December i6, 1897] 



NATURE 



163 



\ 



square kilometre. If, however, we take account, as we are bound 

 to do, of the difference of direction, treating those which flow 

 upwards as positive and those which flow down as negative, 

 the result would show that the mean current in tiie United 

 Kingdom is about five-thousandths of an ampere per squire 

 kilometre. Of course, if we deal with considerable but smaller 

 areas, the precise value obtained depends upon the district 

 chosen, but this does not affect the conclusion to any important 

 extent. Thus, for the reason I have already given, it is prob- 

 able that our knowledge of the magnetic state of the central 

 districts is better than our information as to the borders, and if 

 we confine ourselves to the centre of the kingdom, we find that 

 the average current is downwards in both cases, and that in 

 1886 it was apparently a little larger, and in 1891 a little less 

 than one-hundredth of an ampere per square kilometre. 



Even these concordant conclusions are rendered more doubt- 

 ful if the two completely independent sets of results obtained 

 by means of the two surveys for 1886 to 1891, respectively, are 

 reduced to the same date. It is true that the magnitudes of the 

 calculated currents are larger than those shown in the map 

 given above, but on the whole they are so opposed in direction 

 that the comparison compels us to reject the hypothesis of their 

 physical reality. 



I therefore feel justified in asserting that no evidence that can 

 be relied upon points to the existence of any flow of electric 

 currents through the surface of the British Isles, whether from 

 below to above or from above to below. The quantities are so 

 minute that if they existed they could barely be measured, and 

 the results are too discordant to command assent. 



Since the survey of the United Kingdom was completed, my 

 friend Dr. Van Rijckevorsel has made a minute magnetic survey 

 of Holland. In the case of so small a district it is more difficult 

 to eliminate the effects of local disturbances than when the area 

 to be dealt with is larger, and thus I doubt whether conclusions 

 as to the flow of electrical currents drawn from Holland alone 

 could be regarded as trustworthy. Taking them, however, for 

 what they are worth, they indicate an upward current of about 

 one-tenth of an ampere per square kilometre for that country. 

 All these quantities are less than the currents which Dr. 

 Schmidt's calculations demand. In the neighbourhood of the 

 United Kingdom the flow should, according to his calculations, 

 be upwards and the magnitude about fifteen-hundredths of an 

 ampere per square kilometre. This is approached by the 

 flow in Holland, but is from ten to : wenty times greater 

 than the average obtained over large areas in the United 

 Kingdom. 



So far, then, the question as to whether such currents really 

 exist appears to be doubtful. The calculations of Schmidt and 

 Bauer lead to the conclusion that when the world as a whole 

 is investigated the answer is affirmative, but all the more 

 accurate investigations which have hitherto been made in small 

 areas combine to prove either that the currents do not exist, or 

 that they are less than Dr. Schmidt's theory demands. This 

 fact, taken by itself, is not conclusive, as Sweden, the United 

 Kingdom, and Holland are all in the west of Europe, and it 

 might well be that this happened to be a district in which the 

 currents were exceptionally small ; but, on the other hand, 

 the doubt thus raised is formidable. Dr. von Bezold has 

 recently stated to the Berlin Academy that Dr. Schmidt himself 

 must now be added to the list of doubters ; and von Bezold 

 confirms this caution by figures which lead him to the conclusion 

 that in all probability the results obtained from calculations which 

 embrace the whole globe are due rather to the want of accuracy 

 of our knowledge than of the physical reality of currents from 

 earth to air. I should myself be sorry to pronounce a final 

 opinion, but I must confess that I seriously doubt whether the 

 horizontal magnetic force has been determined with adequate 

 accuracy at a sufficient number of places in the vast regions 

 which are covered with the sea to enable us to draw any final 

 conclusion from areas which include them, and I certainly con- 

 sider that the balance of evidence is at present opposed to the 

 physical reality of the currents. Before we can accept the 

 opposite proposition some evidence must be produced based on 

 surveys as complete as those of England and Holland. Before 

 long we shall probably have full information as to France and 

 Maryland, and it is possible that one or other of these may 

 furnish positive evidence sufficient to outweigh the negative 

 results which have hitherto been obtained. 



{To be continued.) 

 NO. 1468, VOL. 57] 



A PROPOSED SWEDISH EXPEDITION TO 



THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 

 A VEAR since, Dr. A. G. Nathorst, of Stockholm, read a 

 paper before the Swedish Society for Anthropology and 

 Geology, entitled " Aterblick pd Polarforskningens narvarende 

 Stallning samt Forslag till en Svensk Polarexpedition " {a re- 

 view of the present position of Polar investigation, with a 

 project for a Swedish ^Polar expedition), which has since been 

 published in Ymer (Argdng 1896, Heft 4, pp. 267-286*, the 

 journal of the Society. At the time of reading the paper, 

 there seemed but little probability of a near realisation of the 

 projected scheme ; but, during the present year, the King 

 of Sweden and certain wealthy merchants of Stockholm and 

 Gothenburg have generously come forward and provided the 

 funds necessary for carrying it out, and Dr. Nathorst, who will 

 act as the scientific leader of the expedition, is now engaged in 

 preparations for a start next year (1898). 



As the result of Nansen's voyage. Dr. Nathorst thinks that 

 there is but little probability of the discovery of fresh land areas 

 in the vicinity of the Pole, and that the aim of future expeditions 

 to the Arctic regions should be a thorough scientific investiga- 

 tion of those lands, of which at present but little is known 

 beyond the fact of their existence. Under this head may be 

 mentioned the west coast of Ellesmere Land and Grinnell Land 

 and the neighbouring islands ; also the shores of Jones Sound, 

 in Arctic America. Further, large tracts of the north-eastern 

 and north-western coasts of Greenland remain to be examined, 

 in spite of the admirable work of the Danish, Austrian, and 

 other exploring expeditions. But it is with Spitsbergen and 

 the region east of it that previous Polar explorations on the part 

 of Sweden have been most closely connected ; and though no 

 fewer than twelve different Swedish expeditions, led by such 

 men as Torell, Nordenskiold, Nathorst, de Geer, and others, 

 have visited this region since 1858, and that it has been the 

 field of work for expeditions from other countries as well, the 

 most recent being that under Sir Martin Conway in 1896, it 

 yet offers, in Nathorst's opinion, a rich harvest for scientific 

 investigation. 



The west coast of Spitsbergen is now fairly well known, but 

 owing to the ice coming from the east and blockading the eastern 

 coasts of the island, nothing has as as yet been ascertained of 

 their geological structure. The same obstacle has also prevented 

 observations on Stans Foreland (Edge Island), Barentz Land, 

 North Fast Land, Kung Karls Land, and Ny Island ; but it is 

 probable, that given favourable conditions of the ice, a steam 

 vessel would be able to approach sufficiently near these islands 

 to allow of their geology at least to be made out. The explora- 

 tion of these lands between Spitsbergen and Franz Josef 

 Land is the main object of the expedition ; but should this be 

 frustrated by the prevalence of the ice, the research work would 

 be carried on in Spitsbergen itself, and more particularly a study 

 would be made of the raised shell-banks and terraces, evidencing 

 a comparatively recent elevation of the land, and of the remark- 

 able quaternary deposits which show that the climate of the 

 island, for a certain interval after the Ice age, was warmer than 

 at the present time. Promising botanical results might be 

 also expected from an examination of the valleys extending from 

 the heads of the fiords, as, for example, those in Sassen Bay, 

 Kol Bay, and Van Mijens Bay. 



A stout vessel of from 350 to 400 tons, and a crew of thirteen 

 men, would, in Nathorst's opinion, be most suitable for the 

 undertaking ; and the scientific staff would consist of a geologist, 

 a botanist, two zoologists, one hydrographer and meteorologist, 

 and one for cartography and photography. It is not intended to 

 over-winter in the Arctic regions, but the vessel would be 

 provisioned for a year, in case of accidents. The estimated cost 

 of the expedition is about 4000/. It is proposed to reach Spits- 

 bergen in the beginning of June, and work thereuntil the middle 

 of August, when it is hoped the ice will allow Kung Karls Land 

 and the other islands near it to be examined, 



THE USE OF KITES IN WEATHER 

 PREDICTION. 

 T'HE systematic exploration of the upper air by means of 

 ■*• kites is referred to by Prof. Cleveland Abbe in the Monthly 

 Weai/ier Jxevitw, at the end of a long article upon the experi- 

 ments made previous to 1893. It is pointed out that at 

 that time the Malay kite and the free balloon were merely 



