February 12, 1920] 



NATURE 



635 



civil aviation. Sir F. H. Sykes spoke upon the great ' 

 advantages to be gained by the establishment of a 

 complete system of aerial routes linking up the wide- 

 spread portions of the Empire, with Egypt as the 

 " Clapham Junction " of the India, Australia, and 

 Cape routes. The last route was discussed at some 

 length, and an account given of the work which has 

 been done in establishing a chain of aerodromes from 

 Cairo to Cape Town. The great usefulness of the 

 aeroplane as a means of reaching outlying places near 

 the route which have at present no rapid means of 

 conveyance was commented upon. 



The main outline of the lecture is summed up as 

 follows : — 



"It is not enough to believe — as I firmly do — that 

 aerial transport being right is bound eventually to 

 succeed. The seasoned tree can stand alone ; the 

 shooting sapling must be stayed. Some of the 

 requirements of aviation on an Imperial basis are : — 



"(i) The maintenance of a highly efficient fighting 

 force. 



" (2) The expansion of commercial aviation to pro- 

 mote British trade and to supplement the fighting 

 force when necessary by a reserve of personnel and 

 material, knowledge and experience. 



" (3) The co-ordination and co-operation of aerial 

 communication throughout the Empire, and its rela- 

 tions to other countries. 



" (4) The organisation of routes, aerodromes, ground 

 communication, and meteorological services on an 

 Imperial basis. 



"(5) The energetic promotion of research and 

 the encouragement of design. 



"(6) Monev to assist the institution of experimental 

 mail services. 



" (7) The encouragement of land survey, forest 

 patrol, and other work in which aircraft can be 

 utilised. 



"This vear will, I hope, go down to history as 

 marking the birth of a sound, virile, and truly 

 Imperial air policy." 



As a practical commentary on the lecture comes the 

 projected Times flight by a Vickers' " Vimy " aero- 

 plane from Cairo to the Cape, referred to last week, 

 over the route described by Sir F. H. Sykes. The 

 machine left Cairo at 9.45 a.m. on February 6, and 

 reached Khartum on February 8, leaving there 

 on February 10. Should the flight along the 

 African continent prove a success, the feat will 

 \ye the third great triumph for this type of 

 aeroplane, the present machine being practically 

 identical with those which accomplished the .\tlantic 

 and Australian flights. The crew consists of two 

 pilots, one mechanic, and a rigger, while the well- 

 known zoologist. Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell, is pas- 

 senger and scientific observer. The object of the 

 flight is primarily to determine the possibilities of the 

 new route, but it is also to be regarded as the first 

 attempt at exploration from the air, as much of the 

 rountrv to be crossed is at present unsurveyed. The 

 result of this experiment will be awaited with interest. 

 If success is achieved, a new proof of the commercial 

 possibilities of the aeroplane will have been estab- 

 lished — a proof that should convince the most 

 sceptical. 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPITSBERGEN.i^ 

 T N view of the increased public interest in Spits- 

 * bergen on account of the revival of mining- 

 activity and the recent political settlement, Dr. 

 R. N. Rudmose Brown's new book upon the 



1 "Spitsbergen: An Account of Exploration, Hunting, the Minera 

 Riches and Future Potentialities of an Arctic Archipelago." By Dr. R. N. 

 Rudmose Brown. Pp. 319. (London: Seeley, Service, and Co., Ltd., 

 1920.) Price 25J. net. 



NO. 2624, VOL. 104] 



country is particularly opportune. It is further 

 welcome because it provides the only modern work 

 in English dealing with Spitsbergen in its general 

 aspects; for Sir Martin Conway's "No Man's 

 Land " is an historical volume, narrating the dis- 

 covery and the early history of whaling and hunt- 

 ing in the archipelago and the adjacent seas. The 

 only other recent general works are those of 

 Holmsen in the Norwegian, and of Cholnoky, 

 curiously enough, in the Magyar language. 



Whatever its mining possibilities are (and scep- 

 ticism has recently arisen), the situation of Spits- 

 bergen as the most easily accessible polar land, 

 along with its wonderful climate, will inevitably 

 lead to its becoming a favourite European play- 

 ground. In summer, Spitsbergen has a climate, 

 especially in its central and western regions, which 

 is a good deal more tolerable than the average 

 British spring ; and, apart from the drawback of 

 polar darkness, its winter climate is said to com- 

 pare quite well with that of Canada. It has glori- 

 ous mountain, fiord, and glacier scenery, and the 

 study of its spectacular physical features and 

 natural history will afford exhaustless attractions 

 for scientific travellers. 



Dr. Rudmose Brown's book first deals pleas- 

 antly with the discovery, physical features, climate, 

 and natural history of the Spitsbergen Archi- 

 pelago, the geology, however, being deferred to 

 the chapter describing its mineral wealth. The 

 succeeding chapters trace the history, exploration, 

 and economic development of the country. Spits- 

 bergen history may be divided naturally in order 

 of time into the whaling, hunting, exploratory, 

 and economic periods. The whaling industry has 

 been extinct for a century or more. Hunting and 

 trapping have recently revived, after a period of 

 exhaustion, in response to the high prices now 

 obtainable for furs. Dr. Brown records and de- 

 plores the unfair and ultimately disastrous poison- 

 ing methods practised by some Norwegian hunted. 

 The Norwegian Government, it is hoped, may now 

 be able to deal adequately with this and other 

 crying abuses. 



The mining development of Spitsbergen dates 

 from 1904, although coal and other minerals had 

 been found much earlier. The only large-scale 

 mining has been in the excellent Tertiary coal of 

 Advent Bay, which was opened up by an American 

 company, but is now carried on by Norwegians. 

 In 1912 40,000 tons were raised, but in 1919 it 

 is believed that this total will have been more than 

 doubled. While British companies claim areas 

 more than three times as large as those of all 

 other nationalities combined, the war unfortunately 

 stopped their development schemes, ard it was 

 only in 191 8 and 1919 that they wi-^ able to 

 resume their activities and send up prospecting / 

 expeditions. 



Besides coal, iron ore of good quality is said 

 to occur ; gypsum is certainly present in enormous 

 amount ; and traces of copper, gold, molybdenum, 

 lead, and asbestos have been found. Oil and oil- 

 shales are possibilities. Nevertheless, Norwegian 

 geologists, who for the last ten years have carried 



