35o 



NA TURE 



[Fed. 12, 1885 



tion of fish culture appliances showing the process of hatching, 

 the mode of dealing with the fry after losing their umbilical sac, 

 and the best means of artificially feeding them until they have 

 reached that stage in their existence when they are able to pro- 

 vide for themselves. A special building is to be erected for this 

 purpose in proximity to the aquarium, which is now in course 

 of construction. This section of the Exhibition, which will be 

 under the entire direction of the National Fish Culture Associa- 

 tion, promises to he a source of much attraction and interest to 

 the ichthyological world. 



An experiment has lately been tried by the Secretary of the 

 National Fish Culture Association at South Kensington to test 

 the highest temperature endurable by various species of fish. To 

 this end several specimens of the following fish were selected for 

 the trial, viz. the carp, gudgeon, dace, r roach, perch, minnow, 

 golden tench, common tench, trout, and salmon, all of which 

 were deposited in cold water registering 53 s . The temi erature 

 was then gradually increase'! by the infusion of hot water through 



a tube which caused the temperature to rise steadily. N01 1 



the fish, however, exhibited signs of fading vitality until the 

 thermometer recorded 82 11 , when a perch became prostrated ; 

 and shortly afterwards its congeners followed its example in 

 rapid succession in the following order : — Roach, 82|° ; salmon, 

 83° ; minnow, 85 ; gudgeon, S$\" ; dace, S6° ; common tench> 

 88° ; golden tench, 88° ; carp, 91°. 



So as to further test the efficacy of brandy as a fish restorer, 

 about which much has lately been said, each fish on showing 

 signs of exhaustion was removed from the water, dosed with a 

 small quantity of brandy, and replaced in the tanks from whence 

 it was taken. The operation proved highly successful, for on 

 inspection the following day all the objects of the experiment 

 were found swimming about as usual, and thoroughly restored to 

 their normal exuberance, with the exception of the dace, which 

 succumbed to the severe ordeal through which it had pa .el. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Green Monkey {Cercjpith.ee us callilri ins) 

 from West Africa, presented by Mr. F. W. Robinson ; a Royal 

 Python (Python regiu<) from West Africa, presented by Mr. 

 A. II. Berthoud ; a Long-eared Owl (Asia otus), British, pre- 

 I by Mr. R. Farren ; two Kagus (Rhinochetus fubatus) 

 from New Caledonia, purchased. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 

 In a special article communicated to the New York Tribune, 

 Lieut. Greely unfolds his views upon future Arctic exploration. 

 Of the five well known routes to the Pole, he advocates the 

 Franz Josef route as I he only probable one. Lieut. Greely shows 

 by all the experiences of Arctic travellers, from Sir Edward 

 Parry downward-, that continuity of land, with northern trend 

 and western aspi e harbour easy of access, together 



with good ice for sledging operations, are necessary desiderata 

 for Arctic exploration. He maintains that all these conditions 

 are fulfilled in the fifth route — viz. that by Franz Josef Land. 

 "This route," continues Lieut. Greely, "presents unusual 

 chances of success with the minimum of danger. It is more 

 than possible that an English expedition will enter these waters. 

 Chief Engineer Melville, U. S.N. , has in view an expedition by 

 this route, and hi, varied Arctic experiences and indefatigable 

 ark him as a man peculiarly fitted for this work. It is 

 therefore to be hoped that he will be given the desired oppor- 

 tunity. Two ships with about sixty men and officers woul 1 be 

 needed. One vessel should winter in Lira Harbour or some 

 secure point near by, while the second should be pushed 

 as far northward as possible, preferably by Austria and Rawlin- 

 son's Sounds, but, if that is not possible, along the west 

 coast of Franz Josef Land beyond Cape Ludlow. The 

 .-.-els should be provisioned for three years, and the crews 

 should be quartered in temporary houses to be erected on shore. 

 Uigu t and September there, as in Smith Sound, are undoubt- 



edly the most favourable months for ice navigation. In case of 

 a bad year for ice the vessels should rather return, to renew the 

 expedition the year following, than adventure the experiences of 

 the Tegcthoff. After full suggestions and recommendations as 

 to the command and outfit of the expedition, covering every 

 branch of the subject, the writer expresses a doubt whether the 

 United States Government will extend any aid to Arctic explora- 

 tion for years to come, but none the less does he believe in the 

 propriety and certainty of future Arctic work'. In concluding 

 his article Lieut. Greely says : — " The expedition suggested by 

 Lieut. Ray, United States Army, at the meeting of the British 

 Association at Montreal, should receive the attention and sup- 

 port of scientific men. The magnetic pole of Boothia Felix 

 Land, located by Ross in 1831, has probably changed its posi- 

 tion in the past fifty years. Its re-location would be an im- 

 portant contribution to science. With a home station at Repulse 

 Bay or in Wager River, I believe this work could be done with- 

 out great expense or serious danger. The benefits to be derived 

 from such an expedition would not be confined to terrestrial 

 magnetism. As regards ethnology, botany, and natural history, 

 the country around King William Land is substantially a 

 blank." 



An interesting-account of recent Norwegian explorations in 

 the Spitzbergen Seas will be found in yesterday's Times. Seve- 

 ral new island, have been discovered to the east of King Karl or 

 Wiche Land. These exploraiions show that the year 1S84 was 

 a very remarkable ice-year. The west side of Spitzbergen w as 

 blocked by a belt of land-ice the whole summer through, while 

 the east side, which is nearly always blocked with ic, was more I 

 open than it has been for many years. These conditions, there 

 seems little doubt, depend on the prevailing direction of the 

 winds. 



According to the American Naturalist three expeditions 

 have been despatched during the last summer to explore the 

 lake region reported to exist in the north-eastern part of the 

 provinces of Quebec and in Labrador. One went by way of 

 Lake St. John, another by the River Betsiamils, and a third 

 from Newfoundland. The last has orders to land scientific 

 observers at various points upon the coast of Labrador, where 

 they will spend the winter. Little that is definite appears to be 

 as yet known respecting the actual dimensions of Lake Mistas- 

 sini and other bodies of water in this region. A French mis- 

 sionary, writing in 1672, says that this lake is "believed to be 

 so large that it took twenty days to walk around it." Mr. 

 Burgess affirms that it is 150 miles in length, and abounds in 

 deep bogs. An old trader of the " Compagnie de- Postes du 

 Roi, ' who was stationed on it for several years, estimated its 

 least width at ninety miles. The account of 1672 mentions 

 another lake, " ten days' round, and surrounded by lofty moun- 

 tains." These lakes appear to occupy a depression similar to 

 that occupied by Lakes St. John, Temiscaming, and many 

 smaller lakes to the southward, and Silurian limestone has been 

 observed in Lake Mistassini as well as at Lake St. John. The 

 fnmer lake is supp sed to be about 1 300 feet above the sea, 

 and the land between it and Lake St. John to the south is only 

 300 feet above the sea. The plain around it is said to be very 

 lertile, and attention has recently been called to the magnificent 

 forests and fertile soil of the country around Hudson's Bay to 

 the north of it. The explorations now in progress will doubtless 

 open up extensive areas for colonisation, besides adding largely 

 to our geographical knowledge. 



/.a Gazelle Giographique announces the death, in Tonquin, of 

 M. Stocker, who perished recently in an expedition against the 

 Muongs on the Red River. M. Stocker, who was a native of 

 Alsace, travelled for thirty years in the United States, having 

 explored specially the Rocky Mountains and the territory of 

 Alaska. He returned recently from California to France, and 

 was despatched by the Government to investigate the mineral 

 wealth of Tonquin, where he discovered the auriferous deposits 

 ol Myduc. His reports on the subject were not encouraging for 

 the development of mining enterprise there, as he declared that the 

 value of the mines had been greatly exaggerated. He was shot 

 dead during one of the skirmishes in the Muong expedition. 



Sixteen "brigades topographiques " embarked at Marseilles 

 on January 31, fourteen for service in Algeria and two in Tunis. 

 These brigades are under the command of an officer, of an 

 engineer, and of an official of the geographical department of 

 the War ( Iffice in Paris. The whole include seventy-two officers, 

 each accompanied by two soldiers and a native sharpshooter. 



