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ASIATIC SOCIETY OF JAPAN.
The Regular April Meeting of the Society was held on Wednesday, the 14th, at 5 p.m. at the Imperial College, Yedo, in the Reception Room, which had been courteously tendered to the Society for the purpose by the Director, Y. Hatakeyama Esq.
The chair was taken by Prof. Murray Ph. D. who congratulated the members on the fact of holding a meeting of such a Society, for the first time, at the capital of an empire so progressive as that of Japan.
After reading the minutes of the last Meeting, the Secretary announced, as new members, Mr. Charles H. Dallas; Mons. Conil, and Professors, R. W. Atkinson, R. Smith, and D. Marshall. The donation of a case of Butterflies by H. Pryer Esq., was also announced, likewise the receipt of Journals of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
A motion was made by Dr. Murray and seconded by Dr. Antisell to the effect
“That the Council of the Society be requested to make arrangements for giving a reception to the officers, and especially the Scientific Corps, of H.M.S. Challenger.”
In the absence of the writer, the Hon. F. R. Plunkett read a paper “Notes of a Journey from Awomori to Niigata, and of a Visit to the mines of Sado,” by J. H. Gubbins, Esq.
Mr. Dallas spoke of the dialects heard in the region referred to in the paper as being very unlike the language spoken at Tokio; and promised to present an account of the Yonezawa dialect soon.
Dr. Antisell remarked that the description of the mountain ranges given in the paper was interesting. Although not acquainted with the region, yet he recognised in these ranges some similarity to the mountain systems of Yezo and farther north. In the northern part of the Empire there were two distinct ranges of hills; one coming directly from the north, a continuation of the chain in Karafto, which, after passing down south along the west shore of Yezo, is found in Dewa and farther South. The second system of mountains is that entering Yezo from the Aleutian isles and Kamschatka, runing N. 20–25 E. and S. 20–25 W. and crossing in places the first described system: it is from the existence and crossing of these chains that Yezo derives its quadrangular form. These two systems have very different mineral contents for their axes, the first has essentially a granitic and felspathic axis, produced perhaps by shrinkage, and is slow of decomposition of its minerals forming thin soils: the second has an axis plutonic or volcanic yielding basalts, traps, and diorites, decomposing readily, forming deep and rich soils; hence the different kinds of vegetation described by the writer as occurring on the slopes of the two chains. Where the two chains cross, also, there is found a rolling country closed up at the North and East by hills, valleys opening to the