1898] NUWS 429 



Canaries and Cape Verde Islands to the coast of West Africa, where it will 

 specially study the cold Benguella current. The Antarctic currents and their 

 union with the warm currents from the Indian Ocean will be investigated, after 

 which the Expedition will return home by way of the Indian Ocean and the 

 Red Sea. The whole voyage is expected to take nine months. 



Prince Albert of Monaco, wdio is known to scientific readers from the 

 valuable investigations that he has made in the Atlantic, gave an interesting 

 lecture before the Royal Geographical Society on Ajiril 25th. His first vessel, in 

 which he made many cruises between 1885 and 1889, was a schooner of 200 tons 

 called the ' Hirondelle.' She was succeeded Ijv a steam yacht, the ' Princess 

 Alice,' of 560 tons. She, however, has been outgrown with the extension of the 

 work, and now a new ' Princess Alice ' has l^een built by Messrs Laird of Liver- 

 pool. Much of the work accomplished by Prince Albert has been in connection 

 with ocean currents, and is alluded to in Mr Garstang's Report on the Drift of 

 the English Channel. Two meteorological stations have l)een established at the 

 Azores — one on the Island San Miguel, connected M'ith the mainland by cable, 

 and one, 100 miles further west, on the Island of Flores, from which a cable to 

 America is planned. This, says Science, has been done by Captain Chares, a 

 Portuguese, at the instance of the Prince of Monaco, and it is expected that the 

 observations will be of value, esjaecially with regard to cyclones. 



The 'Windward,' Captain John Bartlett, will sail from New York with the 

 Peary Arctic expedition about the first week in Julj^ 



Dr O. F. Cook, Mr Charles Louis Pollard, and Mr Guy W. Collins, of the 

 U.S. National Museum, with Prof. E. L. Morris, of the Western High School, 

 D.C., left on March 5th for a six weeks' botanical collecting trip among the 

 Florida Keys. They were going first to Key West, where they Avould secure a 

 small schooner and then visit the various Keys, and expected to reach Miami about 

 April 5th. Dr Cook was commissioned to make a collection of Algae, which was to 

 be sent to the Omaha Exposition. The other members of the jiarty were to make 

 a general collection, including herbarium and various economic material, and 

 were also commissioned to olitain museum material for the New York Botanical 

 Garden. We glean this information from the Plant World, which adds some- 

 what curiously that " this is a favourable season in which to visit Southern 

 Florida." Most peace-loving citizens would avoid it at this juncture. 



Mr B. E. Fernow, of the U.S. Forestry Division, has been sent by the 

 Government to Hawaii to make preliminary ex^^lorations with a view to future 

 Forestry Legislation. 



Mr J. B. Hatcher, whose expedition to Patagonia we have already noted, 

 has sent to Princeton University various collections, including one of fossil shells 

 from the Straits of I\[agellan. He has now, says Science, gone for an eight months' 

 trip into the interior. 



Dr C. Marchesetti has gone on a botanical expedition to Palestine and 

 Upper Egypt. Dr M. Pedersen (of Copenhagen) is investigating the fiora of 

 Disco Island, Greenland. 



On April 14th a Belgian expedition left to make a scientific exjiloration of the 

 African territories south of the Congo Free State, including the Shire country. 

 Lake Nyassa, the Zambesi, Tanganyika, and the country of Lofoi. Among those 

 taking part are Lieut. Lemaire, Dr J. de Windt, Caj^tain Maffei, Mr Michel as 

 photographer, and Mr Leon Dardenne as artist. 



Dr Hans Bendorff of Vienna has gone to Siberia on behalf of the Vienna 

 Academy to collect information on atmospheric electricity. 



We are glad to learn from Nature Notes that considerable progress has been 

 mad-e on the Continent in the protection of birds. An Austrian League was 

 established in 1896, with its head (quarters at Gratz, under the presidency of 



