562 



NA TURE 



[April 16, 1908 



arctica, and that accordingly the view suggested by 

 Reiter that the mountains of South Victoria Land 

 were the continuation of the mountain chain of New 

 Zealand might require modification. Tiie geological 

 results issued in this volume show that, as expected, 

 South Victoria Land is a high plateau broken off to 

 the east by the subsidences which have formed the 

 Ross Sea. Moreover, the suspected 'affinities between 

 Victoria Land and New Zealand have been greatly 

 strengthened by the discovery of the kenyte series of 

 Ross Island ; and the predictions in Nature (vol. 

 Ixiii., p 610) that " the palseontological results may 

 be meagre " has proved only too true. Reiter 's 

 theory, however, requires one modification. The 

 earlier descriptions of Victoria Land asserted the j 

 volcanic nature of the mountains on the plateau of I 

 South Victoria Land (as, e.g., is the case in Mexico 



rocks of the Pacific type, and subsidences those of the 

 Atlantic type, is no real explanation ; and though the 

 coincidence is certainly widespread, it does not appear 

 to be universal. The chemical character of the vol- 

 canic rocks can only be used as a test of the tectonic 

 stiucture of coasts with important limitations; and 

 the coastal types may still be regarded as based 

 essentially on geographical structure, and not on the 

 chemical composition of their lavas. 



J. W. Gregory. 



NAVIGATION OF THE AIR.'^ 

 'T'HE author of this work at the outset states that 

 •*• he has no intention of writing a technical text- 

 book, and his treatment of the subject, which em- 

 braces aerial navigation generallv, is distinctlv of a 



!. — Uplift of morainic material in the i 



t the foot of Knob Head. National An 



and parts of the Andes), whereas the volcanoes, at 

 least in the area reached by the expedition, were 

 limited to the foundered area in front of the plateau, 

 as is the case in eastern Asia. Accordingly the struc- 

 ture of South Victoria Land may be of the inner or 

 secondary Pacific type, and any remains of an outer 

 or primary Pacific coast connecting New Zealand and 

 Graham Land may be expected further to the east. 

 The evidence is not yet sufficient for a final opinion, 

 and an alternative interpretation, in deference to the 

 petrographic evidence, is to regard the coast of South 

 Victoria Land as of the Atlantic type; but there does 

 not seem any clear reason why the distribution of 

 volcanic rocks of different chemical types should be 

 controlled by the nature of the crustal movements. 

 The suggestion that fold moveinents produce volcanic 

 \C. 2CO7, '-"OI.. 77] 



popular kind. Portions of the work, for example, those 

 relating to ballooning and balloon photography, are 

 dealt with in great detail, and show an intimate 

 practical acquaintance with the subject ; the section 

 also relating to carrier pigeons, both in connection 

 with ballooning and otherwise, is a welcome addition 

 to the literature of the homing pigeon. On the other 

 hand, some portions of the work are scarcely satis- 

 factory, even from the popular standpoint, the chapter 

 devoted to frying machines, for example, being a col- 

 lection of scraps of information strung together with- 

 out any definite scheme ; on the face of it, this chapter 

 is intended to be arranged in historical order, but 



' "Airships Past .-ind Present, together with Chapters on the Use of 

 Balloons in Connection with Meteorology, Photography, and the Carrier 

 Pigeon," By A. Hildebrandt. Translated by W. H. Story. Pp. xvi + 364. 

 (London : A. Constable and Co., Ltd., 190S,) Price 10s. 6d. net. 



