Down one of these our road led us, and, following its course, we at length reached a halting-ground called Tisum, near the junction of the Chaldu ravine with that of Jankum. It had been intended that we should halt on the Mamin ravine before reaching that of Chaldu, but there was no water in it, so we had to go on.

The sections of the plain here made by these ravines, to a depth of 200 or 300 feet, showed that it was a great deposit of gravel or boulders, the magnitude of the stones varying from a moderate-sized boulder, a foot or two in diameter, to fine sand. The beds were laid out horizontally, or rather parallel to the surface of the ground, for the plain has a strong fall towards the Satlaj. The surface was generally very even, the stones being, with few exceptions, embedded in the soil, which was everywhere scored over with depressions, something similar to those seen on mud when drying, but less definite, probably arising from the draining off of the water as the snow, with which the surface must be covered in the winter, melts away. Stunted bushes of Caragana, the Dama of the Bhotiyas, or Trama of Tibet, and tufts of the half-shrubby Eurotia ceratoides hardly exceeding a foot in height, were sparingly scattered over the ground, mixed with a few grasses, Artemisia, Allium, Larkspur, and Potentilla; but I estimated that not one-tenth of the surface was covered by these plants near the Himalaya, where the vegetation was most vigorous, while further on the proportion did not probably exceed onetwentieth. The alluvial plain, indeed, is nearly an absolute desert, and it is only near the streams at the bottom of the ravines that habitations are to be met with. The footprints and other signs of the Kyang are to be seen in greater or less abundance on all parts of this plain, and it is possible that these animals are more numerous here in spring, for at the time of our visit there was hardly anything for them either to eat or drink. In one or two places we saw their bones lying in the ravines, to the seclusion of which, I suppose, they had retired to perish.

Tisum is the name applied to three halting-places, within a mile or so of one another, near the junctions of the Jankum, Mamin, and Chaldu ravines, and we were told by our Bhotiyas that it was derived from the two words of the Hindu and Tibetan languages, both of which mean three," viz. ti and sum. A more probable etymology, however, is that the name is a compound of ti, which in the Kunaori-Tibetan dialect means "river," and sum, meaning "three." But all such etymologies may be looked on with suspicion. It should, however, be said that sum-do is the regular Tibetan term for a junction of two ravines where a flat space suitable for villages or encamping is usually met with, and it will be seen that this word also has sum or "three " in it, no doubt from the three portions of alluvial ground at the junction of two streams.

At 9 p.m. the thermometer was no lower than 45°, though Tisum is 14,690 feet above the sea; but the night was cloudy.

(To be continued.)

THE LIVINGSTONE EXHIBITION.

UNDER this name, Dr. Harford Battersby, of the Livingstone Missionary College, organized an exhibition of travellers' equipments and health requisites in the St. Martin's Town Hall, which was open to the public from January 1 to January 5. The exhibition was divided into two parts, the first consisting of relics of Dr. Livingstone and of other travellers, and the second of trade exhibits shown by some of the leading equipment and food-preserving firms.

The Livingstone relics included a bust and portraits of Livingstone, two of his original MS. maps, his sextant and photographs of the tree under which his heart was buried, lent by the Royal Geographical Society. Mr. Frank Wilson, son-inlaw of the explorer, showed a very interesting series of books, including the journals written in notebooks, on the edges cut off pamphlets, and on pieces of newspaper. He showed also the watch, drawing-instruments, binoculars, and firearms carried by Dr. Livingstone, as well as other objects associated with his work and expressive of the recognition it received at home. Perhaps the most interesting of all was the cast of the broken and mis-set humerus by which the body, when it was brought to this country, was proved to be that of David Livingstone.

Mr. W. H. George, son of the late map-curator of the Royal Geographical Society, Mrs. Horace Waller, and others also contributed photographs, portraits, models and other relics.

On the evening of Tuesday, January 2, the exhibition was reserved exclusively for Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society and their friends, who were received by Sir George Taubman Goldie, Vice-President of the Society. Mr. Frank Wilson gave a short address, illustrated by the appliances to which he referred, showing how vastly all kinds of travellers' equipment have been improved since the journeys of Livingstone.

The second part of the exhibition contained specimens of tents, portable boats, firearms, travellers' clothing and boots exhibited by S. W. Silver & Co., the Military Equipment Company, the Jaeger Company, the Berthon Boat Company, and J. Tucker. Portable foods were shown in great variety, special features being the prepared meat-rations of the Nao and Bovril companies. Much interest was shown in the exhibit by the British Preserving Company, of Rayne, Essex, of desiccated vegetables prepared in an absolutely dry form without preservative or colouring matters, which only require to be soaked in water to assume the appearance, colour, and characteristic smell of fresh vegetables or fruit. A great variety of medicines in forms specially adapted for portability and resistance to bad climates were shown by Burroughs, Wellcome & Co., Allen & Hanbury, Howards & Son, Oppenheimer, Sons & Co., T. Howard Lloyd & Co., and others. Many of the methods of preparation are extremely ingenious. Filters, cooking appliances, etc., were shown in considerable variety. Some exhibits appeared to have little connection with travel or travellers, e.g. babies' clothes, but such were merely exceptions to an otherwise excellent and practical exhibition. There was, however, a very remarkable want of a kind little creditable to firms which rely doubly on travellers; this was the total absence of maps, charts, or books of travel or geography. Smith, Elder & Co. showed some books on medical travel, but that was all. How very different the department entitled "Literary and Educational" would appear in a similar exhibition held in Germany!

A series of lectures was arranged to explain and to be illustrated by the exhibition. These were given by Dr. Harry Guinness, on "South America;" by Mr. W. Wilway, on "Health Precautions in Cold Climates; " by Major Ross, 1.M.S., on "The Malarial Mosquito; " by Miss Mary Kingsley, on "West Africa; Dr. Harford-Battersby, on "The Preservation of Health in the Tropics."

and by

THE MONTHLY RECORD.

EUROPE.

Geography of Europe. In the latest volume of the new issue of Stanford's Compendium, Mr. G. G. Chisholm treats of the southern, central and eastern countries of Europe, the whole forming a practically new work, constructed on a new plan, and almost entirely rewritten. After a general introduction on the geography of Europe as a whole, the countries are taken up in the order of the Mediterranean peninsulas, Central Europe, and finally Eastern Europe. The treatment of Italy is very full, and is so planned as to form a key to the whole geography of Europe from the historic side. In dealing with the other Mediterranean countries, Mr. Chisholm is assisted by Mr. J. T. Bealby. There are over a hundred illustrations, chiefly views of towns and scenery, and a complete equipment of maps, including the orography, rainfall, geology, and ethnography of Europe. The geological map is, we believe, the first to show the whole of Europe with the formations coloured in accordance with the rules drawn up by the International Geological Congress, for their large-scale map of the continent. The second volume will contain descriptions of the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Holland, and Belgium.

The Biological Geography of Europe.-Dr. Robert Scharff has been kind enough to supply us with the following synopsis of the contents of his newly published book, The History of the European Fauna.'t When we examine the composition of the British fauna, we find that the native element is very inconspicuous. The general range of the majority of the British species clearly indicates that they have migrated to the British Isles from the continent of Europe, most of our familiar forms of animal life occurring there also. A few of these may possibly have found their way to these islands in an accidental manner across the sea, but the main mass of the fauna must have travelled in the normal mode by land when the channel between England and France did not exist. As a rule, species are known to be grouped round certain centres, near which the genus probably originated, and we can thus approximately ascertain the original homes of the component elements of our fauna. The former history of mammals and mollusca is revealed to us to some extent by the remains which we find preserved in our geological strata, while other groups of animals have left few fossil traces. By carefully mapping out the geographical range of the British species of animals and taking into consideration their past distribution, it is possible in a number of cases to discover the direction from which their migration took place. There are species which have undoubtedly come to us from the north, which form part of what we might call an arctic migration. Another group of species came from Siberia and across Central Europe, and these are members of the Siberian migration. And we have, besides, animals which originated in the Alps and in South-Western and also in Eastern Europe and in Southern Asia. The late Edward Forbes was the first to apply such methods of analysis in tracing the history of our fauna, and to demonstrate the great importance of the study of zoogeography. He held that the south-western or Lusitanian element of

• Stanford's Compendium of Geography and Travel' (new issue)—Europe. Vol. ì. By Geo, G. Chisholm London E. Stanford. 1899.

With The History of the European Fauna, By R. F. Scharff. B.SC., PH.D. London: Walter Scott, Limited.

illustrations The Contemporary Science Serics.

our fauna was the oldest, and that the eastern, Teutonic, or Siberian was the newest. Discontinuity in the range of a species, as Darwin has taught us, is always a sign of antiquity, and many of the Lusitanian species no doubt exhibit such a distribution. The general distribution of the different elements of the British fauna, moreover, proves that Forbes was quite correct in his estimate. Now, if we would ascertain precisely the geological age of any of the various migrations which entered the British Islands, the relative age of the others could thus be fixed. As we should expect, the most modern of the migrations has left the most satisfactory fossil traces. We can actually follow the former migrations of many of the species right across Europe from their native home in Eastern Europe or in Siberia. A number of characteristic Eastern forms make their first appearance in England in the Forest-bed deposit, whilst in Germany and Russia their remains occur only in beds overlying the lower boulder clay. These continental beds are believed to have been deposited during an inter-glacial stage of the Glacial period, and their fauna would indicate that they are contemporaneous with the Forest-bed. The subjects just alluded to are fully discussed in the book. Then follows an account of the nature and history of the Siberian fauna—the former occurrence of southern species in the New Siberian islands—and the origin of the Caspian fauna, and these studies incidentally lead to the belief that a comparatively mild but damp climate must have prevailed in Europe and Asia during the greater part of the Glacial period. Under these circumstances an enormous northern mer-de-glace could not have existed. The old Lyellian theory of the marine origin of the boulder clay thus finds confirmation, and this hypothesis explains many anomalies of distribution which would otherwise remain inexplicable. According to the reconstruction of the ancient geography (maps of which are given in the book), Scandinavia continued northward as far as Greenland, and southward to Scotland, whilst England was connected with France at the beginning of the Glacial period. A submergence of the northern plains of Russia and Germany—i.e. a transgression, in the sense of Suess-took place, so that a continuous sea existed between the White sea and the east coast of England, which, however, did not communicate with the Atlantic. The composition of the Scandinavian fauna indicates that that country was isolated from continental influences for a considerable time. The occurrence of marine species in fresh-water lakes in Northern Europe seems to support the view that not long ago the latter was covered by the ocean. It is also demonstrated clearly that the fauna of the Alps is not due to the Siberian migrants having retired to the mountains from the plain after the Glacial period, but that it is mainly of Central and Southern Asiatic origin. It must have survived the Glacial period on the Alps themselves, even though, no doubt, extensive glaciers spread beyond the lower outliers of that great mountain chain. The conclusion arrived at as to the origin of the Alpine fauna thus supports the view as to the temperate character of the climate dnring the Glacial period, and the survival of a considerable proportion of our pre-glacial animals in all parts of Europe in those areas in which they had previously established themselves.

Recent Researches at the "Karlseisfeld " (Dachstein).-Baron von Hübl, director of the technical section of the Austrian Military Geographical Institute, bas during the past summer carried out a series of measurements, effected by the aid of photography, of the famous "Karlseisfeld " glacier in the Alps of Upper Austria, the scene of Friedrich Simony's classic labours. The results are most satisfactory, and will be utilized for the construction of a minutely detailed map of the glacier, the scale of which will be 1: 10,000 (that of Finsterwalder's map of the Vernagt glacier), or even larger. Simultaneously with this new survey, which is intended to supplement and rectify that published in 1897 by Colonel

von Groller, investigations have been made by Dr. August von Böhm into the glacial phenomena of the region, particularly the moraines and the periods of advance and retreat of the glacier.

Dr. Karl Oestreich's Explorations in Macedonia.-Dr. Karl Oestreich, whose investigations in 1898 in the north-west of European Turkey have already been described in the Journal, has since continued his work, during the summer of 1899, by a scientific examination of parts of Macedonia. Writing to the Berlin Geographical Society in August and September last (Verhandlungen, 1899, Nos. 8 and 9), he briefly describes the chief results of his journeys, which, he says, show that even the best geological maps of the region in question must be superseded. Dr. Oestreich reached Monastir by way of Üsküb, and the principal result of the journey between those places was the discovery of a limestone range with patches of névé (in July), "karen," and lakes. From Monastir he made an expedition to Lakes Ochrida and Prespa, which resulted in considerable additions to our knowledge of the geology of their neighbourhood. The whole of Lake Ochrida lies in a limestone area, and the same is the case with the Western and Southern portions of Prespa, i.e. the west coast and the two southern bays. The character of the country round these parts of the lake resembles that of the Dalmatian islands, while the lake itself is of the nature of a "karst" lake. Dr. Oestreich found on the cliffs marks of three different water-levels, at intervals of one or two feet. He thinks that these point to a continued, as well as a periodic, sinking of the waterthe latter possibly seasonal-although the natives assured him that the level was constant. From the fishermen he learnt that the greatest depth is forty times the span of the outstretched arms in the northern basin, twenty times in the southwest bay, and five to seven times in that towards the south-east. This last is now cut off from the rest of the lake by a neck of land, and has no outlet, though an almost level valley-the site of a former outflow or inflow-leads from its upper end to the Devol plain. The most remarkable discovery, however, was a subterranean outlet of the lake near Han Gorica on its west shore, the water running in a full stream into the limestone, which dips to the west-north-west. Whether or no it falls into Lake Ochrida cannot be determined. Among other features of interest examined was the solfatara of Kozel, near Ochrida, which gave the smell and other signs of sulphur. During the latter part of the journey Dr. Oestreich passed through entirely new ground on the way from Vodena over the mountains to Gjevgelii on the Üsküb-Salonica railway, and here too made some interesting geological discoveries, including that of Hippuritide on the declivity of the Kaimakcalan towards the plain of the Moglena. The Murichovo, the region of the gorge of the Crna, is a volcanic tableland, while mountains of over 6500 feet altitude round its margin are also composed of volcanic rocks.

Limans of the Black Sea.-The Odessa University undertook several years since a detailed exploration of the limans, or salt lakes, situated close to the sea-coast in the neighbourhood of Odessa. The results of a detailed exploration of the Kuyalnik liman are now given in the Memoirs of the Novorossian (Odessa) Society of Naturalists at the University, vol. xxii. 2. The topographical part is by A. Wassilieff, and represents a volume of 300 pages, with a most detailed large map of the liman, with its depths, on the scale of 1: 16,800, which will be a valuable document for all later exploration of the same liman, and a series of profiles. The astronomical and topographical work is given in great detail. Together with the previously published work of A. Lebedintseff and V. Krzyzanowski (same Memoirs) and the work of N. Sokoloff, 'On the Origin of Limans in South Russia,' which contains a full bibliography of the Limans (Memoirs of the Geological Committee, vol. ix. 4), we have now valuable material for