XU INTRODUCTION. 



of the valuable meteorological and magnetic observa- 

 tions of himself and Captains Foster and Crozier, 

 there is a very interesting Zoological Appendix by 

 Captain Sir James C. Ross, and an equally valuable 

 Botanical Appendix by Sir William Hooker. Of 

 mammalia, 9 species are recorded ; and the numbers 

 of the other orders are as follows : birds, 21 ; fishes, 

 4; insects, 1; radiata, 5; Crustacea, 14; and mol- 

 lusca, 2. Of the plants, 40 belong to the phsenoga- 

 mous division ; while 50 are recorded which belong 

 to the cryptogamic section of plants. 



In the appendix too, is given by the late Professor 

 Jameson, an enumeration of the rocks of Spitzbergen 

 and the neighbouring islands. From this we learn, 

 among other interesting mineralogical facts, that 

 some mould from " Hecla Cove ", a place where the 

 soil is good and covered with a tolerably abundant 

 vegetation, contains 70 per cent, of silica ; the other 

 ingredients being water, 12 per cent. ; carbonate of 

 lime, 8 per cent. ; carbonate of iron, 3 per cent. ; and 

 a slight portion of vegetable debris. Ross's Islet, the 

 most northern known land on the globe, seems to be 

 a primitive rock, the specimens of it brought consist- 

 ing of grey and reddish granite-gneiss with imbedded 

 precious garnets. So that of all the gems, the precious 

 garnet seems to have the widest geographical range. 



In a letter to Sir John Barrow, published in " Voy- 

 ages of Discovery and Research within the Arctic 

 Regions from the year 1818 to the present time" 

 (1846), Sir Edward Parry observes : " It is evident that 

 the causes of failure in our former attempt in the year 

 1827 were principally two ; first and chiefly, the broken, 



