\ 



415 



in the atmosphere of Grinnel-Land (Floebery Beach, Latitude 

 N. 82° 27'). He apph'ed the Pettenkofer- method which is, 

 according to Teich (Arch. f. Hygiene Bd. 19 pp. 38 — 50), liable 

 to give somewhat high results. It is very improbable however 

 that the errors will exceed 0.005 %. 



1. Dcbr. 10. Wind NNW. Тр. — 14.8° F. 

 Quantity of air analysed 4735 cc. 

 Percentage of CO^ .... 0.0642 



2. Jan. 18. Tp. — 40°F. 

 Quantity of air analysed 9565 cc. 

 Percentage of СО». . ■ ■ 0.0483 



3. Febr. 29. 



Quantity of air analysed 19128 cc. 

 Percentage of CO..,. . . . 0.0536. 



Even if these values must be diminished by 0.005 they are 

 of quite the same order as my own, and though they are 

 obtained from a place 750 miles north of Disko they may per- 

 haps be due to the same local cause. 



I shall not go into the problem of the biological and 

 geological importance of the high percentage of carbonic acid 

 which must certainly be very greats but confine myself to the 

 intricate question of the possible origin of the gas in the air. 



It appears from my determinations that the direction of 

 the wind had a distinct influence upon the carbonic acid. The 

 percentage is generally higher from northern and western winds 

 than from eastern and southern. There is only one serious 

 exception to this rule, viz. the last analysis but two, made at 

 Sioranguak in the Diskofjord, where a percentage of 0.07 was 



') The assimilation of plants is, according to several investigators, directly 

 proportional to the percentage of carbonic acid in the air, and there 

 can be no doubt that the disintegration of the basalt is likewise much 

 facilitated by a high percentage. 



