220 NATURAL SCIENCE. may. 



that low pressure has a distinctly weakening effect, even after a six 

 months' residence, but that the acute form of mountain sickness is 

 only temporary ; hence there is good reason to hope that by rising 

 by slow and easy stages the very highest summits on the earth may 

 be reached. One of the most valuable contributions made to 

 geographical science by the expedition was the comparison of the 

 aneroid with the mercurial barometer ; two of the latter were carried, 

 and a whole battery of aneroids. Distrust of the aneroid has often 

 been expressed, and Mr. Whymper shows with what good reason. 

 The main record of this work has been given in a separate pamphlet, 

 but such constant reference to it is given that the main conclusions 

 may be referred to. The aneroid appears to be perfectly reliable for 

 sudden differences of pressure, but in a long and gradual ascent the 

 aneroid drops considerably below the right point, and continues to 

 drop after it has been brought to rest. This error amounted on the 

 summit of Chimborazo to i*i52 in., and recorded the summit as 

 1,500 feet too high. By a prolonged series of experiments, after his 

 return, Mr. Whymper maintains that he has found out the cause of 

 this error and how it can be allowed for, so that implicit faith can 

 in future be placed on aneroid measurements. We very, very much 

 wish we could believe it. 



Mr. Whymper's zoological collections were very extensive, and 

 part of them are described b}- various specialists in the second volume. 

 Mr. Whymper is heartily to be congratulated on having devoted his 

 attention to the lower vertebrates and invertebrates, instead of spend- 

 ing all his time in trying to catch a puma two inc]:ies above record 

 length, of a lama with two tails. The special interest of the collec- 

 tion is in regard to its bearing on the theory that the fauna of the 

 higher Andes is a relic of a temperate fauna, and worked its way 

 across the tropics during the glacial period. The collections made 

 by Mr. Whymper show that the high fauna is simply composed of 

 representatives of the genera of the adjoining tropical lowlands ; the 

 genera characteristic of the temperate regions both north and south 

 do not occur in the area, and a pretty theory of a faunistic migration 

 falls to the ground. 



But probably the most interesting results of Mr. Whymper's 

 studies are what he has taught us to unlearn. Ecuador was once a 

 wonderful place, and contained wonderful animals whose achieve- 

 ments were vouched for by eminent authorities ; but Mr, Whymper 

 has mercilessly unmasked several of the most startling of these 

 marvels. Thus, the grand old Condor which, in the words of Professor 

 Orton, " can dart in an instant from the dome of Chimborazo to the 

 sultry coast of the Pacific," and which Humboldt saw soaring over 

 the loftiest summits of the Andes, turns out to be a sorry fraud. Mr. 

 Whymper's observations show that at present the Condor is restricted 

 in Ecuador to a range of from 9,000 to 16,000 ft. Humboldt's 

 Condors may, perhaps, have been frightened up by one of the 

 revolutions to which they have now grown accustomed ; and, until 

 Professor Orton tells us how his bird was identified at the various 

 stations it passed at the fine pace of over 400,000 miles an hour, 

 perhaps he will excuse our accepting his testimony as worth any- 

 thing, although he be a Professor of Natural History in New York, 

 and was sent out by the Smithsonian Institution. 



Serious doubt is thrown by Mr. Whymper upon the whole of 

 Humboldt's story of his exploits on Chimborazo, with his ascent to the 

 height of over 19,000 ft. and liis marvellous descent of 3,600 ft. along 



