Abstract
WE have before us Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Petermann's Mittheilungen for the present year, and Supplement No. 82. The last is a detailed account, by the late Herr Robert Schlagintweit, of the Pacific railways of North America. No. 5 contains a paper on the Xingu Expedition (concluded in No. 6), by Herr Claus, detailing the cartographical surveys and the physical and astronomical measurements made in the course of the explorations. The paper may be regarded as a supplement to the work of Dr. von den Steinen, “Durch Zentralbrasilien,” lately published by Brockbaus. Dr. Oppel, in the same number, contributes a statistical paper showing the steady and enormous increase in the population of Europe. No. 7 contain two very interesting and original geographical papers—one by Herr Engelhard on the Island of Saleijer, a Dutch settlement in the Malay Archipelago, situated immediately south of Celebes. The island is described in an exhaustive way, its climate, people, situation, &c., being discussed in some detail. In the second Dr. Posewitz refers to recent formations in the Island of Banka, off the east coast of Sumatra. This is an instance of an island, undisturbed by volcanic activity, in which erosion and denudation are constantly at work forming the coast. Herr Strass has a paper in the same number dealing with the statistics of emigration from Germany between 1871 and 1884. No. 8, which is the last published, contains a report by Herr Pohle on the expedition sent in 1884 to that part of the coast of Southwestern Africa between the Orange River and Walfisch Bay, which came at that time into the possession of Herr Luderitz. The expedition was intended mainly to ascertain what useful minerals existed in the new territory, and also to study its fauna, flora, and soil. The report is one of considerable length, and deals with all these points. The paper on the forests of North America is based on Prof. Sargent's report, contained in the nimh volume of the United States Census Report for 1884.
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Geographical Notes . Nature 34, 371–372 (1886). https://doi.org/10.1038/034371b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/034371b0