F. GEOGRAPHY. 253 



above the sea diminishes toward the pole. 7. The sea be- 

 tween Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya to Behring Strait is 

 even in winter sometimes free of ice, and may be navigated 

 in summer and autumn. 8. The most likely routes to the 

 pole are, first, the sea between Spitzbergen and Novaya Zem- 

 lya ; and, second, the sea north of Behring Strait along the 

 coast of the unknown polar land. 17 C, July 7, 1874. 



EXPLORATION OF NORWEGIAN SEAS. 



Professor Mohn and Mr. G. O. Sars, of Christiania, are pre- 

 paring a plan for the investigation of the sea between Nor- 

 way, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Spitzbergen, the expense 

 of which, it is expected, will be defrayed by a grant of the 

 Norwegian Storthing. Ocean Highways commends this very 

 highly as supplementing the labors of the Challenger. The 

 researches are to be prosecuted in an important region, and 

 with the best form of apparatus. 6 A, November, 1873, 

 340. _ 



GERMAN SOCIETY FOR POLAR EXPLORATION. 



The German Society for Polar Exploration has, it is said, 

 purchased the harbor of Kristvig, on the island of Averio, on 

 the west coast of Norway, with the intention of making this 

 in future the starting-point of German explorations of the 

 arctic regions. 13 A, March, 1874, 313. 



ARCTIC EXPLORATION IN ENGLAND. 



The friends of arctic exploration in England were disap- 

 pointed in their hope to induce the British Government to 

 send out an expedition during the year 1874, but are still 

 sanguine that this object will be attained and carried out on 

 a very large scale in 1875. Deputations were in readiness 

 on the part of the Royal Society, the Royal Geographical 

 Society, the British Association, and the Dundee Chamber 

 of Commerce, to present memorials to the government ; but 

 an interview was declined, on the ground that the subject 

 could not be suitably considered at the present time. 



The excuse was made that the operations of the Challenger, 

 in the survey of regions of commercial importance, have ex- 

 hausted all the available resources of the government in this 

 direction, and that, until the period of the return of this ship, 



