476 ANNUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1908. 



Fishes, on the other hand, abound in great numbers and many spe- 

 cies are edible. The same may be said of molkisks, principally among 

 which is a variety of Patelles on which the sea gulls feed. The crus- 

 taceans are represented in the main by a small shrimp of the genus 

 Euphausias, on which the seals, " crab-eaters," and penguins feed. 



Genera of inferior rank are numerous and the specimens brought 

 back, as well as local studies, have augmented natural history by more 

 than one chapter, and cleared more than one mooted point in paleon- 

 tology. Knowledge in microbiology should also be greatly enhanced, 

 as is demonstrated by the first observations of Doctor Charcot on 

 south polar materials. 



CONCLUSION. 



These are the discoveries in Antarctica made by the scientific expe- 

 ditions in the last five or six years. The necessity for further re- 

 search in this region has been shown, and the directions this research 

 should pursue. In the meantime plans for future studies are in hand. 



The knowledge gained by the various recent expeditions and the 

 experience and results of his first voyage have guided Doctor Charcot 

 in selecting the locality for his work and in preparing a complete 

 plan of studies, to which the Academy of Sciences has given its 

 hearty approval. Two English vessels, commanded by Captains 

 Scott and Schackleton, are again bound for the vicinity of Victoria 

 Land and Ross Sea. Mr. Bruce is about to visit the Weddell Sea, on 

 the Scotia, for the third time. Finally, M. Arctowski, formerly one 

 of the ship's officers of the Belgica, is to attempt a circumpolar ex- 

 ploration, in accordance with the programme adopted by the Brussel 

 congress. M. Charcot has therefore chosen the great region to the 

 southwest of West Antarctide, between 00° and 140° W. of Paris. 

 It is below Alexander I Land and Peter I Land, on this side of the 

 southern ice bank, barely approached by Bellingshausen and by 

 Wilkes, that will probably be richest in discoveries. After exploring 

 the fossiliferous beds of Mount Bransfield and of Seymour Island, 

 where specimens will be gathered, which will be stored at Ushuaia or 

 at Port Charcot, the expedition will try to establish a connection be- 

 tween Loubet Land and Edward VII Land. It is planned to spend 

 at least one winter on land, and journeys over the ice will be made as 

 often and as far as possible, not for the glory of long distances trav- 

 eled, but to inspect a large area of ice." A commission of the Acad- 

 emy of Sciences decided on February 4 to grant M. Charcot its unlim- 



<^ Doctor Charcot: Programme de I'Expedition frangaise au Pole-Siul, a 

 pamphlet of 12 pp., 1908. The chief of the expedition intends to supply pro- 

 visions by means of a tender. He has closely studied methods for the explora- 

 tion of the distant ice fields, and will try heavy automobile sledges, which will 

 perhaps be useful for nearing the pole. 



