1818.] Scientific Intelligence. 149 



Fourcroy and he had noticed in their experiments upon the mil 

 of the carp, that a large quantity of phosphoric acid was produced 

 by combustion. It is upon the whole more probable that this 

 phosphoric acid was generated by the union of oxygen with a 

 portion of the phosphorus which was contained in the substance 

 of the eggs, than that it was produced merely by the decompo- 

 sition of any phosphoric salts. 



XIII. Notice of the Chevalier Giescke's Travels in Greenland.* 



M. Giescke spent five winters in Greenland, the first at Godt^ 

 Laub (Good Hope) in the latitude of 65° ; the three next in the 

 island of Disko, in the latitude of 70° ; and the last at Omenak, 

 at 73°. The most severe cold which he experienced was about 

 — 39° Fahrenheit, that at which mercury freezes, and the greatest 

 heat about 86° Fahrenheit. The whole country is traversed by 

 an immense mass of ice, divided by deep fissures, that completely 

 cuts off all communication from one part to the other ; the thick- 

 ness of the ice is in many parts more than 100 fathoms. The 

 trees consist merely of a few small and stunted specimens of the 

 dwarf birch and some species of willows ; the only plants that 

 are employed for food are the Rhodiola rosea, the roots of the 

 Polygonum viviparum, the flowers and leaves of the Saxifraga 

 oppositifolia, the Oxalis, the Angelica, and the Cochlearia; there 

 are also the berries of the Empetrum nigrum, and the Vacci- 

 nium, which are the only fruits that are found in Greenland. 



The Greenlanders seem to belong to the Mongol race ; 

 their stature is small, and they seldom arrive at a greater age 

 than 50 years ; the women are nearly as tall and as robust as 

 the men, and join with them in all their labours and exercises. 

 Their habitations are all situated near the coast, as the climate 

 is there less severe, and it is more convenient for fishing, which 

 is their principal occupation ; they are generally placed in the 

 recesses of the rocks, and are supported by them ; they are 

 constructed of large masses of micaceous schistus, the crevices 

 of which are filled with peat, and are lined with moss. Each 

 hut is about 1 5 feet square, and is occupied by about 20 indivi- 

 duals, who lie in it promiscuously. The apertures for the pur- 

 pose of admitting light are closed with the intestines of the seal 

 instead of glass ; and the entrance into the huts is a long and 

 narrow passage which just admits a man to creep in. They are 

 heated and lighted by a lamp, which is suspended in the middle 

 of the chamber, and over this they cook the flesh of the seal, 

 which in the winter is their principal food. The houses are 

 almost totally without any description of furniture, and are filthy 

 to a degree which can scarcely be conceived ; all access of 

 Fresh air is carefully excluded, and the heat and stench is abso- 

 lutely insupportable, except to those who have been inured to 



* Abridged from P/ibliotbequo Universelle, vii. 1*33. (Feb. 1818.) 



