Notes to Dr. Livingston's Astronomical Observations for Geographical Positions. By Th. Maclear, Esq.

Station No. 1. "Manakalouwe, or Unicorn's Pass, or that of Parapora, which means the gurgling of water. The dry cover must have presented a different appearance when it got the latter name from what it does now. I think the term Unicorn (the former) refers to an insect having an erect tail. The station is about 6 miles N. of Bamangwato town, where I could not take observations in consequence of the people suffering from a severe drought. The rain-makers would have blamed me had they seen me directing instruments towards their field of labour."

No. 2. "Lettoche, about 18 miles N. of Manakalouwe Pass."

No. 3. "Kanné Station is about 12 miles N. of Lettoche."

No. 4. "Lotlakané Station is where the first Palmyra trees occur.

There

are about 25 of them, and we always find water near them. We lost a week on the way thither; the oxen ran away, and were five whole days without water. The general direction of the path from Kanné to Nchokotsa was N.N.W., and N.W. from Nchokotsa to Kobé."

No. 5. Kobé Station, where the observations were interrupted by clouds. At Maila or Mayeelah, on the path between Kobé and Kamakama, there is a fine watering-place. Some observations were made here, but none for latitude were forwarded.-T. M.

No. 6. “Kamakama Station is important, inasmuch as there the course is altered, and thence we travel on the magnetic meridian."

No. 7. The Fever Ponds Station. with fever."

Here all my people were prostrated

Dr. Livingston's observations at this station bear evidence of the distressing and harassing circumstances in which he was placed. They are sufficient, however, to fix the position within the necessary limits of accuracy. --T. M.

No. 8 Station, 10 miles S. of hill Ngwa. "We now come to observations concerning which I feel greater interest, inasmuch as if I am right in my working (calculations), the whole of our last year's map will require a pretty considerable hitch to the W. Instead of 26° E., our waggon-stand was scarcely 24° E.; but I will give you a fair opportunity of judging. On the 14th of April, 1853, we were in sight of a hill, bearing nearly N. It is called by the Bushmen Ngwa, the name of a caterpillar, the entrails of which produce nearly the same effects as the virus received in dissection wounds. They arm their arrows with the poison. The hill is called Dowgha by the Bechuanas. As it is a singular feature in that flat country, I felt anxious to ascertain its longitude. It is about 300 feet high, formed of calcareous tufa hardened, and has no tsetze (the poisonous fly). Two small hills appear to the S.W. of it, and distant about 10 miles; these have no tsetze. Our path to our waggonstand of last year lies so far W. of these hills that we did not see them. I am quite certain our waggon stand is at least a degree W. of Ngwa."

Livingston is correct. The cause of the discrepancy is stated at the end of these notes.-T. M.

No. 9. Hill Ngwa Station. Here he was so fortunate as to observe the occultation of 52 Geminorum (B. A. C., No. 2634) by the moon, wherefrom the position in longitude is deduced with great accuracy. He says, "The Boers deprived me of my celestial map, one, by the way, which had been up the Niger, so I have to point out the particular star by signs (a sketch).” The Boers burned almost the whole of his property.-T. M.

No. 10 Station. "A most lovely valley, about half a mile N. of Ngwa or Dowgha, and called Kandeley."

No. 11. A station parallel to the waggon-stand of 1851-2, before mentioned.

He states that the observations at this station are deserving of little confidence, and assigns the reason. The altitudes for time appear to be good. These are retained.-T. M.

No. 12. Sekeletu's Town Station." At the island of Mahonta the river Chobe runs in latitude 17° 58'. Thence, after crossing the Chobe, we went N. in order to get clear of the lands flooded by the Chobe, until we came to our path to Sesheké. We then turned S.W. till we came to Sekeletu's town. Thus at Sekeletu's town we are about 3' N. of our waggon-stand (of 1851), the bearing of which, from the town, is due S. 10° W."

Besides other observations, two occultations by the moon were observed at this station. The first, on the 9th of June, Dr. Livingston suspected to be the star K. Geminorum; but the occultation of that star happened, or should happen, 1h. 45m. later than the Sekeletu time he records. The next star I have examined is B. A. C., No. 2506. The difference in declination at the moment of disappearance should be 13' 6' nearly, and the Greenwich time of disappearance 6h. 9m. 49s., which gives 1h. 19m. only for the longitude of Sekeletu. Livingston expresses himself thus in explanation :-"The vapours prevented me from seeing the exact moment of occultation, but I am certain of it occurring within a few seconds of the time mentioned." He probably founds this opinion because of the apparent proximity of the star to the moon's limb, but owing to the difference in declination being rather less than sixsevenths of the moon's semi-diameter, the apparent approach to the moon's limb would be slow. I intend to investigate the circumstances of this occultation with greater attention than my time at present will permit me to bestow upon it.

But the other occultation observed at Sekeletu (that of Jupiter on the 17th of July) settles the longitude of the place within close limits, though rather unfavourably with respect to astronomical conditions, the difference in declination of the centres at the moment of observation being 13' 50"-24. He observed the first interior contact: "the last glimpse of the outer edge of Jupiter was caught at the watch hour, 5h. 7m. 7s."

The vast superiority of occultations over lunar distances consists in this, viz., they are free from instrumental errors, the subservient, rather the collateral, condition common to both being an exact knowledge of the time at the place.-T. M.

No. 13. "Sanshureh River, a branch of the Chobe, at a large and wellknown Baobab tree, and about 9 miles S. of an island in the Chobe, called Mahonta. The island will retain its name, whether inhabited as it is now or not. From it can be seen, at the distance of 30 or 40 miles, a ridge which runs in a N.E. or N.N.E. direction from the hill Ngwa, and determines the easting of the Chobe river in that quarter. This ridge, apparently 300 feet high, is the boundary of the Chobe's floods, and it guides the river into the Sesheké."

The lunar distance from Jupiter is more favourable for longitude than the distance from Antares. But the hill Ngwa fixes this place with tolerable

accuracy.

No. 14. "At the island of Mahonta the Chobe runs in latitude 17° 58'." No observations seem to have been made for longitude at this place, nor were they necessary, because it is only 63 miles in latitude from Sansbureh.T. M.

No. 15. Sesheké. "Clouds prevented me taking lunars here."

No. 16. "Sekhose's village on the Zambesé, or, as the Aborigines universally name it, the Leeambyé, viz. the River. The village is about 25 miles W. of the town of Sesheké."

No. 17. Cataract of Nambwe.

No. 18. Cataract of Bombwe.

4

No. 19. Falls of Gonyé.

No. 20. Seoori sa Mei, or the Island of Water.

No. 21. Island and town of Litofé.

No. 22. South end of island Loyela, town of Mamochisané.

No. 23. Naliele, chief town of Borotse. There are two sets of lunar distances, and a nearly central occultation of Jupiter by the moon, for fixing this place in longitude. "The last glimpse of the outer edge of the planet was caught as it disappeared behind the dark limb of the moon." I have accordingly calculated the longitude from the first internal contact. The watch error is well known, consequently the longitude derived from the occultation should be an excellent determination.-T. M.

No. 24. "Linangelo, old town of Santuru; the site swallowed up by the iver except a few square yards. It is nearly the same latitude as the first apital of Santuru, and on this account I took the latitude."

No. 25. "Katongo, where the Portuguese slave-merchant built his stockade."

No. 26. "At the point where the branch Marele parts from the main stream to form the large island of Nariele or Naliele."

No. 27. "Quando village." No. 28. "Town of Libonta." No. 29. "Island of Tongane." No. 30. Island of Cowrie. "The bank on which we landed to make the observations was of soft mud encircled by a slough, which prevented the boatmen from dispersing over the island as usual. Though they sat quietly near me, the presence of a number of men caused a vibration in the mercury. This circumstance, and its being too near noon to go elsewhere, made the observations less certain than the others. The confluence of the Loeti, with its light-coloured water, being almost 2 miles N. of the island, makes me regret the circumstances, for I had no other opportunity for observing so near the Loeti.

"I suppose the confluence of the Loeti with the main stream may be set down at lat. 14° 18', or 14° 19′."

No. 32. "Confluence of the Leeba or Londa with the main river or Leeambye."

This was Dr. Livingston's northernmost station up to the date of this communication.-T. M.

General Remarks.

The table gives the observations and the results arranged in order of latitude northwards.

The earlier observations, which do not assist in the determination of positions, have been omitted; also a few where, either in the hurry when reading off the instrument, the wrong numbers were registered, or the right misplaced. The watch error has in general been calculated from each altitude, mainly for a check upon the altitudes; and in taking the mean, each result depends upon the number of relative observations.

With respect to the occultations by the moon, that of Jupiter at Sekeletu receives the weight 10 in comparison with the lunar distances at that station; and that of Jupiter at Naliele, the weight 20 in comparison with the lunars at that station. The resulting determinations are placed in brackets. The former has the weight 10 only, because the path of Jupiter behind that of the moon is near the S. pole of the moon, and the time is great in proportion to the arc; whereas the path at Naliele is nearly central.

No. 12, 2nd set. The longitude is computed from the relative altitudes of the moon and Jupiter.

Dr. Livingston states in his communication, that he took a great many

VOL. XXIV.

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observations at several places which he has not forwarded, thinking he had sent sufficient. Thus at Sekeletu he made seven separate sets, and at Sekhosi "others." These might alter the lunar distance results to a certain extent, but no practical advantage, except at Sekhosi, would be derived from them.

It will be perceived that the observations made on the present journey alter the longitude of the waggon-stand near Sekeletu, determined in the last, by a large amount, viz., from 26° E. of Greenwich to 23° 50', the true position in longitude being 2° 10' more westerly than was supposed. This correction will apply generally to all the positions S. of Sekeletu, including, it is presumed, even Lake Ngami.

In explanation: Dr. Livingston's sextant was injured by a fall on his journey in 1851, which broke one of the three attaching screws of the great mirror, and the mirror became loose, taking a position with respect to the plane of the instrument, according to the way in which the instrument was held. Upon examination of the observations, those only were adopted that appeared to be most accordant. Those rejected gave a less longitude.—T. M.

XX.-Report on the Russian Caravan Trade with China. By HARRY PARKES, Esq., F.R.G.S.

Read March 13, 1854.

CANTON, from its position in the extreme south of the empire, can only be slightly influenced by a trade which is conducted on the Siberian frontier. None of the exports are drawn from this neighbourhood; and the few Russian goods that find their way here are seldom recognised as such by the consumers, but are vaguely spoken of by them as the productions of " the North.”

It were superfluous to enter into any description of the towns of Kiakhta and Mae-mae-chin, which, being situated on their respective frontiers, and separated only by a barrier, form, as is well known, the seat of this commerce. The advantages of the position (lat. 50° 21′ N., and long. 106° 28′ E.) are more equalised than might appear from a first glance, which shows the former to be distant about 4000 miles from Moscow, and the latter not more than 1000 from Peking. But the longer journey can be performed, however slowly, by means of good water transportation; whilst the shorter one lies through dismal desert land, where fodder for the beasts of burden is sometimes unprocurable.

The inhabitants of either town are permitted free access to each other throughout the day, but a total separation during the hours of night is rigorously enforced. Those in Mae-mae-chin consist solely of parties engaged in the traffic, numbering altogether, it is said, about 1500 persons, and being under the superintendence of Manchu officers appointed from Peking. They belong chiefly to the northern provinces of Chile and Shense, and appear to continue in the trade for a series of years, going and returning with their goods, and never being allowed to take with them their wives or families. Many, or most of them, speak Russian, transformed, however, into a peculiar patois by the novelties of pronunciation which they have allowed themselves to introduce; and this jargon, strange as it may sound, appears to be extensively adopted by both parties in their ordinary oral communications.

Not only is the trade essentially one of barter, but the use of money is strictly interdicted. The value of all the commodities is fixed by Commissioners, appointed on either side, who are presided over by their respective authorities. These parties meet, and draw up regulations determining the price of every article of import, and of the tea to be given in exchange for it;