supply of caoutchouc. The strip immediately below the mountains is intersected with perennial streams, which sometimes disappear in the porous limestone. The path to the Mission station leads by the valley of the Malamga, clothed with splendid forest. The school at St. Pauli already has an average of twelve scholars, although the station is of quite recent date, the population of the neighbourhood sparse, and the country difficult to travel. The Bainings are an energetic and friendly disposed race, and good agriculturists. Their settlements are, as a rule, placed on the highest and steepest summits, one of which, 1000 feet higher than the station, was visited by the governor. The fertility of the soil among the mountains seems to vary greatly. The most characteristic forms of vegetation are luxuriant bamboos, wild bread-fruit trees, and the "gallip," a tall tree with spreading crown, producing edible nuts. The governor afterwards visited the northern parts of the peninsula, crossing over from Talili bay to Blanche bay, and following the path round the shores of the latter. There is one difficult spot where the mountains fall sheer to the sea, but the view over the bay is particularly fine. The second expedition was made by the Governor of Herbertshöhe to the Varzin mountains, to the south of Blanche bay. The way to the Catholic Mission station of St. Josephsthal leads first through cultivation, bush, and grass-land, and afterwards through high forest. The station lies in a fine position, and commands an extensive view over the Gazelle peninsula, which reveals the fact-confirmed by the excursions of the missionary, Pater Apunto, in the surrounding country—that the greater part of the peninsula is quite uninhabited. Several of the villages round the station were reached by steep paths, one of them leading through the dark ravine of a stream. The separate homesteads are widely scattered among the bush, and the huts are small and poor, not allowing a man to stand upright in them. From the Varzin mountains a comparatively level ridge runs north-west in the direction of Kabaira, with which place it would probably afford a good means of communication.

POLAR REGIONS.

Glacial Phenomena of Spitsbergen.—In a paper read before the Geological Society in June last, and printed in the fourth part of the Quarterly Journal of the Society for 1899, Mr. E. J. Garwood sums up the results of his observations on the glacial phenomena of Spitsbergen, made during his second visit with Sir Martin Conway. Some of the points were briefly touched upon by Mr. Garwood after the paper read by Sir Martin Conway before our Society; but they are now dealt with in greater detail, and throw valuable light on the phenomena of icesheets generally. Using the term "ice-sheet" in the sense of a covering of ice radiating from a watershed consisting of snow and ice, and not confined by visible barriers of rock, Mr. Garwood says that two such sheets exist in the part of Spitsbergen explored-one on each side of the depressed area connecting Dickson bay and Wijde bay; the radiating point and chief gathering-ground of each area lying somewhat north-west of its centre, with supplementary radiating points to the north and east. The peaks and ridges which protrude above the ice (e.g. Mount Chydenius and the Three Crowns) are in this view to be regarded as groups of "Nunatakkr." These ice-sheets seem to be the remnant of an ice-cap which once buried the country more deeply, the condition of things observable being probably almost identical with that which prevailed in our own country towards the close of the glacial epoch. The alpine-glacier stage has not yet been reached, the phenomena of valley-bound ground-ice with freely moving surface layers being still maintained, but the original central radiating point has been replaced by several decentralized points. Among the more particular features described are the icetunnels ascribed by Mr. Garwood to the arching up of ice-bridges on the closing of

crevasses; the bringing up of englacial moraines to the surface by the obstruction caused by nunatakkr; and the englacial streams with their deposits, which sometimes take the form of "kames" at right angles to the direction of the valley. Mr. Garwood was unable to gain any data respecting the rate of movement of the icesheets, but thinks that in the case of glaciers near the coast the rate is not less than 15 or 20 feet in twenty-four hours. From observations made at the termination of the King's bay glacier, he considers that the discharge of icebergs is caused primarily by the action of the tides, occurring during each rise and fall of the water, or four times in twenty-four hours. The size of the larger bergs, even supposing that these represented a portion of the ice-front which had resisted one such rise or fall, would indicate a daily motion of 16 to 20 feet, without allowing for the smaller fragments constantly falling. The paper also touches upon the action of sea-ice, and rock-sculpturing above the snow-line.

The Wellman Polar Expedition.-A detailed account of the Wellman polar expedition of 1898-99, with a map and illustrations, appears in the December number of the National Geographic Magazine. An outline of the scope and character of the meteorological work of the expedition, by Mr. Evelyn B. Baldwin, is also published in the same number. The main facts of the expedition have already been given in the Geographical Journal (see Journal, vol. xiv., 1899, p. 326). On June 26, 1898, the party sailed from Tromsö, in the ice-protected steamer Frithjof, calling at Archangel. The most northerly point was reached on March 20, 1899, off the east coast of Rudolf Land, near the 82nd parallel of latitude, 565 miles from the Pole. Subsequently a party, led by the meteorologist Baldwin, explored the eastern limits of Franz Josef Land. A voyage was also made in the unexplored parts of Markham sound in the relief steamer Capella, and altogether some twenty new lands or islands were added to the map of that archipelago. Confirmatory evidence is given as to the non-existence of the Dove glacier of Payer. Wilczek Land is also sail to differ in form and dimensions from the Austro-Hungarian explorers' maps. The results of the scientific work of the expedition to be published later include the observations of Mr. Baldwin on the aurora borealis ; Mr. Harlan's report on the aurora, particularly from the point of view of its effect upon the magnetic needle, as also his general study of the physical conditions of Franz Josef Land; and a report by Dr. Edward Hofma, medical officer and naturalist of the expedition, concerning the fauna and flora of that region. The meteorological observations by Mr. Baldwin will also appear in a subsequent paper.

GENERAL.

The Teaching of Geography.-Miss Reynolds was awarded the Gilchrist Travelling Stucentship in connection with the University of Wales in 1898, and selected as her subject of study the methods of teaching geography in Switzerland and the north of Italy. She has now published a very interesting report, giving the result of her studies. The greater part of the report is occupied with Switzerland. The part which geography should play in education is first considered with reference to the views of Rousseau. Pestalozzi, and the Swiss geographical teachers of to-day. The methods of geographical teaching in the Swiss universities and schools are then described separately, and some account of the complicated cantonal educational legislation is giver. Chapters on school Journeys and excursions, mapmaking and apparatus complete the section. While the whole of the report is

•The Teaching of Geography in Switzerland and North Italy. By Joan Berenice Reynol is, B.A. London: CJ Clay & Sons 1993

useful and very helpful for the teachers of geography, special interest attaches to the chapters on school excursions, maps, and apparatus. The school excursion and the school journey are not exclusively geographical as practised in Switzerland, or in Germany, but they are entirely educational. Perhaps the most valuable of their lessons is the early training in travel. There is probably no luxury less fully enjoyed than ordinary tourist travel, simply because the tourist has no idea how to Occupy his time or what to look at. The same effect is often to be traced in the more ambitious journeys of explorers. Miss Reynolds shows in great detail how school excursions are organized, and points out also in what particulars they often fall short of the ideal. It remains to be seen how such a method of training could be applied in this country in different social and educational conditions.

OBITUARY.

General Tillo.*

On January 11 (New Style), 1900, at half-past eight in the morning, after a short but painful illness, Lieut.-General A. A. Tillo, a Vice-President of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, passed away.

The deceased, besides his purely military duties, was widely known and respected in the world of science for his great and successful researches. Having received an excellent training in geodesy at two military academies-that of the Artillery and Staff College-he lost no opportunity of acquiring knowledge, and while in Strassburg in 1879, in attendance on H.H. the Grand Duke George of Mecklenburg, for whom he acted as tutor, he seized the opportunity to attend a complete course of lectures on Jurisprudence at the University of that city. Having thoroughly mastered four languages (German, French, English and Italian), A. A. Tillo was able to develop his mental powers by study, and found time by his industrious habits to read through a mass of literature relating to various branches of science. He showed the wide range of his learning by his works, among which there were treatises on cartography, geodesy, hypsometry, terrestrial magnetism, meteorology, and lastly pure geography. Many of these are works of great importance, such as "The Hypsometrical Map of Russia,''Essay on a Tabulation of Levellings of the Russian Empire,' 'The Aralo-Caspian Levelling,' 'Terrestrial Magnetism in the Orenburg Region,' Researches on Geographical Distribution and Secular Variations in the Dip and Deflection of the Magnetic Needle throughout European Russia,' "The Distribution of Atmospheric Pressure in the Russian Empire and Asia on the Basis of Observations taken between 1836 and 1885,' Map of the River Basins of European Russia,' etc. The number of his separately published works reached one hundred, and there are others unpublished of great value. Of these the following are prepared for publication: Map of the River Basins of Asiatic Russia,'' Area of the Russian Empire,' 'Lengths of the Rivers of Asiatic Russia,' etc.

Many of these works required the co-operation of a few assistants, and Tillo always knew how to inspire them with a love for their task and combine their labours with his own with the happiest result. His rare tact combined with his wide knowledge gave him great authority and influence, and it was due to these

* We are indebted to Lieut.-Colonel Jules Shokalsky, Secretary of the Physical Section of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, for the following brief memoir of the late Lieut.-General A. A. Tillo.

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.'† 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. i. By Geo. G. Chisholm. London: E. Stanford. 1899.

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

1899.

our fauna was the oldest, and that the eastern, Teutonic, or Siberiau 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 during 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, has 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