F. GEOGRAPHY. 181 



a previous page, have been brought almost to a conclusion, 

 and it is understood that the Portsmouth^ under Captain 

 Skenett, will leave New York about the middle of Novem- 

 ber for the scene of operations. The vessel will proceed, 

 with only the necessary stops, by way of Cape Horn, to the 

 the west coast, and will commence her work in the Gulf of 

 California. Two years will probably be spent in the investi- 

 gation of the hydrography of the peninsula, including the en- 

 tire gulf region, as also in the exploration of the Revillagi- 

 gedo group of islands. 



A subsidiary object, to receive a due share of attention, 

 will be a general investigation into the physics and natural 

 history of the deep seas and of the adjacent islands. Dr. 

 Street, the surgeon of the expedition, has already distin- 

 guished himself as a naturalist and collector in the Darien 

 expedition, and will doubtless win new laurels on the present 

 occasion. The astronomical department will be in charge of 

 Paymaster Tuttle, well known as the discoverer of an aster- 

 oid and of a telescopic comet. 



The N'arragansett, now on the Pacific station, has also been 

 detailed for the same service, and will probably refit at Cal- 

 lao for the purpose. There are few portions of America 

 more interesting in a natural-history j)oint of view than that 

 to be immediately explored by this expedition, the Galapa- 

 gos themselves being scarcely more noteworthy. This is 

 shown by the researches of Mr.Xantus and of Colonel Gray- 

 son. The former gentleman spent several years at Cape St. 

 Lucas in the service of the United States Coast Survey and 

 of the Smithsonian Institution, and obtained large numbers 

 of specimens in all branches of natural history, many of which 

 were entirely new to science. Colonel Grayson, in his ex- 

 plorations of Socorro Island, one of the Revillagigedo group, 

 found that, as at Cape St. Lucas, there were many animals 

 peculiar, or unknown elsew T here, most of them being then un- 

 described. They have, however, lately been published by 

 Mr. George N". Lawrence, in a memoir of the collections of 

 Colonel Grayson. 



THE EXPLORATION OF THE CHALLENGER. 



We find in Nature a more detailed account than has hith- 

 erto appeared of the great circumnavigating exploring ex- 



