Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/457

 Hat Z2, 1883.1

��SCIENCE.

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��region of mountaini eatlmaled lo rUe In penhs of from Bre to eight thouRauJ feet, the source of nu- merous imporUiit rivers, whose tnnutlii nre i>{ten separnted by great ilUtancea, and whose courses trenil to almost every point of the compass, from the moun- tain re»ervoin where Ibey take origin.

Late advices from Zanzibar state thai the four explorers nent to the Ussagara by Lhe German ci>lr>- nizatioii society liave been very unfortunate. They hatted between Mpuapua and Condoa, where one died. Dr. Peters and HerrBauuiaiiii, elrlclieu with malignant fevers, were obliged lo return to Zanzibar In a >erlou9 state, while the leader of Ihe party was left alone on the spot In a condition of great destitu- tion. Aid was immediately despatched by the Ger- man traders of Zanzibar, which, it is hoped, will ameliorate his condition.

Two other German explorers, the brothers Deiihart, sent by the Berlin geographical society, had arrived at Zanzibar, where they were joined by Herr Schliimke, fur the Inst five years an explorer with Dr. Fischer.

ThepartyimeniilovisilSambiiro Lake, and explore the region of the Itorani Gallas, as well as to ex- plore the geology and botany of the upper paria of Kilimanjaro and Eenia.

The death of King Mtesa Is conHrmed, Those in- terested in the civilization of the country believe his successor will be more likely to assist Id the process than the late king, whose Tolatillty and caprice more than undid the good resulting from his occasional favors. Mlrambo, sometimes known as the negro Napoleon, is also dead. He was noted for his cour- age, great intelligence, and semi-clvUijollon. His death is likely to plunge the ixipiilation of a vast region Into anarchy : for by his ability, in spite of his humble blrtb, he had brought into submission a large territory, and made ail the neighboring sul- tans his vassals.

The Algerian fathers have selected a healthy spot for their mission on the west bank of Lake Tan- ganyika, at a village called Chonsa, in about latitude 7° W. The natives are friendly, and the country a

Lieut. Becker's expedition bad not started, and the difficulty of getting a sufficient number of porters was very great. This seemed due to the famine, which continues to desolate the Interior, and lo the uncer- tainties connected with matters iji the basin of the Kongo.

Animorhos reached Paris through Bolivia, from the Gran Chaoo region, that certain country-people, travellers in the interior, had found In the forest bite of paper and linen on which one of the Crevaui party had written his name in blood, together with an appeal for succor, and the statement that he had been spared by the Tobas on account of his skill as a musician, and had been obliged to follow the band which held him captive in all their wanderings since the massacre. The story, which has found a place in the printed proceedings of the geographical society of Paris, is, nevertheless, probably an invention of the 'travellers In the interior'

��An Important journey lias recently been made by a party commanded by Feilberg on behalf of the Argentine Confederation. Their object was to ex- plore the trade-route between that country and Bo- livia Pia the Plicomayo. They comprised sixty-two men, with fiatboats towed by two small steamers, and were absent fifty-Bve days. The actual distance in a direct ilne was pnibably forty-Sve leagues; but, taking the sinuosities of the river into account, the party travelled about eighty leagues. Up to this point, the navigation was not bad except for snags and sunken tree-trunks in the channel, but here it became impossible on account of a series of rapids which descend over a rocky surface with only a few Inches o( water, though the river was in flood. The question of a tiade-route by this way is therefore definitely settled in the negative. The party found that below the rapids, sixty leagues above the moutli. a large affluent came into the Plicomayo, with as much water, or perhaps even more, but which is not found on any chart. It was obstnicted by sunken trees, but otherwise showed no impediments, and was ascended for twelve leagues. Feill>erg hopes to explore It farther. The country along these rivers appeared healthy, and rich with line pasturage. It appears now to be certain that the only feasilile trade- route will be one carried overland.

��THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY.

The fourteenth annual meeting of this society was held in the lecture-room of the Nalionol museum at Washington, May 5-7; the president of the society, Hon. Theodore Lyman, in the chair. The attend- ance throughout was fair, and the papers were, for the most part, exceedingly interesting. The roll of membership now Includes about a hundred and fifty names, twenty-four new members having Iwen elecwd during the meeting.

Prof. R. E. C. mearns read a paper on the giant Claras of Puget Sound. He referred to Olycimeris generosa as the 'boss clam' of North America. It was flnit described by Dr. Augustus A. Gould from specimens (probably of the shells only) obtained by the Wiikes exploring expedition, 1838-42. The dis- tribution nt this clam extends southerly along the west coast of America to tian Diego, where it has been found by Mr. Hemphill; and It is more abundant In lis northern than in its southern habitat. It is an excellent article of food, and Is called by the Indians geoduck. It has been known lo attain a weight of sixteen pounds, and a length of from one and a halt to two feet.

A paper by Dr. James A. Hensball, on the hiberna- tion of the black base, was read by Mr. Mather. The writer advanced the theory that hibernation was a voluntary act, and did not necessarily Involve a state of profound torpidity. He admitted that other flsh were active in the same waters where black baes were hllMrnatIng, but accounted for this by saying that there was no supply of food for the bosit. In the

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