Arctic Exploration. 295 



another, and to the larger animals (such as whales, seals, &c. 

 towards whose food they so largely contribute), the conditions 

 under which they live, the depths they inhabit, their changes 

 of form, &c, at different seasons of the year and at different 

 stages of their lives ; and, lastly, their distribution according 

 to geographical areas, warm and cold currents, &c, are all 

 subjects of which very little is known. 



With regard to the fish, mollusca, echinodermata, corals, 

 sponges, &c, of the Arctic zones, those of Greenland alone 

 have been explored with anything approaching to satisfactory 

 results. A knowledge of their habits and habitats is much 

 desiderated, as are good specimens for our inuseunis. More 

 important still would be anatomical and physiological investi- 

 gations, and observations on those animals under their natural 

 conditions. 



With regard to the migrations of birds, Professor Xewton, 

 of Cambridge, has drawn attention to some interesting points 

 connected with the examination of the unknown area. 



The shores of the British Islands, and of many other 

 countries in the northern hemisphere, are annually, for a 

 longer or shorter period, frequented by a countless multitude 

 of birds, which, there is every reason to believe, resort in 

 summer to very high northern latitudes, for purposes the most 

 important ; and, since they continue the practice year after 

 year, they must find the migration conducive to their advan- 

 tage. There must be some water which is not always frozen ; 

 secondly, there must be some land on which they may set 

 their feet ; and thirdly, there must be plenty of food, supplied 

 either by the water or by the land, or by both, for their 

 nourishment and that of their progeny. 1 



1 Professor Newton has furnished a short account of the move- 

 ments of one species of birds — the knot— Tringa canutus of orni- 

 thologists. The knot is something halfway between a snipe and a 

 plover. Examples of it are commonly to be seen in the cage at the 



