THE MUSEUM. 



277 



dox view represented the Arctic ocean 

 as a shallow-water area studded with 

 islands and archapelagoes, the correc- 

 tion of this error is of great importance 

 in geography, meteorology and geolo- 

 gy. The depths proved by the 

 "Frain" show that the great depress- 

 ion west of Spitsbergen is not a basin 

 surrounded by a shallow sea, butis 

 widely open to the north, where it 

 spreads over the polar area. The 

 depth of this ocean renders it improb- 

 able that many islands will be found 

 in it. It has been confidently asserted 

 that there must be land to the north 

 of Spitzbergen, as birds are seen flying 

 northward from it. The voyage of 

 the "I^'ram" has, however, shown that 

 there is no land in the position expect- 

 ed, and once again we are taught that 

 birds make mistakes as well as other 

 animals. Another bogey from which 

 Nansen has relieved us, is that the 

 whole of the central arctic sea is full of 

 ice of immense thickness and great age. 

 He found that, e.xcept for local heaps 

 and hummocks, it is only about thirty 

 feet thick and thus the great "palaeo- 

 crystic ice" and floe-bergs of north- 

 western Greenland are proved to be 

 exceptional. After this discovery geol- 

 ogy will no longer be burdened with 

 the incubus of a recent Polar ice-cap. 

 Another interesting geological contri- 

 bution is Nansen's collection of Juras- 

 sic fossils in Northern Franz Josef 

 land. 



In spite of the poverty of the Arctic 

 Sea, and Nansens short journey on 

 land, naturalists will await with impa- 

 tience the detailed account of the re- 

 sults of the expedition. These will no 

 doubt be found to repay the magnificent 

 patience and courage of Dr. Nansen 

 and his colleagues. His march with 

 Johansen must certainly be reckoned 

 as one of the most daring feats in the 

 annals of Arctic travel; but its courage 

 was far exceeded by the reckless hard- 

 ihood with which, instead of returning 

 to the "Fram" fas the explorers could 

 no doubt have done had they arranged 

 to do SO! they set off for Spitzbergen, 



a journey of ten times the length. 

 Such a feat was only possible to men 

 skillful with kayak and ski, who knew 

 how to live on the feeble resources of 

 an Arctic island. For daring and 

 neatness of execution, the Nansen ex- 

 pedition is probably unri\'alled in Arc- 

 tic liistory, while, to find a parallel for 

 the extent of new area traversed and 

 richness in results, we have to go back 

 to the days of Franklin and Parry." 



Gems of Quartz Origin. 



By George F. Kunz. 



Rock crystal is the purest form of 

 quartz, transparent, colorless, and ex- 

 hibits most perfectly the properties of 

 the mineral. It is widely distributed, 

 but is brought chiefly from Brazil, 

 Madagascar, Japan, and North Caro 

 lina. It is wrought, especially by the 

 Japanese, into polished crystal balls 

 and other articles of elegant ornament. 

 The Romans made much use of it to 

 incise their intaglios, and it has been 

 worked into vases and caskets from 

 the time of Nero to the present, but 

 especially during the fifteenth and six- 

 teenth centuries. Remarkable crystal 

 objects are to be seen in the Louvre, 

 the Green Vaults of Dresden, the 

 Schatz-kammer at Vienna, and at 

 Madrid. 



Spheres of rock crystal were used as 

 show stones and for devination from 

 the thirteenth to the eighteenth cen- 

 turies. The engraving and cutting of 

 some of these was so elaborate as to 

 cost years of work and thousands of 

 dollars. Spheres have been cut up to 

 eight inches in diameter, and valued 

 at from $1000 to $20,000. Nearly 

 the latter price was paid by the late 

 Gov. Ames, for the magnificent crys- 

 tal ball bequeated to the Boston Fine 

 Arts Museum. This ball measures 185 

 mm., or /{ inches. It was found in 

 1876. The crystal from which it was 

 cut was 18 inches high, 14^ inches 

 wide, and 12 inches thick. It was 

 found on the Ortake-muko-Yuma, 

 province of Kohi, Japan, originally the 



