272 NATURAL SCIENCE. April, 



On August 15, on Houen Id., in the N.E. part of Franz Josef 

 land, Papavev midicaule, Saxifraga nivalis, and a Stellaria were found in 

 bloom. 



Scattered through the book are some observations of geological 

 interest. There are signs of former glaciation on the coast of Siberia, 

 even where the land lies very low. The mountains about C. 

 Chelyuskin are flat-topped with precipitous sides ; the rock appears 

 to be sandstone or basalt. In various parts of Franz Josef Land, as 

 on Spitzbergen, are numerous raised beach-lines, often with shells, 

 cetacean bones, and other evidences of the comparatively recent 

 elevation of the land. The most important point, however, is the 

 determination of the age of the sedimentary rocks of Franz Josef 

 Land, and also of the interbedded basalt. Certain plant-remains 

 collected by Johansen, though the locality was originally noted by Mr. 

 Jackson and Dr. Koetlitz, were submitted to Professor Nathorst, who 

 considers without doubt that the remains are of Upper Jurassic age, 

 and that like the contemporary flora of Spitzbergen they do not 

 indicate a particularly genial climate, although enormously more so 

 than that of to-day. A new species, Gingko polaris, is figured. 



But we must leave this important discovery in order to consider 

 some geographical questions. And here we cannot affect to pass 

 without censure the unfortunate accident of the stopping of the 

 chronometers of both Johansen and Nansen. It is an explorer's first 

 duty to himself and to the world in general to be sure of his positions, 

 but this is impossible if, like any ordinary mortal, he forgets to wind 

 up his watch. On Tuesday, April 2nd, 1895, " when we finally came 

 to a standstill we had been on the move so long that it was too late to 

 wind up our watches. Johansen's had stopped altogether ; mine was 

 ticking, and happily still going when I wound it up, so I hope that it 

 is all right." This might have been a warning, and yet on Friday, 

 April i2th, for precisely the same reason, "we had the misfortune to 

 let our watches run down." Of course it was possible to set the 

 watches again approximately, and the necessary corrections could be, 

 and were, made when civilisation was again reached. But the conse- 

 quence of all this has been a good deal of unnecessary trouble to the 

 explorers and to others. As, however, certain statements have been 

 made tending to suggest that Nansen was 12 or 13 degrees out in his 

 longitude, it is important to note that his error was only 6^ degrees. 

 Moreover, he distinctly states that a part of this error was intentional ; 

 he assumed a more westerly longitude than he believed himself to be 

 in, so as to obviate all chance of over-shooting Franz Josef Land. It 

 is clear from his subsequent narrative that it was not the slight error 

 in longitude that threw him out, but the non-existence of the Dove 

 Glacier ; when he got to the region explored by Leigh Smith, he 

 recognised his position plainly. 



It is perhaps due partly to the error in longitude, partly to the 

 fact that he entered Franz Josef Land from its least explored N.E. 

 end, that led Nansen to over much criticism of Payer, and that led 

 him further to imitate Mr. Jackson, who, we are told by his friend and 

 mouthpiece, " has been forced to ignore or condemn the statements 

 of Payer." Perhaps, too, gratitude for his hospitality induced Nansen 

 to accept Mr. Jackson's criticisms too readily. We do not know how 

 else to account for some strange items on his map of Franz Josef 

 Land. South of Hohenlohe Id., Payer marks a group of five' small 

 islands, to the largest of which he gives the name Coburg Id. ; Nansen 

 calls this Torup Id., restricting the name Coburg to an insignificant 

 rock. Between Coburg and Rainer Islands, in 81° 30' N., Payer has 



