30 AUGUST 1902, Page 3

The Times of Tuesday contains a most valuable summary furnished

by Dr. Sven Hedin of the results of his great journey in Central Asia (1899-1902) which will appear in the Geographical Journal for September. These comprise the accumulation of a vast mass of materials relating to the course of the Tarim, the greatest river of Central Asia, from Yarkand to its lower extremity, which has been mapped out on a hundred sheets, and the labyrinth of lakes, marshes, &o., which constitute its shifting delta ; the solution of the problem of the ancient lake of Lop-nor; the exploration of untraversed portions of the desert of Gobi and the mountain chain of Astyn-tagb, now proved to be a double not a single chain. But the most arduous and perilous of Dr. Sven Hedin's journeys were his three expeditions into Tibet, in the course of which he completely mapped the complicated mountain system of Northern Tibet, penetrated in disguise to the vicinity of Tengri-nor, and journeyed westward to Leh. He speaks in terms of the highest praise of the honesty, fidelity, and bravery of the Cossack escort provided by the Czar, and of the hospitality of Lord Curzon and his English friends during a trip to India in the winter of 1901-2.