THE 



AMERICAN 



JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS. 



[SECOND SERIES.] 





Art. XXVII. — Notice of and citations from a Voyage of Dis- 

 covery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions, 

 during the years 1839-43, by Captain Sir James Clark Ross, 

 R. N., Knt., D.C.L. Oxon., F.R.S., etc. ; with plates, maps and 

 wood-cuts. In two volumes, 8vo ; pp. 366 and 447. Lond. 1S47. 



Voyages of discovery are among the most interesting and im- 

 portant of the adventures undertaken by man. They have been 

 prosecuted in all ages since the introduction of the mariner "s com- 

 pass, and have been particularly numerous since the middle of the 

 [ast century. England, France, Russia, and recently the United 

 States, have sent forth exploring squadrons, as well as expeditions 

 by land : their ships have traversed all the great oceans, and have 

 pushed their daring voyages far within the arctic and antarctic cir- 

 cles, amid seas covered with floating icebergs, and in close prox- 

 imity to the eternal barriers that repel any nearer approach to the 

 frozen poles. The expedition under Capt. Wilkes, which cer- 

 tainly ranks among the ablest and most interesting of these un- 

 dertakings, we have had frequent occasion to mention with v rm 

 approbation. It has done honor to our country, and will ever 

 teipain a memorable and illustrious event in its history. 



Passing by other recent voyages, we propose for th pi nt. to 

 confine ourselves to the Antarctic Expedit n of Sir Jam Ross 

 and as this work has not yet been reprinted, we iay notice it 

 somewhat in detail. This voyage arose from th recommen- 

 dation of the eight!) meeting of the British Assoc iaf held at 

 Newcastle in August, 1838. The principal object proposed was 

 the extension of physical science, especially in relation to terrestrial 

 Magnetism, to the importance of which the attention of the Asso- 

 ciation was invited by Lt. Col. Sabine, and it was enforced by 



Second Series, Vol. VII, No. Sir-May, 1849. 





