14 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 



American expedition sent out by Henry Grinnell, Esq., have been 

 adopted ; and in particular, Grinnell's Land, discovered by said expe- 

 dition, is entered conspicuously on the map, it having been on a pre- 

 vious map of the Admiralty called Prince Albert's Land. This act of 

 justice to the exertions of our countrymen, has been for some time 

 strongly urged by the Rev. Dr. Scoresby and other illustrious Arctic 

 navigators. 



The arrangements for securing a series of marine observations, ac- 

 cording to the plans proposed and practically carried out by Lieut. 

 Maury, have been completed by the British Government, and liberal 

 appropriations granted by Parliament. A certain number of selected 

 ships of the mercantile marine, and all those of her majesty employed in 

 long or distant voyages, are, or soon will be, engaged in making exact 

 observations with instruments supplied under the authority of the 

 Board of Trade (duly tested and compared), and in registering the ap- 

 parent results according to forms settled at the Brussels Conference 

 of 1853, slightly modified, so as to suit present convenience. The 

 estimates sanctioned by Parliament are sufficient to provide sixty 

 merchant-ships and forty men-of-war with the necessary meteorolo- 

 gical instruments (namely, barometers, thermometers, and hydrom- 

 eters), in addition to the nautical instruments usual at sea ; to pay 

 office expenses and salaries (including allowances to agents at out- 

 ports) ; and to provide the necessary registers. A captain in the 

 navy is in charge of the office. Four subordinates are to assist him, 

 and there are agents appointed at the principal ports to communicate 

 personally with the owners, captains, and officers of ships. Liberally 

 supplied by the United States Government, Maury's Sailing Direc- 

 tions and Charts are distributed gratis among those who undertake to 

 record observations satisfactorily, and send them to the Board of 

 Trade. Marks, expressive of distinction, are to be annexed to the 

 names of approved contributors to meteorology in the Mercantile 

 Navy List, and other encouragements are contemplated. Every ex- 

 ertion will be made at the office, not only to discuss and tabulate 

 valuable observations, but to digest and render available as soon as 

 possible such information as may tend immediately to the improve- 

 ment of navigation. 



A new society, called the " African Exploration Society," has been 

 recently formed in England, with the object of exploring and evan- 

 gelizing Central Africa from a station at Tunis. It proposes to seek 

 its objects chiefly by means of a native African agency, specially 

 trained for the purpose in an African school at Tunis, conducted by 

 medical, scientific, and religious tutors from the United Kingdom. 

 Tunis is well chosen as a station, because it is ready of access to the 

 civilized world, and it is not in the same quarter from which other 



