316 NOTES AND COMMENTS [NOVEMBER 
Beeren Ejiland. 
THE Swedish Arctic Expedition of 1898, under the leadership of Prof. 
A. G. Nathorst, spent a week on Beeren Eiland, mapped it on a scale 
of 1: 50,000, and made numerous observations on its natural history. 
Chief among these were the geological researches which proved a 
prehistoric local glaciation, and by means of fossils showed the presence 
of rocks of three systems: Silurian, Middle Carboniferous, and Trias, 
previously unknown on the island. ‘These discoveries led to another 
expedition to Beeren Eiland during the past summer. The expenses 
were borne by the Vega Stipend of the Swedish Geographical Society, 
the Lars Hierta Memorial Fund, and various private individuals. The 
leader was the geologist, J. Gunnar Andersson of Upsala, who had 
accompanied Prof. Nathorst; the other scientific members were C. A. 
Forsberg, cartographer and meteorologist, and G. Swenander, zoologist 
and botanist. The expedition stayed on Beeren Eiland from June 
25 to August 19, and accomplished the following work :— 
The whole island was mapped in greater detail, and a special map, 
on a scale of 1:5000, was made of Rysshamn, where the expedition 
had its headquarters. 
From June 25 to August 16 complete meteorological observa- 
tions were taken twice a day, as well as continuous observations by a 
self-registering barometer and thermometer. Eight series of observa- 
tions were made on the tides, each series extending over from 8 to 51 
hours, during which time the height of the water at intervals of half 
an hour was marked off on a section. 
The botanist collected all the phanerogams previously found on the 
island as well as Koenigia islandica, hitherto unrecorded. Exhaustive 
collections were also made of the lower plants, including the algae of 
red and green snow. To investigate the influence on plant-growth of 
the continuous light of an Arctic summer, three series of cultivation 
experiments were carried out as follows :—First, in five places of 
nearly the same longitude, but at a distance of about 3 or 4 degrees of 
latitude from one another—namely, Svalof in Scania, Ultuna near 
Upsala, Luleé, Troms6, and Beeren Eiland —barley taken from the 
same sample was grown in soil from the same place. Only the 
climatic conditions, and especially those of light, were different in the 
different stations ; thus there were completely dark nights in Scania, 
complete light the whole 24 hours on Beeren Eiland, with intermediate 
conditions at the intervening places. The material from the Scandi- 
navian stations has not yet been brought in, so that the results of this 
interesting experiment are still awaited. Secondly, on open land at 
the Beeren Eiland station there were cultivated two precisely similar 
series of Arctic plants, of which one series stood in continual light, 
while the other was kept in complete darkness each night (8 P.M. to 
