On a new Route to the Sources of the Niger. By A. Bowden.

On the Specific Gravity of the Surface-water of the Ocean, as observed during the Cruise of H.M.S. Challenger.' By J. Y. BUCHANAN.

On a new Deep-sea Thermometer. By J. Y. BUCHANAN.

On his Journey through Equatorial Africa.

By Commander V. L. CAMERON, R.N., C.B.

The author said that soon after entering the country from the east coast he came to a large plateau, 4000 feet in height, encircling Lake Tanganyika, and forming the watershed between the Congo and the streams flowing into Lake Sangora. Another tableland to the south rose to the height of 3000 feet. The watershed between the two basins of the Lualaba and the Congo at that part is a large, nearly level country, and during the rainy season the floods cover the ground between the two rivers, and a great portion of it might easily be made navigable. One thing he noticed in Africa was this system of watersheds, dividing the country into portions, each having its own peculiarity, and also that in each there was a difference in the habits of the natives. Within twenty days he crossed the Nsagra Mountains and came upon a level open country where a great quantity of African corn was grown, the stalks of which rose to the height of from 20 to 24 feet. In this country no animal could live except the goat, the tsetse fly being destructive to all others. The principal geological formation was sandstone. A few marches brought him to Ugogo, an extensive plain broken by two ranges of hills, composed of loose masses of granite piled together in the wildest confusion. The soil was sandy and sterile. Coming to the country of the Ugari he found a tribe almost identical with Unyamwesi. The principal streams of this district fall into the Mulgarazi. Unyamwesi was the commencement of the basin of the Congo. He believed that the natives of Unyamwesi were of the Malay race; they had crossed a great deal with negroes, and had lost the distinctive colour and distinctive marks of the race, but their features were much the same as the dominant races in Madagascar. Ugaro is a large plain very nearly quite flat. The people here were different from the Unyamwesians; they had not got the same features or the same tribal marks. After passing over the mountains of Komendi, which are an offshoot of the mountains round the south end of Tanganyika, they came to a fertile land, much of it laid waste by the ravages of a neighbouring tribe. All the mountains in that district were of granite. There was there a large quantity of salt, and what was remarkable was that the rivers ran perfectly fresh through soil which, when the natives dug wells, gave water which was full of salt. At Ujiji the people are of a different race from those already described, as they shave their hair differently and have not the same features. Along Lake Tanganyika in some places there were enormous cliffs and hollows of rugged granite lying in loose boulders; in other places the cliffs were of red sandstone, and in others a sort of limestone and dolomite. At one place he saw exposed on the shores of the lake large masses of coal. Passing down to the south end of the lake, he found it regularly embedded in cliffs 500 to 600 feet high, with waterfalls discharging themselves down the face.

Travelling along the side of the lake he came to the Lukogo, a large river more than a mile wide, but partly closed by a sort of sill on which a floating vegetation was growing, a clear passage, however, being left of about 800 yards. After proceeding some four miles up the river, the author's boat got jammed amongst the floating vegetation which grows to the thickness of two or three feet, and it was with difficulty the boat was extricated. The Kasongo country was next reached, the principal characteristic of which was the extraordinary trees, of which boats a fathom wide are sometimes made. Crossing the mountains of Bambara he arrived at Mamyuemba. Here he found the race entirely different from any thing 1876.

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he had yet seen. The houses were differently built, the people were differently armed, dressed their head differently, and there was no tattooing to speak of. The villages were built in long streets thirty or forty yards wide, two or three streets being alongside each other, and a space left between the houses, which were of reddish clay, with sloping thatched roof-the only houses of that description he saw in the interior of the country. All the Mamyuembans are cannibals. Journeying northwards, but still in Mamyuemba, a district was reached where iron was very plentiful, and where large forges were at work. Many of the spears and knives which they turned out looked as if finished off by a file or polished by some means, although all done by hand-forging and patient labour. The Lualaba River was next reached, which is about 1800 yards in breadth. The southern shore is occupied by a tribe called the Wagenga, who do the whole carrying business of the river, being the only canoe proprietors, who take for pay the products of the country to the different markets. The young women make immense quantities of pottery in the mud and back water, which they exchange for fish.

After referring to a country between Nywangi and Loami, where a palm-oil grows in great profusion, the author said that he traversed Kilemba, and reached Lake Kigongo. This lake is covered with floating vegetation, on which the people build their houses, cut a space round about them, and so transform their habitations into floating islands, so that when desirable they change the locality from one place to another. Coming to the coast he passed through one of the most magnificent countries in the world to look at, possessing a climate in which any European might live. The Portuguese had been settled in this neighbourhood for thirty years. The whole of this country was just one vast slave-field. In the country there was a vast mineral wealth and an ordinary population that, with education, might be rendered very industrious instead of carrying on a continual warfare against each other for the purpose of obtaining slaves.

On his Recent Explorations in N. W. New Guinea.
By Signor G. E. CERRUTI.

After several visits to the islands and part of the mainland on the north, the author was in 1869 sent out by Count Menabrea for the purpose of making investigations preliminary to the formation in New Guinea of a penal settlement; he secured at the same time means for turning his expedition to profit geographically. He believed that a great part of the region from the Xulla Islands to New Guinea, and perhaps more to the north, had been subject to very important volcanic action in an epoch not very far distant; and one could see the work now going on, the western coast showing gradual subsidence. But whatever the origin of the islands, they were now covered with a vegetation which he had not found equalled in luxuriance in any part of the world. He urged in strong terms the colonization of New Guinea.

Observations on the White Nile between Gondokoro and Appuddo.
By Lieut. W. H. CHIPPINDALL, R.E.

On Perak and Salangore. By W. BARRINGTON D'ALMEIDA.

Observations on the Conventional Division of Time now in use, and its Disadvantages in connexion with Steam Communications in different parts of the World; with Remarks on the desirability of adopting Common Time over the Globe for Railways and Steam-Ships. By SANDFORD FLEMING.

On the Site of the Grave of Genghiz Khan. By Professor FORBES.

On the Samoan Archipelago. By LITTON FORBES, M.D.

On Akem and its People, West Africa. By Capt. J. S. HAY.

On the Geological Distribution of Oceanic Deposits. By J. MURRAY. These deposits were stated to be of three classes :-first, those which were found all round the continents and islands existing over the world, without any exception, but which varied according to the places where they were found; secondly, those found at from 200 to 300 miles from the land, consisting of shell and lime deposits, and covering most of the bed of the ocean; thirdly, those existing at other depths, and which were of siliceous character. Observations had shown that a curious. relation existed between the nature of the deposits and the depth of the water. It was also pointed out that in the neighbourhood of volcanic islands, and in no other places, were found large deposits of manganese,. coating the shells and other things brought up from the bottom.

On the Islands of the Coral Sea. By KERRY NICHOLS.

The Coral Sea embraces that portion of the Pacific Ocean extending from the south of New Guinea, westward to the coast of Australia, southward to New Caledonia, and eastward to the New Hebrides. The New Hebrides' banks and SantaCruz Islands, the author said, are an almost continuous chain of fertile volcanic islands, extending for a distance of 700 miles, between the parallels of 9° 45' and 20° 16' south latitude, and the meridians of 165° 40′ and 170° 33′ east longitude. Espiritu Santo, the largest island of the archipelago, was seventy-five miles long and forty miles broad. The geological formation of the islands was composed of volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The chain of primary volcanic upheaval might be traced running in a general course longitudinally through the islands always in their longest direction, the axis of eruption being marked by active and quiescent volcanoes. On the north end of the island of Vanu Lava there were extensive springs of boiling water, solfataras, and fumaroles. The hot springs were of two kinds-some were permanent fountains where water was in a constant state of ebullition, others were only intermittent, and the water became heated at certain intervals, when it varied from a tepid degree of heat to boiling-point. The physical features of the islands were remarkably bold, and betokened at first sight their volcanic origin. The plains, tablelands, and valleys of the mountain region were, many of them, of considerable extent.

On a Journey across Finland, from Ellenborg to Archangel viâ Kemi.
By Rev. J. PATERSON.

On Travels in Tunis in the Footsteps of Bruce.
By Col. R. L. PLAYFAIR, H.M. Consul-General in Algeria.

The paper gave a narrative of the author's observations made in the course of a journey in Tunis over places visited by Bruce about 1763. There had been recently put into Col. Playfair's hand for publication a large number of Bruce's sketches, of which his Barbary sketches were, he said, the most interesting, forming about 120 sheets of drawings, completely illustrating the archæolegy of North Africa. In these circumstances, the author had determined to follow Bruce in his journey, and to satisfy himself as to the present condition of those interesting ruins, which were almost unknown to the modern traveller.

On some Points of Interest in the Physical Conformation and Antiquities of the Jordan Valley. By Professor PORTER.

The general geological structure of the valley, the author said, was lime, and of the same age as the basin of the Sea of Gallilee, and its surface was flat. The breadth varied from three to ten miles, extending a little towards the east; and from the nature of its thick alluvial covering, it was of more recent formation than the mountains, of which the soil was the deposit, the valley having been at one time apparently a lake. The River Jordan, as it at present existed, could have had nothing to do with the formation of the valley itself. He recommended to the notice of men of science that geological remains on the site of Sodom and Gomorrah pointed to an explosion of bitumen much later than the ordinary geological formation, and probably within the historic period.

Notes on the River Putumayo or Içá, South America. By A. SIMSON.

On his Recent Journeys in New Guinea. By OCTAVIUS STONE. The island extends in a south-easterly direction for a distance of over 1400 miles, having a maximum width of 450 miles and a minimum of only 20. The neighbourhood of the Baxter River and the entire shores to the west of the Papuan Gulf, for an average of 100 miles inland, were low and more or less swampy, being intersected by watercourses and covered with forests of mangrove-trees. This part of the country was thinly populated by the Dandé Papuans, who in consequence were subjected to periodical raids from the adjoining islands of Borgu, Saibai, and Daun, the invaders generally returning victorious with the heads or jaw-bones of their slaughtered victims. The only trace of cultivation he saw was 80 miles up the river, where a space of six acres had been neatly fenced round and planted with yams, taras, sugar-cane, and tobacco. Outside the enclosure were two or three uninhabited bark huts, which appeared to afford shelter to these roving people, in which they prolonged their stay as game was more or less plentiful. Traces of wild boar and kangaroo were observed in the Upper Baxter. No other large animal was known to exist. They were hunted with the bow and barbed arrow, while the war-arrows were poisoned by steeping in the putrid carcase of a victim until sufficiently saturated. The district of the Baxter River contrasted strikingly with the Fly River discovered by Capt. Evans, whose banks for 60 miles swarmed with human beings. The author's impression of the western coast was that it would prove a grave to such Europeans as should choose to reside there. This part of the country was inhabited by the Papuan race, a dark race of people, though not so dark as the Australian negro, and one of cannibal propensities. The estern peninsula, on the other hand, was inhabited by the Malay race. Of this race the author thought they had come to New Guinea from islands further east, some of them making the change at a comparatively recent date. This race was far above the savage, both in intellectual and moral attributes. They were cultivators of the soil, each having his own plantation, and strongly opposed to the cannibalism and polygamy which obtained among their western neighbours the Papuans. The women, too, of the Malay race were not debased as among the dark race, but mixed with the men, with whom they shared the management of public affairs. The Owen Stanley mountains ran through the centre of the country, from south to north; and the east country was, on the whole, favourable to cultivation, and probably possessed great mineral wealth. It accordingly offered sufficient inducement for colonization; but colonization, if attempted, would require to be set about with much previous consideration, owing to the peculiar situation of the peninsula and the circumstances of the people.

TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS.

On the Temperature obtained in the Atlantic Ocean during the Cruise of H.M.S.
Challenger. By Staff-Commander TIZARD, R.N.

6

Over a great portion of the Atlantic the bottom temperature has this peculiarity: -If the depth be less than 2000 fathoms, we find the temperature at the bottom lower than that of any intermediate depth; but when the depth exceeds 2000 In the remaining fathoms, we find that the bottom temperatures are nearly the same as they are at that depth. This holds good for three fourths of this ocean. fourth the temperature obtained at the bottom is much lower than in the other parts; and this fourth is not at either extreme, where there is a large current of surface cold, but occupies the whole of the western portion of the South Atlantic as far north as the Equator. The results of these temperatures may be classified thus:-If an imaginary line be drawn from French Guiana to the westernmost island of the Azores, and from thence north on the western side of this line, the bottom temperatures at depths exceeding 2000 fathoms are 35°; that is, taking the mean of all the temperatures obtained, which differ but slightly. On the eastern side of this line the bottom temperatures are 35°3; and this uniform temperature appears to extend as far south as Tristan d'Acunha, as the German frigate 'Gazelle' obtained similar bottom temperatures eastward of the line joining that island with Ascension to the southward of a line joining Tristan d'Acunha with the Cape of Good Hope. The bottom temperatures are decidedly colder between the eastern coast of South America and a line joining Tristan d'Acunha and Ascension Island; and from the Equator to the southward the bottom temperatures were invariably colder than at any intermediate depth. These temperatures varied from 31° to 33°5, that is, when the depth exceeds 2000 fathoms; and temperatures of less than 33° were found as far north as the Equator, while a few miles northward this bottom temperature was 35°. It therefore appears that in the western portion of the South Atlantic the highest bottom temperature is less than the lowest obtained elsewhere in this ocean, excepting where the very low result of 29° was found by the 'Porcupine' in 1869 between the Faroe Isles and the north extreme of Scotland. The question thus arises as to the causes which confines this cold water to the bottom portion of the western half of the South Atlantic. The examination of the soundings which had been taken in this ocean, combined with the results of their temperature, leads to the conclusion that there is a series of ridges dividing its bed into two basins, one of which occupies the whole of the western portion of the North Atlantic, while the other extends the whole of the length of the ocean on its eastern side, and that the cold water in the western portion of the South Atlantic is owing to there being no obstruction between the bed of this portion of the ocean and the bed of the Antarctic basin; and from the results of the serial temperatures' soundings it would appear that these ridges cannot exceed 1950 or 2000 fathoms in depth. To ascertain the thermal condition of the Atlantic (from the surface to the bottom), serial temperatures were obtained in the Challenger' at 150 positions, observations having been made at each 100 fathoms to 1500 fathoms in depth, and frequently at, say, 10 fathoms to 200 fathoms in depth, at each of these positions. An examination of these temperatures shows that between the parallels of 40° N. and 40° S. there is a much larger amount of warm water in the North than in the South Atlantic, and that in the equatorial regions the isotherm of 60° is much nearer the surface than in the temperate zones, but that the isotherms below 60° are at nearly as great a depth at the Equator as in any part of the South Atlantic, especially at the isotherm of 40°, and that between the parallel of 30° and 40° N. latitude the isotherm of 60° occupies a depth of 300 fathoms over an area of 1,200,000 square miles, while the average depth of this isotherm between the parallels of 30° and 40° S. latitude is 160 fathoms; also that the isotherm of 40°, which is at an average depth of 800 fathoms across the North Atlantic, between the parallels of 30° and 40° N. latitude, occupies only half that depth in any part of the South Atlantic. This phenomenon may be explained in the following manner :-The power of the sun indirectly heating the water below the surface appears not to extend below 100 fathoms even in the tropics; and this power decreases as the higher latitudes are reached, until a position is attained where the temperature is that of the freezing-point of salt water. As