Horn, extending from 40° to 54° of latitude, have very warm winters, although the ocean that laves their shores is cold; but the winter rains are heavy and constant. The general conclusion drawn in the paper was, that the British Islands, as well as many other countries in cold latitudes, but which have warm winters, have their winter climates determined by condensation of vapour. On the application of a Decimal Scale to the construction of Maps. The writer urged the desirability of using a system of decimal scales, not merely in the case of the national surveys undertaken by the governments of different nations, but as a principle which might with advantage be adopted in all maps, of whatever size, and which would prove especially valuable in those designed for educational purposes. The Ordnance Map of Great Britain contrasts disadvantageously with the national surveys of other countries, in the fact that, of the different scales used from time to time in its construction, no one of the number bears a decimal ratio to the earth's quadrant. In the case of ordinary maps, where uniformity of scale is unattainable, the various scales employed might yet always bear a decimal ratio to one another. In proof of this, the paper was accompanied by a series of projections, such as might be used for the various maps embraced within an ordinary Atlas. Thus, supposing Europe to be drawn on a scale of Asia and Africa would 1 1 10,000,000' be delineated on exactly half that measure, or 20,000,000 North and South America 1 15,000,000* 1 2,500,000 1 on a scale of A scale of would correspond to the required dimensions for a map of the British Islands, and also for maps of France, Spain, Prussia, Austria, Turkey, Italy, &c. Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Greece, and other countries would be on a scale of The same principle might of course be adopted in the case of divisional maps, such as the counties of England, for example. Thus if the allotted size would allow of Surrey being drawn to a scale of Lancashire (a larger county) might be on of the natural measure, and 1 100,000' so on. 500,000* 1 200,000 The writer pointed out the advantages attendant on the use of such a system, in the facility of comparison between different maps, and in the more definite character which might be given to the features which the maps drawn on progressive scales would embrace. For educational uses especially, the value of attention to such points can hardly be over-rated. It is from maps that our ideas of distance and magnitude, in respect of geographical objects, are chiefly derived in early life, and no after-teaching will counteract the erroneous impressions that are often imbibed at that period. Proportionate distances and magnitudes, referred to an easily-comprehended standard, are the basis of all sound geographical knowledge. On Routes from Lima to the Navigable Branches of the Amazon, with Notes on Eastern Peru as a field for Colonization. By SANTIAGO JACKSON. The first part of this paper was on some geographical details of no great interest. On the subject of colonization, it was stated that a colony of 200 or 300 Europeans desirous of settling on the eastern slope of the Amazon, ought to arrive at Lima in April or May, and have a depot of food provided at their destination beforehand, enough to last about four months, at the end of which time they would be able to live on the produce of their fields. Neglect of this precaution has caused the failure of several attempts at colonization, for the natives cannot supply any unexpected demand. The resources of the Amazon territory are unsurpassed in the world. It will produce any quantity of sugar, coffee, tobacco, indigo, cochineal, rice, and cotton. The latter is better than any grown in the United States, except the Sea Island. Cinchona bark, dye-woods of various kinds, india rubber, and gutta percha have been discovered. Cedar trees of enormous size abound; but the forests are encum1857. 10 bered by dense brushwood, through which one must cut one's way. Savannahs are found in a few places. Gold, silver, copper, iron, sulphur, cinnabar, coal, and other minerals are known to exist. The rivers swarm with fish. The climate varies in different localities; it is healthiest highest up the rivers. The country in its wild state is liable to low intermittent fevers, which however in great part disappear when it is cleared. The Peruvian Government is prepared to make large grants of land and give extensive rights of self-administration to European colonies in the valley of the Amazon. A short Statement of Discoveries in Southern Africa. On the Sources and Origins of Human Races and their Languages, more especially the Celtic. By W. MACDONALD, M.Ď. On the Final Arctic Searching Expedition. By CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM. The search for Sir John Franklin's expedition has been continued with untiring energy until no less than 21,500 miles of coast-line has been examined; and the search for traces of the missing ships has been contracted within those narrow limits bounded by the western shores of Boothia, King William's Island, and the space occupied by a strait or deep inlet from Osborn and Wynniath's farthest, to Victoria Channel. Thither the Expedition commanded by Captain M'Clintock, the father of Arctic travelling, has proceeded, to solve the mystery which has so long hung over the fate of our gallant countrymen. His intention is, after ascertaining the safety of the abundant stores of provisions left on Beechey Island and in Leopold Sound, first to examine the state of the ice in Peel Strait, and his prospect of success in this direction appears to be very hopeful. But should he fail in his endeavour to force his way down it, it is almost certain that he will have been able to reach such a position down Prince Regent's Inlet, as to complete the search by travelling parties in the ensuing spring. The Expedition which sailed last July, differs from any preceding one, from the important fact that its commander knows the exact spot to which his search should be directed. He has gone forth, single-handed, to complete the search for this most heroic body of men, with the determination of clearing up the mystery which has so long hung over their fate, and of crowning his long and weary labours with success. It is satisfactory to find that an officer who has searched from the very first, in every expedition, through Lancaster Sound, will now, in all probability, have the glory of completing this deeply interesting work; and I am certain that everyone here will unite in wishing him all the success that his noble perseverance so well deserves. On the Macrocephali of Hippocrates. By Dr. MINCHIN. The singularity of cranial outline which constituted so remarkable a character in the appearance of the ancient Macrocephali as to have induced Hippocrates to assert that no other nation had heads in the least resembling them, presents us with a problem, which, however curious and interesting as a matter of speculation and inquiry, is nevertheless beset with difficulties of a practical nature when we come to examine and compare the different statements to be found in the works of Strabo, Pliny, Mela, and others, regarding this singular people. The author of the paper referred to the various accounts of the "long-heads," as given by the several ancient authors. From these he endeavoured to show that they were probably not a distinct race or tribe; that, however, in a particular district near the south-east of the Black Sea, a certain form of cranial elongation appeared, and that the individuals so constituted were possessed of mental endowments of a peculiar kind. Thus, Hippocrates says that "they were considered most noble who had the longest heads;" and Mela describes the long-heads as being "minus feri" than the other tribes in their vicinity. The author conceives that a recognition of this mental superiority may probably have suggested originally the practice of infantile skullcompression, the people ignorantly supposing that the elongation could be imitated by art and would be followed by a corresponding improvement of the mental capacity. A remarkable passage in the eleventh Book of Strabo lends likelihood to this supposition. In this passage, a certain tribe is said to have anxiously endeavoured to appear excessively long-headed and to have foreheads projecting over their beards. The author commented at some length upon statements in the writings of Tschudi, Wagner, Meyer and Rathké, all of whom have endeavoured to prove that the Macrocephali had heads of the acuminated form which is found among those of the Peruvians. In opposition to these views, he adduced the case of the first Macrocephalic head which had been found in the East, namely, that sent by Asche to Blumenbach, and figured by the latter in the Decades Craniorum.' This head was elongated antero-posteriorly, and was of a wholly different stamp from Peruvian pointed heads. The author proved by a reference to numerous instances of an exactly similar head-form, that this elongation was a natural shape. He entered into a brief anatomical description of the cause of the elongation of these heads, and exhibited to the Section some well-marked examples; one of these was the skull of a child aged three and a half years, whom he had seen during life. In this cranium could be seen the central vertical point of ossific origin, from which sprang originally a single os bregmatis in place of two parietals. The absence of an interparietal (or sagittal) suture at this early age, was considered by those present as a remarkable feature of this cranium. But in fact all the long-heads with overhanging foreheads have this same constitution of the vertex. It is this original central ossification which gives a fixed character to the shape of the middle region of the head, and precludes the enlargement of the skull in a transverse direction during the period of growth; the skull therefore is obliged to enlarge excessively in some other direction wherever the open sutures permit, and the result is a decided elongation fore-andaft. In the organic kingdoms it has been observed that occasionally very singular varieties will occur, which seem to be almost a distinct species, capable of reproducing similar varieties; these, however, disappear, and afterwards reappear sporadically at irregular intervals. Now, in several countries of Europe within comparatively few years, many instances of skulls have been observed, having the anatomical characters described above, the elongated shape, overhanging forehead, vertical ossification. The author conceives that it is more consistent with the principles of cerebral physiology to suppose the Macrocephali to have been thus constituted, than to say that because Hippocrates has mentioned the custom of skull-compression in connexion with these people, their heads must have been necessarily acuminated; for in the treatise on injuries of the head, by the same venerable author, pointed heads are called by the Homeric term poέoi. The author conceives that the fact of several skulls of the latter shape having been found, some at Kerch, and one at Gräfeneck, does not tend to prove the prevalence of an artificial custom in later times (e. g. among the Avars and Huns) in that part of the world, for the entire number of these heads which has as yet been found does not exceed six, and not one of them has been found within a tumulus or accompanied with other bones of the skeleton, while in several sepulchral mounds, near to which pointed heads have been found, entire skeletons have been discovered, but with normally-shaped skulls. The most recent investigations have shown that the stray, solitary instances of acuminated and compressed heads found in Europe, may all be referred to one and the same period, namely that of Charles V.; they have been brought over from Peru and afterwards cast adrift. These heads therefore throw no light whatever upon the probable shape preserved by the heads of the so-called race of extinct Macrocephali. In fine, the author thinks it highly probable that the crania of the earliest Macrocephali possessed the same shape as that described by Blumenbach in the 'Decades Craniorum,' and that the reappearance of this form as a sporadic phenomenon in many parts of Europe in the present day, gives support to this hypothesis; moreover, this shape has been found in many living instances to be associated with a superior degree of intelligence. The leading characters of these heads are:-great antero posterior length; smallness of biparietal measurement, with apparent compression of the sides; roundness and projection of frontal region; absence of sagittal suture; this last being the determining cause of all the other peculiarities. It may easily be imagined how this flattened appearance of the temporal regions may have suggested the custom of compression spoken of by Hippocrates. On the Remains of early Stone-built Fortresses and Habitations in the County of Kerry. By GEORGE V. DU NOYER, M.R.I.A. In this paper attention was directed to a class of Celtic antiquities hitherto but slightly noticed by archæologists, and in this instance to an extensive group of those buildings discovered by the author in the summer of 1856, and which occupy a line of three miles in extent along the southern tope of Mount Eagle; they amount to more than seventy in number, and he considered he was justified in calling this remarkable collection of edifices erected in pre-historic times, a Celtic city." The buildings consisted of massive stone houses of dry masonry, variable in their internal ground-plan, which was sometimes circular or elliptical, or a waved-oval, or semi-oval, or semicircular, or square; and in one instance, north of Kilmalkedar, the house consisted of two apartments, one square and the other circular, both connected by a straight passage; when perfect, these buildings terminated in a domeshaped roof; the stones, overlapping each other on the wall, rose till one stone closed in the top. Groups of such houses are often surrounded by a massive stone wall, as if intended for warlike purposes, or they occur singly of one, two, or three separate apartments, more or less circular in plan, and evidently intended for residences merely; some are yet quite perfect, but generally the roofs have fallen in. One of the most important of the former class is called "Caher-na-mactirech," or the stone Fort of the Wolves, and it presents many peculiarities of architecture which renders it unique of its kind. Of the latter class he instanced a triple-chambered building, waved oval in plan, and 80 feet in its longest diameter; this is known as "Caher-fada-andoruis," or the long Fort of the Doors. The highest authorities on Irish Archæology attribute the erection of such buildings as are described in this paper to the Firbolg and Tuatha de Danann tribes, who inhabited this country prior to the introduction of Christianity. In conclusion, the author dwelt on what must have been the habits as well as the probable social condition of the people who erected such rude and solid buildings, which, from their sequestered position and other favouring causes, have been preserved through the lapse of ages to the present time. On the Sea of Azof, and the Sivash or Putrid Sea. Abstract of the Report of James Anderson, Esq., Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, commanding a Searching Party that descended the Great Fish River in quest of the Remains of the Crews of the' Erebus' and Terror' in 1855. By Sir JOHN RICHARDSON, R.N., F.R.S. The author gives the details of his survey, illustrated by a map of a new route between the Mountain Portage on the shores of the Great Slave Lake and the Lake Aylmer of Sir George Back, comprising about 200 miles of water communication, interrupted by rapids and short portages. On Lake Franklin, near the mouth of the Great Fish River, Mr. Anderson came to an Eskimo encampment of three tents. The inmates were in possession of various articles that had belonged to Sir John Franklin's party, viz. a letter-clip bearing date 1843, fragments of elm, oak, mahogany, and white pine boards, some of them painted white. From the want of an interpreter it was very difficult to obtain correct answers to queries from these simple and friendly people. Printed books were shown to them and pieces of written paper, with the offer of large rewards for anything of the kind, but they signified that they had none. The women exhibited much intelligence, and apparently a ready comprehension. They made signs by pressing the stomach inwards, pointing to their mouths, and shaking their heads piteously, that these things were obtained from a kayack of a party who had died of starvation. Two men of the same tribe were met further down the river, but nothing more was learnt from them. Mr. Anderson remained three days on Montreal Island and thoroughly explored every part of it. The spot where the expedition boat had been cut up was on a rocky ridge at its north-eastern extremity. The ground there was strewed with shavings of wood, ends of plank, &c., evidently cut by the natives. On a piece of board that was painted black, the name " Erebus" was carved. Small pieces of rope containing the coloured dock-yard threads, pieces of bunting, &c., were lying about. There being many Eskimo câches in the neighbourhood, they were opened, and in them were found, besides stores of seal oil, blacksmith's tools, a tomahawk, a chain-hook, a fragment of an unwrought iron bar, a bundle of ash sticks, being parts of snowshoe frames with " Mr. Stanley" carved on one, together with some pieces of hoopiron, parts of instruments, a bit of cane, and a piece of the leather of a backgammon board, but not a scrap of paper nor a human bone. Every mound was examined in search of graves, but without success. Both coasts of the peninsula, from Elliot Bay northward, were minutely searched, but nothing more was found except a bit of cod-line and a rag of striped cotton on Point Ogle. Maconochie Island was also carefully traversed, but the state of the ice hindered the canoes from crossing to Point Richardson. On the return, part of the eastern shores of the estuary was also examined, and the Eskimos at Lake Franklin were again visited. They were now assembled to strike their tents and move elsewhere, and the strength of the party was seen to be five men, three women, and twelve lads and children. Mr. Anderson spread all his trading stores before them and offered the whole for books or papers, but they signified that they had none, and opened all their câches to show what they actually had. In the câches were found an oval frying-pan, a chisel, a broken handsaw, a piece of a metal thermometer-scale, and part of an ivory rule. Most of the paddles of the party were made out of ash-oars. These people made Mr. Anderson comprehend that they had not seen the ships or great kayacks, but that they had heard from others of their being wrecked, and that the crews had all died of starvation. Mr. Anderson, judging from the quantity of drift sand on Montreal Island and on the adjoining peninsula, thought that if the expedition perished there, their bodies would be covered by that material. On the Inhabitants and Dialect of the Barony of Forth in the County of Wexford. By the Rev. CHARLES RUSSELL, D.D. On the Routes pursued by Herren Hermann, Adolphe, and Robert Schlagintweit in India, the Himalayas, Tibet, and Turkistan. By ROBERT SCHLAGINTWeit. This paper was introduced by a short account of a demi-official nature regarding their mission to India. Mr. Schlagintweit mentioned in the highest terms the labours of their predecessors in scientific researches in India, particularly amongst many others, Buist, Cunningham, Everest, Gerards, Hodgson, Hooker, Oldham, Strachey, Sykes, Thompson, Waugh, &c. In reference to their official position, they were particularly indebted to Col. Sykes, as well as to the Royal Society under Gen. Sabine's directions. In 1854 they reached India, and passed from Bombay to Madras, through Central India, each by different routes, making geological, geographical, and other scientific investigations as they proceeded. On their sea voyage previously, they had made observations as to the specific gravity of sea-water, and also as to the currents of the sea, and continued these in the voyage from Madras to Calcutta. On arriving at Calcutta in the beginning of 1855, Mr. Hermann Schlagintweit set out for the northern provinces of Bengal, and, having reached Sikkim, continued his researches all along the Himalayas, with a view of ascertaining their height and geographical position. To the west of Kunchinjinga he met with a remarkably high mountain, mentioned in a letter to Baron Humboldt (July 10, 1855, summit of |