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NATURE 



March 17, 1 88 1 



permanent observing stations all round the Arctic region. 

 Preparations are now being actively made to begin this 

 woric next year, and before that time we trust our own 

 Government will have seen it to be its duty to join the 

 international scheme. If the Geographical Society really 

 wishes to advance scientific geography, let it use its influ- 

 ence to promote this end'; surely it has a higher conception 

 of o-eography than that it consists of mere topography. 



Leaving the purpose of Capt. Markham's book out of 

 account, it is very pleasant reading. He did not break 

 up any new ground, but he is a good observer, and has 

 been able to make some fresh additions to what is already 

 known of Novaya Zemlya and the neighbouring seas. 

 He accompanied Sir H. Gore Booth in the Norwegian 

 cutter, the Tshjoni, from May to September, 1879. 

 They sailed along most of the west coast of Novaya 

 Zemlya, passed through Matotschkin Schar into the 

 Kara Sea, and sailed down the east coast some distance ; 

 afterwards pushing northwards they reached to within 2° 

 of Franz-Josef Land, which was all but touched by the 

 Willem Barents, with which the Isbjorn had forgathered 

 in the Schar. Sir H. Gore Booth's object was sport, and 

 very good sport he had, both on the sea, the ice, and 

 Novaya Zemlya. Capt. Markham made some useful 

 observations on the movements of the ice, and brought 

 home valuable collections in zoology, geology, and 

 botany, which have been examined and arranged by a 

 number of specialists, and printed as an appendix to 

 Capt. Markham's narrative. He is really skilful in the 

 use of his pen, and the story of his cruise is quite 

 delightful reading. Sir Joseph Hooker's account of the 

 plants of the little expedition in the appendix is specially 

 interesting. " Comparing, then," he says, " the Floras of 

 the three high Arctic meridians of Novaya Zemlya, lat. 

 7o°-77°, long. E. 60° ; Spitzbergen, lat. 76i°-8o|°, long. E. 

 20° ; West Greenland and Smith's Sound, &c., lat. 7l°-82°, 

 long. W. 6o°-76', we find that they present great differ- 

 ences, Greenland being the most remarkable — I. From 

 the number of species of European t)'pes it contains 

 which there reach so very high a parallel ; 2. From 

 differing more in its flora from Spitzbergen and Novaya 

 Zemlya than these do from one another ; and, 3. From 

 the absence of Arctic Legimiinpscr, Calflia, and various 

 other plants that extend elsewhere around the Arctic 

 circle. These facts favour the conclusion which I have 

 expressed in the Appendix to Sir G. Nares's narrative 

 (ii. 307), that the distribution of plants in the Arctic 

 regions has been meridional, and that their subsequent 

 spread eastward and westward has not been sufficient to 

 obliterate the evidence of this prior direction of migration. 

 To this conclusion I would now add, that whereas there 

 is no difficulty in assuming that Novaya Zemlya and the 

 American Polar islands have been peopled with plants by 

 migration from the south, no such assumption will explain 

 the European character of the Greenland, and especially 

 the high northern Greenland vegetation, the main features 

 of which favour the supposition that it retains many plants 

 which arrived from Europe by a route that crossed the 

 Polar area itself, when that area was under geographical 

 and climatal conditions which no longer obtain." 



There are several very good and apparently new illus- 

 trations of scenery in Novaya Zemlya, evidently from 

 photographs, and two useful maps. 



OUR BOOK SHELF 



Cotttributions to tlie Agriailtural Chemistry of yapan. 



By Prof. E. Kinch. {Trans. Asiatic Soc. of Japan, 



1880.) 

 This interesting and valuable paper opens with an 

 historical survey of the question :" Is the soil of Japan 

 generally fertile ?" The observations of former travellers 

 and the evidence of recent investigators are used in 

 order to show how far the productiveness of Japanese 

 soils is due to x\M\ira.\/erti/tty, and how far to artificial 

 condition, using these terms in the agricultural senses 

 usually attached to them in England. Prof. Kinch has 

 collected some analyses of Japanese rocks made by 

 various authorities, and has supplemented them by 

 analyses of nine soils. The results, so far as nitrogen 

 and immediately available phosphoric acid and potash 

 are concerned, do not point to any high degree of natural 

 fertility. Passing from the soil-question to that of manures, 

 he gives analyses of fossil shells and of various vegetable 

 ashes employed for enriching the land. An examination 

 of crude nitre yielded $6'^ per cent, of pure potassium 

 nitrate. The Japanese use certain leguminous plants 

 for green manuring ; they also employ as manure the 

 cakes of oil-seeds, malt dust from rice, millet, and barley, 

 the residues from the manufacture of rice-beer and soy, 

 and the "cleanings" of rice-grain. Analyses of these 

 materials have been made by Mr. Kinch. A waste pro- 

 duct obtained in the manufacture of indigo was found to 

 contain about 3 per cent, of potash, 575 per cent, of 

 phosphorus pentoxide, and nitrogen equal to 170 per 

 cent, of ammonia. 



After a few remarks on fish manures and the composi- 

 tion of the sweepings from barbers' shops, Mr. Kinch 

 turns to the subject of Japanese foods. The " glutinous " 

 rice was found to differ from common rice mainly by con- 

 taining less gluten — only 5' i percent, instead of 6"i — both 

 figures being extremely low for a main article of diet. In 

 this particular three kinds of Japanese millet gave more 

 favourable figures, about 12 being the average percentage 

 of gluten or flesh-formers. 



Mr. Kinch has examined the soy bean and its chief 

 products with care. A white round variety of this legu- 

 minous seed gave no less than 21 per cent, of fat and 

 nearly 38 per cent, of albuminoids or flesh-formers. The 

 seeds of Phascolus radiatiis contained about h per cent, 

 of fat and iS per cent, of albuminoids. The gigantic 

 radish of Japan much resembles the common turnip in 

 composition, and contains 95 per cent, of moisture. The 

 analyses of seaweeds eaten in Japan are numerous, and 

 furnish some interesting facts concerning an important 

 source of food greatly neglected in Europe. A few details 

 concerning the waters of Japan and certain matters 

 relating to the silk industry conclude a paper which, 

 though it is of necessity unsystematic and imperfect, yet 

 contains a large amount of condensed and useful informa- 

 tion about the chemico-agricultural subjects which the 

 author discusses. A. H. C. 



Experimental Chemistry for Junior Students. By J. 



Emerson Reynolds, M.D., F.R.S. Part I. Introductory. 



Pp. 142. (London : Longmans, Green, and Co., 1881.) 

 The aim and the plan of this little book clearly mark it 

 out among the numerous small treatises on practical 

 chemistry which flow in such a steady stream from the 

 press. I'he aim is to teach a beginner in chemistry the 

 leading principles of the science by a graduated course 

 of experiments which he is himself to perform ; the plan 

 is to begin with the fundamental differences between 

 chemical and mechanical action, and to lead the experi- 

 mentaHst on to the laws of definite proportion, and of 

 general chemical action. Quantitative experiments are 

 introduced at an early part of the course ; those chosen 

 seem to be well suited for the fulfilment of the author's 



