F. GEOGEAPHY. HI 



inally supposed, continue round the Cape of Good Hope, but 

 at the southern point of Africa bends around toward the east, 

 and unites with the waters that strike along the coast of Aus- 

 tralia, and in the region of Kerguelen Land turns more and 

 more to the south, having been traced in that direction as far 

 as the fiftieth decree of south latitude. How much further 

 it goes has not yet been ascertained ; but it is extremely 

 probable, judging from the analogies of the currents of the 

 northern hemisphere, that this may penetrate to quite a high 

 latitude, and that it is along its path that researches are to 

 be prosecuted which will lead more or less near to the heart 

 of the mystery that now surrounds the south pole. 



The discoveries of Ross and Weddell are really due to 

 their persistency in following the warm currents the first 

 from New Zealand, and the other to the south of Cape Horn. 

 There is the more hope of a satisfactory result in this experi- 

 ment, as little special effort hitherto has been made in that 

 direction. And if, as already stated, it is in that region that 

 the best location for a third antarctic astronomical station is 

 to be found, additional zest will be given to the inquiry. It 

 is quite probable that one result of a successful exploration 

 will be to limit -very materially the supposed mass of land, 

 as many of our best geographers maintain the existence of an 

 archipelago of islands, firmly united by bands of ice, rather 

 than a continent. This is an a priori conclusion, fortified by 

 general climatological analogies, and can only be substanti- 

 ated by actual observations. 1 C\ xxni., 353. 



CARPENTER ON" MEDITERRANEAN CURRENTS. 



An interesting: communication in regard to the currents of 

 the Mediterranean has lately been made in various journals, 

 by Dr. William B. Carpenter, based upon the result of his ex- 

 periments made on board the Porcupine during the deep-sea 

 sounding surveys in the Mediterranean in the past year. We 

 have already given our readers a synopsis of the results ob- 

 tained in the summer of 1869 on board the Porcupine, during 

 the expeditions of which Dr. Carpenter was also a member ; 

 and although the work of 1870 does not include dredgings at 

 such enormous depths as three miles, it is scarcely inferior in 

 value. One of the most important points reached was the 

 determination of a deep-sea current in the Mediterranean run- 



