May 30, 1889] 



NATURE 



103 



•either stage by taking up two only of the subjects." This has 

 been so for some years past, and there have always been Jive 

 •questions in each subject. As the maximum number of questions 

 a candidate may attempt is eight, this gave a choice in each 

 subject of four questions out of five. But thi^ year, without any 

 previous notice, the number of questions in each subject is 

 reduced \.o four, so that a student who only take^; up two of the 

 subjects has absolutely no choice. He may be well prepared, 

 yet if he happen to have overlooked one of the points dealt 

 with in the questions, his chance of a first class is seriously 

 diminished. 



In making this unlooked-for change, the Department practic- 

 ally takes away with one hand what it gives with the other. 



Secondly, in the advanced paper, the second question in 

 Sound runs thus : "If a string 24 inches long weighs half an 

 ounce, and is stretched with a weight of 81 pounds find its rate 

 of vibration when bowed or struck." 



Now this is a problem not on comparative measurements, which 

 are fairly within the grasp of an advanced student, but on abso- 

 lute measuremen's. To solve this question requires a knowledge 

 not merely of the principles of sound, but also of theoretical 

 mechanics and of numerous mathematical details, besides con- 

 siderable dexterity in manipulating units, which is about the 

 most perplexing thing a student ever encounters, and has hitherto 

 never been called for except in the honours stage. 



To set such a question as one oi four, and offer no choice, is 

 in effect to condemn the students at the outset, and must have a 

 most depressing effect upon the classes in future years. At any 

 rate, if the Department intended to introduce absolute measure- 

 ments into the advanced stage, it is only fair that they should 

 have i^iven notice. 



Thirdly, the last question in Heat (advanced) asks the student 

 to " sketch an apparatus for determining the coefficient of 

 expansion of a gas at constant volume." Perhaps the examiners 

 will kindly inform us how a gas can expand, its volume at the 

 ■same time remaining constant. I'ossibly the word " expansion " 

 is a misprint for "increase of elasticity," in which case Balfour 

 Stewart's apparatus should be sketched ; or, possibly the word 

 '* volume " is a misprint for " pressure," in which case Gay- 

 Lussac's apparatus is required ; or, possibly there is an in- 

 tentional confusion of phraseology in order to perplex the 

 candidates. 



Misprints occur in one or more papers nearly every year. 

 Last year there was an error in Mathematics, S'.age 3, when 

 a certain equation was printed with the figure 4 instead of 

 I, thus causing candidates to waste time and become flurried, 

 and here again we have the same kind of thing. 



A Science Tkacher of Seve.x Years' Standing. 

 May 21. 



DR. HANSEN'S JOURNEY ACROSS GREEN- 

 LAND. 



"pROM a communication sent us by Dr. Nansen, we are 

 -*■ able to give some details of the remarkable journey 

 across Greenland which he accomplished last summer. 

 We need only briefly recall the most important attempts 

 which had previously been made to cross a country which 

 is exactly in the condition of our own islands during the 

 Glacial period. The first serious attempt was made in 

 1878 by Jensen and Steenstrup, who, from the west coast 

 in lat. 62° 30' N., managed to get some 40 miles into the 

 interior, after many difficulties and dangers, ascending a 

 mountain to a height of 5000 feet, from which they saw 

 the inland ice rising gradually towards the interior. Then 

 came the famous expedition of Baron Nordenskiold in 

 1883. He, with a comparatively large party, started much 

 further north than the previous expedition, a short distance 

 south of Disco Island. The party succeeded in pene- 

 trating some 90 miles eastwards, to an altitude of 

 5000 feet. The Laplanders, however, who accompanied 

 Nordenskiold went in their snow-shoes 140 miles further, 

 travelling over a continual snow desert to a height of 

 7000 feet. The next serious attempt was made by an 

 American, Mr. R. E. Peary, in the summer of 1886. Mr. 

 Peary started much further to the north than Norden- 

 skiold, and his course was due east. He reached 100 miles 



from the edge of the ice-blink, or inland ice, his highest 

 elevation being 7525 feet. 



Dr. Nansen felt sure that the only way to cross the ice 

 was by means of ski (a special kind of long snow-shoe) 

 and sledges. He had many applications to be allowed tc 

 accompany him ; but he selected only five companions — a 

 lieutenant in the army, a shipmaster, a Norwegian peasant, 

 and two Lapps. The expenses of the expedition were gener- 

 ously supplied by Mr. Augustin Gamel, of Copenhagen. 

 The party left Christiania early in May 1888 for Iceland, 

 whence they embarked on board a sealer for the east 

 coast of Greenland. Dr. Nansen's own account of his 

 attempts to land is of interest as showing the condition of 

 the-ice and the currents off the East Greenland coast : — 



" On June 4 we left Iceland in \.\\q Jason for Greenland. 

 My hope was that early in June we should be able to 

 reach the coast in the neighbourhood of Cap Dan, in 

 latitude about 65° 30' N. ; but I was disappointed, as large 

 masses of ice stopped us at a distance of 50 miles from the 

 coast. At last, on July 17, we approached the land at the 

 Termilik Fjord, west of Cap Dan, and I determined to 

 leave the ship. In our two boats we had to force our way 

 about ten miles through the ice. The current was, how- 

 ever, very strong, the ice-floes were thrown and pressed 

 against each other, and during such a pressure of the ice 

 one of our boats was broken. We were then very 

 near to the coast, but the boat could not float, and 

 some hours passed before the leak could be restored. 

 In the meantime, the ice was very much pressed, and 

 we went adrift, the speed with which the current carried 

 us off from the coast being ntuch greater than that with 

 which we could advance on the ice. At the great rate of 

 about 28 miles each twenty-four hours we were driven 

 southwards along the coast. We tried to reach land three 

 times, but by a rapid current we were again carried 

 towards the sea. 



" At last, on July 29, we succeeded, and reached land at 

 Anoritok, 61" 30 N. lat. Originally, I had thought to land 

 at Inigsalik, in 65^ 30' N. lat. We had consequently come 

 240 miles too far southwards. Our destination was 

 Christianshaab, in Disco Bay, to reach which we should be 

 obliged to go in our boats northwards, to cross the con- 

 tinent at a more northerly latitude. To get northwards 

 was not, however, very easy. Masses of Polar ice were 

 pressed towards the land, and very often the axe alone 

 could break a way through the tightly pressed ice-floes." 



Two parties of heathen Eskimo were met with, who 

 were at first rather distrustful of the strangers, as they had 

 scarcely ever before seen Europeans. 



On August 10 (more than a month behind time) the 

 party reached Umiavik, 64"^ 30' N., whence the start was to 

 be made across the inland ice. Dr. Nansen and Captain 

 Sverdrup the next day made an excursion to examine the 

 glacier. They got ten miles from the coast, and reached 

 a height of 3000 feet. On August 15 a start was made, 

 there being five sledges to pull, one loaded with 400 

 pounds, pulled by Dr. Nansen and Captain Sverdrup. 

 Two days later they were stopped by a heavy gale which 

 kept them in their tents for three days. At first the 

 intense heat compelled them to travel only at night. 

 Dr. Nansen goes on to say : — 



" At some distance from the coast the snow became, 

 however, very deep and bad for pulling. We were also 

 met by a heavy gale from the north with snow-drift, so 

 that we could advance only very slowly. I hoped that 

 it would soon become better, but each day it became 

 worse. It was only too clear that if it continued in 

 this way we would not be able to reach Disco Bay 

 till the middle of September, when the last ship left 

 for Europe. Though I expected to find more difficult 

 ice in this direction, I changed our route and turned 

 towards Godthaab. That was on August 27. We had 

 then reached about 64" 50' N., about 40 miles from the 

 coast, and a height of about 7000 feet. By this change 



