296 Obsenmtiom on South American and African Guano. 



That he was led to go in search of them in the beginning of 

 last year, from remembering having, when a boy at school, 

 looked into the sea-journal of an American whaler, in which 

 mention was made of such spots. And that his first attempt 

 was unsuccessful, and nearly proved fatal to himself and all 

 concerned, — ^he and his boat's crew, in exploring the islets, hav- 

 ing almost perished from want of water, before they could 

 rejoin their little " surveying vessel ;" and then (she, too, being 

 in want of water), having had to sail 1500 miles before they 

 could obtain a fresh supply. 



This is a meagre outline of a hazardous and most important 

 enterprise. The details of it, it is to be hoped, will be pub- 

 lished ; they can hardly fail exciting interest ; and they may 

 convey valuable information, either directly or indirectly, on 

 many important points connected with the physical history of 

 a region of which at present so little is known. The result 

 of the voyage, the director of it may well be proud of, con- 

 templating, as he writes to me, by the introduction of some 

 thousands of tons of productive manure, increase of fertility to 

 our soil, to the extent of " producing three bushels of corn 

 where only two were previously grown.'** 



The Oaks, Ambleside, 

 February 29. 1844. 



On the Physical Characters of the Esquimaux. By Richard 

 King, M.D. (Communicated to this Journal by the Society.) 



Read before the Ethnological Society, London. 



Of the circumpolar family, the Esquimaux branch is the 

 most remarkable, owing to the vast extent of country over 

 which it is spread. This race of fishermen inhabit the whole 

 of the northern coast of North America, and as far as Prince 

 William's Sound in the Pacific, and the coast of Labrador in 

 the Atlantic, their western boundary being St Lawrence 

 Island, and their eastern Greenland. Although, for a con- 

 siderable period, Labrador has been the most southern limit 

 of the Esquimaux, in the direction of the Atlantic, it would 

 appear that, in early times, their migration extended further 



