August 15, 1878] 



NATURE 



425 



secretaries, with the "half-fifth" rank. The sons of officers 

 of the " half -second " rank become under-assistants, with 

 "full-sixth" rank. The sons of officers of the third rank 

 obtain the honorary degree of bachelor of arts, carrying the 

 seventh rank. The sons of deceased officers of lower grades 

 inherit no rank. 



The thirty-ninth anniversary meeting of the Royal Botanic 

 Society was held in the Gardens, Regent's Park, on Saturday, 

 Mr. James Hey wood, F. R.S., in the chair. The annual reports 

 of the council, auditors, and secretary were read. From these 

 reports it appears that the affairs of the society are in a satis- 

 factory state ; the receipts in each of the several items had 

 exceeded those of 1877, the balance being some 600I. better. 

 The number of new Fellows elected was 112. Four hundred 

 and eighty-one free students' orders for terms of two to six 

 months each had been issued, including sixty-three to artists. 

 The number of cut specimens given to students, professors, and 

 teachers at the several medical and other schools was 63,414 — 

 an increase of 2o,oco over last year, and 40,000 more than in 

 1871. The usual exchange of plants and seeds has been main- 

 tained with vigour ; valuable contributions to the Society's col- 

 lections were received from correspondents, including the Botanic 

 Gardens of South Australia, Mauritius, Dublin, &c., and also 

 from the Royal Gardens, Kew. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include two European Lynx (Felis lynx) from Norway, 

 presented by Major Chadwick; a Hobby {Hypotriorchis sub- 

 buteo), British Isles, presented by Mr. Howel Scratton ; a Solitary 

 Thrush [Montkola cyatiea), European, presented by Mr. \V. 

 Verner ; a Common Marmoset {Hapale jaccJms), a Weeper 

 Capuchin {Cebus capuctnus), three Bluish Finches (Spervwphila 

 carulescens) from Brazil, a Coati [Nasua nasica), a Common 

 Boa {Boa constrictor), a Common Teguexin {Teius ieguexin) 

 from South America, a Red and Blue Macaw {Ara macao) from 

 Central America, deposited ; a Black-footed Penguin {Sphe- 

 niscus demersus) from South Africa, two Common Kingfishers 

 {Alcedo ispida), British Isles, purchased; a Wapiti Deer (Cervus 

 canadensis), born in the Gardens ; a Black-crested Cardinal 

 {Gubernatrix cristatella), two Talpacoti Ground Doves {Cha?nce- 

 pelia talpacoti), bred in the Gardens. 



THE NORWEGIAN NORTH ATLANTIC 

 EXPEDITION 



THE Expedition left Hammerfest on July 13 on its 

 trip westwards. The depths sounded on the follow- 

 ing days were not great, the greatest being 1,440 fathoms 

 in 72° 16' N. lat. and 8° 9' E. long. On the 17th, late in 

 the evening, we unexpectedly met the ice of the Green- 

 land Arctic current, in 73° 10' N. lat. and 3° 22' W. long., 

 and were obliged to turn eastwards and northwards. Our 

 next cross section commenced in 75° 16' N. lat. and o°54' 

 W. long., and went along the 75th parallel to a point 

 north-east of Bear Island. On the Avesternmost point 

 we had a depth of 1,985 fathoms, but later only smaller 

 depths. The bank west of Bear Island lies much more 

 easterly and nearer this island than shown in the charts, 

 there being a depth of 1,100 fathoms in the place where 

 the French Expedition with La Recherche in 1839 gives 

 259 fathoms. The weather was in the beginning favour- 

 able, but under the ice we had strong northerly winds 

 with a temperature of 2° C. and a heavy swell from the 

 south-east. Having passed the meridian of Bear Island 

 the temperature of the water fell to o'2° C. on the Spitz- 

 bergen Bank. From our last sounding and dredging 

 station north-east of Bear Island we sailed down to the 

 east side of the island and stopped outside the south-east 

 side, but the heavy wind and sea did not allow us to go 

 on shore. With the glass we saw distinctly the Russian 



hut and its environs, but were not able to see our flag, 

 which we had planted by the Dutch port, nor any column 

 or cairn which could show us that the Dutchmen had 

 been there. At 10 p.m. on July 23 we made sail for 

 Norway, and with a fair but rather heavy gale and storm 

 the Voringen went on, heavily rolling, till we, twenty-four 

 hours afterwards, made the Norwegian coast in thick 

 rainy weather. At 4 a.m. on the 24th we dropped our 

 anchor in Hammerfest. 



Our soundings show that there is a sort of ridge 1,200- 

 1,300 fathoms deep, between Bear Island and Jan Mayen. 

 The trawl has brought up from the ice-cold water in these 

 depths many rare and several new fishes, particularly of 

 the genus Lycodes. A good many other new animals 

 have been secured by our zoologists. The line of 0° C. 

 lies in our last two cross-sections still at a depth of 500 

 fathoms. In the eastern part of our sea, the boundary 

 line of the polar current, where 0° is to be found is less 

 than 30 fathoms, and the surface water is less than 5°, 

 lies in lat. 72^° N., long. 6° E., and in lat. 75° N., long. 

 7|^° E. North and east of Bear Island the ice-cold 

 Spitzbergen current runs southward over a very shallow 

 bottom, the depths being only some 20 fathoms. The 

 border of the Greenland Arctic current shows the same 

 phenomenon as that observed in our northern fjords, viz., 

 a minimum of temperature in, say, 40 fathoms depth, a 

 second maximum about o^ C. in, say, 100 fathoms, and 

 the absolute minimum of — i *4° at the sea bottom. 



We are now fitting out for our last trip, to the sea west 

 of Spitzbergen, and expect to be ready to sail on the 30th. 



At this moment we have news from the Dutch expedi- 

 tion, whose commander has left a letter, sent us from 

 Vardo. He tells us that they made Jan Mayen on the 

 east side but were not able to land in the heavy sea. 

 From Jan Mayen they proceeded along the edge of the ice 

 to Hackluyt's Headland, North Spitzbergen, which they 

 reached on June 19. North of Spitzbergen they spent 

 some fourteen days, and went as far east as to the 

 Verlegin Hook. Thence they sailed southwards, called 

 at Kobbe Bay, and found our mail at Bear Island, but 

 were obliged to leave that place in a hurry, the wind 

 being rather strong. Their letters home have probably 

 been taken by a Norwegian fisherman off Vardo. Prof. 

 Nordenskjold passed the North Cape some days ago. 



Hammerfest, July 27 H. Mohn 



THE ECLIPSE OF THE SUN 



ON another page we print an article, just received from 

 Mr. Lockyer, on the recent eclipse, which, from its 

 title and date, it will be seen was written before the event. 

 The following telegrams from the New York Tribic7ie of 

 July 31 will perhaps enable our readers, in the meantime, 

 to form a more complete idea of the results achieved. 



A telegram to the Tribune from Lebanon, Mo., 

 July 30, states that the Fort Worth party of ob- 

 servers, consisting of L. Waldo and R. W. Willson, 

 of Harvard University, Prof. J. K. Ries and W. H. 

 Pulsifer, of St. Louis, and Mr. F. E. Seagrave, of Pro- 

 vidence, R. I., had fine weather for their observations, 

 and met with general success. The four contacts were 

 observed both with and without spectroscopes. The 

 reversion of the spectral lines at totality, and the corona 

 and its spectrum were studied, and five photographs, two 

 of them polariscopic, were secured during totality. A 

 number of sketches by local observers, for extent and 

 form of corona, were made. The observers stationed by 

 this party at McKinney, Allen, Cleburne, Waco and 

 Dallas, were also generally successful in observing the 

 duration of totality. 



The following official telegrams were received at the 

 U.S. Naval Observatory from the Naval Professors who 

 were in charge of parties sent out to observe the eclipse : — 



