April i8, 1901] 



NATURE 



591 



not found to pay commercially, although peat charcoal is 

 well adapted for working and tempering iron for the 

 finer kinds of cutlery. The Irish Peat Company erected 

 extensive plant for drying and distilling the peat and 

 producing tar, illuminating oil and paraffin. At these 

 works, one ton of peat yielded lo gallons of tar, or 

 28 lbs. of illuminating oil and i lb. of paraffin. 



One of the last volumes of the Encyclopedie Scien- 

 tifique, published in Paris,^ is devoted to a treatise on 

 peat and peat bogs. It describes the conditions under 

 which peat was originally formed, the plants of which 

 it is composed, the chemical analysis of its constituents, 

 the principal bogs in Europe, the age of peat as deduced 

 from the remains of animals, flint implements and tools 

 found buried in it, the methods of obtaining and pre- 

 paring peat for commercial purposes, the uses to which 

 it is applied and its calorific value and antiseptic qualities. 



W. H.~ Wheeler. 



THE BRITISH AND GERMAN ANTARCTIC 

 SHIPS. 



THE two great Antarctic expeditions have made a 

 stride towards completeness by the launch at 

 Dundee and Kiel of the exploring ships Discovery and 

 Gauss, both vessels built, at great expense, specially for 

 service in the Antarctic ice. No complete official an- 

 nouncement of the organisation and programme of either 

 expedition has yet been made. However, the two ships 

 are afloat, and appear to be the finest vessels for ice- 

 navigation ever constructed, not even excepting the 

 Fram, which of course was planned for drifting with 

 the ice-floes, not for sailing through them. 



The following table compares the chief dimensions of 

 the two vessels, so far as we have been able to ascertain 

 them : — 



Discovery. Gauss. 



Length over all ... ... (feet) ... — i68 



., at water line ... ,, .. 172 — 



., between perpendiculars ,, ... — 151 



Extreme Breadth ... ... ,, ... 34 35 



Probable displacement fully loaded (tons) 1750 1450 



Horse-power ... ... ... ... 450 300-500 



Rig .. ... .. ... ... ... Barque Barquentine 



Complement all told (souls) ... ... 46 28 



It is stated the name of Gauss was given to the German 

 vessel by the Emperor to emphasise the scientific character 

 of her mission by associating it with the memory of the 

 great authority on terrestrial magnetism. 



The German vessel, although a little smaller than the 

 Discovery, is intended to carry so much smaller a crew 

 that she will probably prove to be no more crowded with 

 her stores and equipment. Both vessels are strongly 

 built of oak and sheathed in greenheart. The Discovery, 

 like the Fram, has her frames in contact throughout her 

 whole length, and the joints caulked so that even if all 

 her triple skin of planking were stripped from her the 

 vessel would still be watertight and seaworthy. She is 

 of whaler pattern to the extent that her sides are not 

 pierced by any openings, the only daylight for the cabins 

 coming from deck-lights ; but the cabins, though dark and 

 uninviting at the launch, are exceptionally roomy and 

 well-planned, and when lighted by the electric light will 

 be extremely comfortable. The Gauss is also to be fur- 

 nished with the vital necessity of electric light, a boon 

 that none but polar voyagers can fully appreciate, and she 

 is, in addition, to have the luxury of steam-pipes for 

 heating purposes throughout the whole inhabited part of 

 the ship ; the Discovery will probably be heated by 

 stoves. 



Both vessels are provided with wells and gear for 



1 "La Tourbe et Les Tourbiires, par Alb LarbaUtrier. Encyclopedie 

 cientifique des Aide Memoire.' (Paris: Masson et Cie.) 



hoisting out both rudder and propeller, and a spare 

 rudder will be carried which can be shipped securely and 

 speedily if the original steering gear should be seriously 

 damaged. The bows of both ships are heavily plated 

 with steel to enable them to cut through or break com- 

 paratively thin ice ; but the form of the stem is different. 

 Both have a great sheer, so that the vessel would tend ta 

 ride up on any floating ice she encountered and break it 

 with her weight, but the stem of the British ship is a 

 straight line forming an obtuse angle with the keel, while 

 that of the German vessel is a convex curve. The sterns 

 also differ, that of the British vessel having a much longer 

 overhanging counter than the Gauss, so that her length 

 over all is probably from 1 5 to 20 feet greater. 



The details of laboratory accommodation can be more 

 profitably described when the space is finally apportioned 

 and the equipment in place ; but the magnetic observa- 

 tory on the Discovery has been very carefully planned sa 

 that it shall be more than 30 feet from any iron or steel 

 — even the bolts and nails in its vicinity are all of brass. 



The living rooms in both vessels are amidships, the 

 stokehold and engine-room being placed right aft, while 

 the whole lower hold is utilised as a great coal-bunker 

 along the length of the ship. The Discovery is rigged as 

 a barque ; the rig of the Gauss is officially described as 

 that of a "three masted schooner," but her published 

 sail-plan shows the foremast completely square-rigged, 

 the main and mizzen having only fore-and-aft sails, so 

 that she is better called a barquentine. We believe that 

 this rig, rendered necessary probably on account of the 

 small crew carried, is not a usual one for polar ships. 

 Machinery and masts are now being rapidly put in place, 

 and the Discovery may be expected in the Thames to 

 take her stores on board about the end of May or early ir» 

 June. 



MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL 

 ASSOCIATION OF ACADEMIES. 



THE business of the Paris meeting of the International 

 Association of Academies was commenced on 

 Tuesday morning, when the delegates assembled at the 

 Institute. The delegates were received, on Saturday, by 

 the president ; and the French Government, as well as 

 the Municipal Authorities, have combined with the In- 

 stitute to make the meeting a success by facilitating all 

 the arrangements and providing lavish entertainment. 

 By this official action, the dignity and importance of the 

 meeting are declared, and the delegates are made to feel 

 that they are welcome visitors. 



Tuesday's meeting was devoted to preparatory business, 

 and M. Darboux gave an address on the objects and 

 work of the Association. The financial position was con- 

 sidered, and suggested additions and alterations of the 

 rules were discussed. A committee was appointed to 

 consider a scheme for the mutual loan of manuscripts. 

 In the evening, the president .of the Institute, Count de 

 Franqueville, gave a reception to the delegates and their 

 families at his residence, the Chateau de la Muette, 

 Yesterday the arrangements included a visit to the 

 Chateau of Chantilly, bequeathed to the Institute by the 

 Due d'Aumale. This afternoon there will be a reception 

 by M. Emile Faguet at the French Academy, and in the 

 evening a dinner will be given by the Institute. On 

 Saturday afternoon a visit will be made to the National 

 Library, under the direction of M. Leopold Delisle, and 

 on Saturday evening the Municipal Council will give 

 a dinner to the delegates and members of the Institute. 

 The dinner will be followed by a reception and concert, 

 to which the families of the guests are invited. On 

 Sunday a special piece will be represented at the 

 Comedie-Frangaise in honour of the delegates. 



From this programme it will be seen that the serious 



NO. 1642, VOL. 63] 



