of travel have been issued from the press for many years. They record an adventurous Arctic journey which was undertaken in the face of its acknowledged conditions renown for its success, and death in its defeat. Dr. Nansen and his brave companions accepted these conditions fearlessly, and it is only just that they should receive such rewards as the world has to bestow on them. If our admiration for them could in any way be heightened, it would certainly be stimulated by the two volumes before us. Dr. Nansen's narrative leaves on the reader a healthy impression that few works of travel are able to accomplish. His indomitable pluck and dash, his transparent honesty and good fellowship, his keen sense of humour and honour, and his cool, calculating judgment, no less than his modesty and unselfishness, are conspicuous on every page. He is a born leader of men, and