geologist, arguing back from effects to cause, rather than the historian, who trusts to testimony in preference to facts. He also especially urged that it was important to bear in mind what was a true principle in zoology and the natural history sciences, and not to trust too exclusively to one characteristic. He did not, he said, believe that in ethnology any great discovery would be made, and he thought it was better not to attempt to give any opinion as to the question of the unity or the non-unity of the human race. On the Yang-tse-Keang and the Hwang-ho, or Yellow River. By WILLIAM LOCKHART, F.R.G.S. Communicated by Dr. NORTON SHAW. This river, it appeared, was called by the Chinese "The Girdle of China," and it traversed the whole of the centre of the empire, rolling its flood of water to the sea, through the richest and most fertile part of the country. Its importance to China could not be too highly estimated, and it might be safely asserted that there was no river in the world which had on its banks so numerous a population, amounting to at least one hundred millions of people, who were sustained by its waters in the pursuits of commerce and agriculture. There were more than 100 cities of the first, second, and third classes, and 200 towns and villages which could be approached directly from its water-way. From its origin in Tibet to its outlet at the sea, its course was about 3000 miles, the points being distant in a direct line 1850 miles, and the basin drained by its channel being nearly 800,000 square miles. The commerce of many of the places situate on the borders of the river was very important. Persons engaged in every variety of trade resorted to Han-Khow for the exchange of their respective commodities; men from the north and west, from Mongolia to Tibet and Sze-chuen, brought their wheat, rice, dried and salted vegetables of every kind, bamboo sprouts, horses, sheep, furs, skins, coal, lead, jade or nephrite, gold in large quantities, rhubarb, musk, wax, and various drugs of northern growth, and exchanged them for tea, silk, camphor, opium, various southern drugs, and above all, for very large quantities of Manchester and Leeds goods. The quantity of long cloth and cotton goods that passed through Han-Khow was probably more than half of the whole brought to China, and access to this spot was of great importance. It had long been much desired by merchants that they should be able to inspect personally the trade of this place and take part in it, as, from the accounts brought by native traders, it would appear to be one of the most important-if not the most important -mart in all Asia. The paper referred to other places situate on the river, and described their principal features. Extracts from a Letter by Mr. WILLIAM RUSSELL to the President. The President gave some particulars, contained in a letter dated Simla, 24th of July, which he had received from Mr. William Russell, the well-known correspondent of the Times, confirming the rumours of the death of M. Adolphe Schlagintweit, at Yarkand. He (the Chairman) regretted to say that there was no longer any doubt of the death of this adventurous traveller. After penetrating as far as Yarkand, where no European had ever been before, he was living in the suburbs of that city at a period when a war broke out between the Yarkandese and the Chinese, and he was slain by a number of the former, who surrounded his house in the night-time. Fortunately the chief portion of his papers would be saved, M. Schlagintweit having left them, before proceeding to Yarkand, at a place within the range of British influence. His travels were of much importance, as no region so far to the northwest of India as Yarkand had been previously visited by a European. M. Schlagintweit and his two brothers had travelled by the authority and at the expense of the East India Company. The brothers Hermann and Robert did not penetrate as far as Yarkand, and had since returned to Europe; a sketch of their adventurous travels across the Karakorum and Kuen Luen chains to the North of the Himalaya having been given by Sir Roderick Murchison in his last Anniversary Address to the Royal Geographical Society. On the Navigation of the Ucayali, an Affluent of the AmNIVERSITE CALIFORNIA. A Geognostic Sketch of the Western Position of Timor. By Dr. S. MULLER. Reports to Her Majesty's Government on the Physical Geography of the Country examined by the Expedition exploring the South-Western Regions of British North America. By Capt. J. PALLISER and Dr. HECTOR. The communications alluded principally to the investigation which had been made with a view of forming a communication through the British dominions. The reports considered it very important that a route should be established through the British territory, for the encouragement of emigration, and the transport of the future produce from Red River and the Great Western plains to Canada. The Canadian Government had offered £5000 for the establishment of a route between Lake Superior and Red River, and an engineering party had already commenced a portion of it. On the Geography of British North America, more particularly British Columbia, Frazer River, &c. By NORTON SHAW, M.D., Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society of London. Dr. Shaw gave an account of the various discoveries which have been made in North America, alluding minutely to those made prior to, as well as since the cession of Canada by France to Great Britain in the year 1763, and then proceeded to describe the geographical position of the Frazer River, the boundaries and limits of British North America, the mountains of the coast, called the Cascade Mountains; the Rocky Mountains, and British Columbia. He attributed the earlier exploration of the interior to the French, rather than to the English settlers, the latter having confined their attention chiefly to agricultural pursuits. Dr. Shaw then referred to the rewards offered by Parliament for the discovery of a north-west passage, and to the explorations made by an organized association of the traders of Canada, under the name of the "North-West Company," whose right of trading they had not unreasonably supposed to be independent of the Charter of the Hudson Bay Company, since it had existed before the cession of Canada to England. Speaking of British Columbia, he said that the face of the country presented a succession of mountain ridges, valleys, and plains, the more fertile districts lying, for the most part, between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific. That portion of the country which lay between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific was subject to a remarkably equal temperature, the mean being about 54o Fahr. There was only about four months of winter, and all fruits and vegetables were as early as in Canada. In several respects the climate of the middle section was less favourable: it was subject to droughts, and was warmer in summer and colder in winter. The air, however, was pure and healthy. The eastern section, amid the snows of the Rocky Mountains, could not be praised for its climate. The western section was well adapted for agricultural and horticultural operations. The middle section was favourably mentioned; and in the course of his remarks about the Frazer River, Dr. Shaw stated that it abounded in fish, as also did the other rivers in the district. Geese, ducks, and water fowl were plentiful in the spring and summer. In the eastern section of the country wild animals of various kinds were met with in great numbers. After having mentioned the auriferous deposits lately discovered on the Frazer River, Dr. Shaw dilated upon the probable communication by water and rail through British North America via the Passes of the Rocky Mountains, connecting thus in future the dense populations of Western Europe with those of Eastern Asia. Letter to Sir R. I. Murchison on the Project of a Canal across the Isthmus of In this letter, Sir R. Schomburgk, Her Majesty's Consul at the Court of Siam, announces his intention of personally examining the nature of the ground which occupies the narrow Isthmus of Kraw, and separates the Gulf of Bengal from that of Siam. On a Method for the Spherical Printing of Globes. By M. I. JOSEPH SILBERMANN. The merit claimed for M, Silbermann's invention was, that by it globes could he made more cheaply, rapidly, and accurately than upon the usual plan. Two copper hemispheres are employed, in which small globes are cast entire, and large large ones by partially filling them with a kind of pulp, and introducing an India rubber bag, which is inflated by powerful pressure; and in that way the pulp is forced into the crevices of the mould. On the Lacustrine Homes of the Ancient Swiss. By M. TROYON. The object of the paper was to direct attention to the remains of ancient cabins of houses built on piles on the banks and in many of the lakes of Switzerland. These dwelling-places had been erected so that they might be surrounded by water as a protection from wild beasts and the enemies of the inhabitants. Remains of flint arrowheads, stone axes, flint knives, and other rude articles were found, and were some indication of the state of civilization and knowledge to which the inhabitants had attained. On the Formation of a Railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, through the British Possessions of North America. By A. WHITNEY, of New York. The writer commenced his paper by explaining at some length the reasons why he was convinced that the United States would never attempt the construction of any such line of railway, and then observed that, had his plan been adopted, the work could have been commenced on the western shore of Lake Michigan, where there were timber, materials, and easy communication with settlement and civilis zation, and everything to facilitate settlement on its line the lines: to connect with it from the Atlantic, passing through but two States, could from necessity have been made tributary to its operation and management from the Lake to the Pacifie, Congress then had power over it, and all the streams could have been bridged; so that an uninterrupted communication from ocean to ocean would have been for ever after. A cargo of merchandise could have passed from the Atlantic to the Pacific without transhipment, and as the road from the Lake to the Pacific would have been free, except tolls necessary for operations and repairs, the charge for transit would have been so low, together with the great saving in time, that the commerce of Europe with Asia would have been forced over it. This was now all lost to the United States. The author of the paper continued by saying, he had never believed that a railroad to the Pacific could ultimately benefit either Europe or the Atlantic slope of America, unless the commerce of Europe with Asia could be made to pass over it, leaving England with her present manufacturing and commercial position and relations, and augmenting her power over both. The immense business which the commerce and intercourse between Europe and Asia would give to the road must, as a natural result, form a foundation for the employment of a densely populated belt from ocean to ocean, and as far as the soil and climate might suit, mostly an agricultural people. This belt would take the surplus population from Europe, and make the producers of food to exchange for English manufactures on one side and Asiatic products on the other, thus benefiting to a vast extent the population of both Europe and Asia, by giving to each the means to consume more largely of the other's products. If these great results could not be attained, what benefit to England, or to the United States even, could be looked for from a railroad to the Pacific? When he was last in England (in 1851) he found many warm advocates for the construction of a railway over British territory. It was then, as now, his firm belief that this work could not be accomplished through a wilderness so vast, except by a system of settlement and civilization to be connected with the work. He then found that on a line so far north the climate and lands would not be as well suited to settlement and culture as further south, on territory of the United States; but he had since examined the subject more thoroughly, and found a large extent of country on the British side well adapted to settlement and culture. At the Selkirk settlement, further north even than necessary for the line of the road, wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, and even Indian corn, were cultivated to perfection, the yield large and grain fine, and almost the entire line on this side would be a good grass country. The Pacific side for some parallels was 10o milder. The British side was far the most favourable for constructing a railroad with much lower grades. From Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountain Range was almost a level country. Near 50° parallel the stream divided, running north-easterly and southeasterly, and north of 45° parallel the mountains sloped to the Arctic Ocean, and nowhere north of 50o did they elevate their peaks above 5500 feet, with many depressions practicable for a railway. Was not this, then, the route for the commerce between Europe and Asia? Mr. Whitney pointed out that there was excellent harbour accommodation at Halifax, on the Atlantic side, and Puget Sound on the Pacific side, and observed that these two places would form excellent depôts for the commerce of Europe, Asia, the American continent, and indeed the whole world. A cargo of merchandise might then pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific without transhipment or delay, and the actual distance from England to China was some 2000 miles less than any route likely to be fixed upon by the United States. Panama Railway and the projected railway across Mexico were truly great enterprises, but people were mistaken as to their probable results. They would certainly facilitate travel and intercourse with California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands, but not so with Australia, the other islands, China, and India; because the sailing distance from England and Australia, China, India, &c., was less round the Cape of Good Hope than via Panama. The distance from Canton to London via the Cape of Good Hope was 2000 miles less than via Panama. The writer said that the Panama railway had not in any way changed the position of the people of Europe or Asia, nor in any way given to each the means of consuming more of the other's products. The result of it, however, he believed would inevitably be the hastening of the great changes conseguent upon the encircling of the globe with civilization and Christianity, and building upon the Pacific slope a nation which must control the commerce of all Asia. Let England, then, he concluded by urging, put forth her whole strength and build a great highway for the world over her own soil. It could be accomplished in ten or fifteen years, and, with modifications, on the plan proposed by him to the United States. It could be accomplished nominally without outlay of money by the nation, creating by its connexion with the settlement of its line the means for its own construction: it would add millions of wealth to the nation, and give to it the control, not only of the commerce of all Asia, but of that of the world also. With steam, the distance from London to China could then be performed in twenty-eight days; merchandise even could be taken in thirty or thirtyfive days. Notes on the Physical Geography of North-Western Australia. By J. S. WILSON, Geologist to the North-Western Australian Expedition. The paper described the climate of that part of Australia as being hot for six months in the year, but not injurious to health. The country, it said, was fertile, and a large variety of luxurious grasses was found growing, one species of which was a kind of wild oats, from 3 to 6 feet high. The indigenous plants were more numerous and superior to those of Southern Australia. The characteristics of the natives were similar to those of the aborigines of the south of the country, and the writer was glad to say that, in Lower Victoria, at all events, there was no unfavourable impression upon the minds of the native population against the settlement of the English. On the General and Gradual Desiccation of the Earth and Atmosphere. lands, especially in or near the tropics, had been forced to reflect on the changes of climate that appeared to have occurred. There were parched and barren lands, dry river channels, and waterless lakes, and not unfrequently traces of ancient human habitations, where large populations had been supported, but where all was now desolate, dry, and barren. He had been first led to a consideration of the subject by phenomena of this nature that had come under his own observation, particularly in Australia, and he soon discovered that desiccation, so very observable there, was too extensive and permanent to be explained by occurrences of an irregular nature. Remembering also that similar appearances had been observed in other parts of the world, for which no satisfactory cause was assigned, he had collected the observations of travellers in regard to various countries, and endeavoured, by the evidence they afforded in the failing of the water systems, to establish the theory of a general and continuous decline of the humidity supported by the atmosphere, and then to discover in the operation of some law of our terrestrial system the cause of desiccation in both land and atmosphere. After quoting largely from the works of various travellers and writers (amongst the latest of whom were Dr. Livingstone), and giving interesting descriptions of dried-up rivers and desolated tracts of country in Australia, Africa, Mexico, and Peru, which had formerly been inhabited by man, Mr. Wilson proceeded to give his own theory as to the cause of this desiccation, contending that the upheaval of the land, the waste by irrigation, and the destruction of forests, all of which had been put forward as the cause, were insufficient to account for what had been described. He remarked that the amount of aqueous vapours that can be borne by the atmosphere at any time must be in proportion to the mass of the atmosphere itself, from which it followed that a reduction in the mass of the atmosphere would produce a corresponding decline in the amount of hydrous vapours absorbed and supported. If, therefore, a physical operation, involving a waste of the atmosphere, could be discovered, it might be concluded that at least one cause had been found for its declining humidity. Agreeably with these conditions, it was learnt that a vast amount of the atmosphere, and of the ocean likewise, had been solidified. The rocks, in the history of their own formation, bore witness to the tendency to transmutation in the character of both. The elements of water were hydrogen and oxygen, and the atmosphere was composed of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acid, in which hydrous vapours mingled in varying quantities, all of which had entered largely into the formation of rocks and minerals. The coal plants had absorbed largely all the elements of air and water, but particularly of carbon, of which coal contains on an average from 80 to 90 per cent. Carbon united with oxygen formed carbonic acid, which, combined with lime and solidified, formed more than two-fifths of all limestone rocks. Oxygen was said to form half of what is known of the material of the globe. Besides existing in air and water, it formed a part of most earthy substances, and of nearly all the productions of the animal and vegetable kingdom. The oxygen of the atmosphere was also gradually absorbed by all animal and vegetable productions, and by almost all mineral masses exposed to the open air. From such facts as he had adduced and others he could produce, Mr. Wilson concluded that there was a gradual solidifying of the atmosphere and water on the face of this terrestrial world, which he inferred was, in the usual course of geological changes, slowly approaching a state in which it will be impossible for man to continue an inhabitant; and remarked that as inferior races preceded man and enjoyed existence before the earth had arrived at a state suitable to his constitution, it is more than probable others will succeed him when the conditions necessary for his existence have passed away. Notice of the Opening of a Sepulchral Tumulus in East Yorkshire. Setting aside the vague speculations on a pre-Celtic population of the island, the first Roman known to have visited it, Julius Cæsar, who appears to have been personally acquainted only with the latter settlers in the maritime district of the south-east, informs us that the interior was inhabited by a people much inferior in cultivation, who were reputed to be the original inhabitants of the island. This people, we learn from later writers, were called the Brigantes, who held a very |