SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 707 



form, of journey only that of following the land, a singularly blind limi- 

 tation, considered in the light of the little that was positively known of 

 such land extension as the expedition had counted upon, and one that is 

 disagreeably emphasized by the lavish expenditure of money that had been 

 put to the expedition, and the personal confidence that had in some quar- 

 ters been expressed in its success. Without wishing in any way to dis- 

 parage or minimize the importance of Mr. Jackson's work, or to under- 

 estimate the hardships of any form of arctic exploration, one can not but 

 feel surprised and in a measure disappointed that an expedition designed 

 primarily for an advance upon the pole, which passed the better part of 

 three years beyond the eightieth parallel of latitude, and whose members 

 during this time did not know a single day of sickness an almost unpre- 

 cedented performance in arctic methods should have found itself in a 

 condition unable even to make an effort upon the " open." The recollec- 

 tion of Parry's performance in the frozen sea north of Spitzbergen in 

 1827, of Markham's advance in 1876, and of Peary's "treck" across the 

 north of Greenland in 1892, emphasizes only more deeply this feeling of 

 disappointment. 



Mr. Jackson has made a very careful study of Franz-Josef Land, and 

 has brought that region into a condition of knowledge similar to that 

 which the different Peary expeditions have brought to the north of Green- 

 land. His narrative is simple and direct, virtually a transcript of note- 

 book and diary, without embellishment of any kind, and with a statement 

 of facts and conditions such as they appeared almost at the instant of 

 time of their occurrence. While indisputably impressing a truthfulness 

 and reality, it can not be said that this method adds to the readableness 

 of the book, which is overburdened with repetitions, frequently in iden- 

 tical words and sentences, to a useless and, one is tempted to say, most 

 distressing extent. It is to be regretted that an explorer of the marked 

 energy, routine, and persistence which are Mr. Jackson's qualities should 

 have faltered in what by some travelers has been considered the most ardu- 

 ous part of their task the proper preparation of a report for surely it 

 can not be conceived that a good purpose was subserved, either in a popu- 

 lar or scientific aspect, in the publication of wholly unimportant matter, 

 over and over repeated, merely because it formed part of an official diary. 

 The work is abundantly illustrated throughout with half-tone reproduc- 

 tions from photographs, taken by Jackson and his companions, that give 

 a vivid reality to the journey which no amount of word-painting, even 

 when so skillfully handled as by the present author, could prove a substi- 

 tute for. Scientists will be gratified to know that supplemental reports, 

 prepared by specialists in different departments, may be expected before 

 long to fill out the full scientific aspects of the exploration. 



On one point in connection with Mr. Jackson's discoveries the geog- 

 rapher, not less than the lay public, has the right to break straws with 

 the author that is, the method of naming the new points of land, water, 

 and ice. Zoologists and botanists have long been guilty of an absurd 

 levity in the discharge of their obligations as namers of new species, and 

 have burdened the vocabulary of animal and vegetable names with thou- 

 sands of personalia which in no way called for perpetuation, and many of 

 which were suggested only by way of ridicule or jest. So long, however, 

 as these were dressed in Latin or Greek form and remained merely the 

 possession of the scientific world there was little to complain of, and even 

 the objections of the extreme sentimentalists might have been met by an 



