August 13, 1908] 



NA TURE 



345 



of the Musee Guimet. According lo Herodotus, it 

 was Necho II. who caused certain Phoenicians to 

 undertake this journey, which histed three years. 

 Tlie successors ot Herodotus denied tliat Africa was 

 surrounded by water, and the world remained ignor- 

 ant of the truth of the case until the time of Vasco 

 da Gama. 



M. Moret described liow lie found a scarab in- 

 scribed with hieroglyphics amongst the objects left 

 by the will of the late M. Burian, the Egyptologist, to 

 the Musee Guimet. The inscription relates the return 

 of the navigator Pa-du-Neit to Bubastis. This 

 account is corroborated and completed by an inscrip- 

 tion on another scarab in Brussels; this latter scarab 

 also originally belonged to Burian 's collection. The 

 second inscription states that the explorer took one 

 year and seven months to reach the Cape (of Good 

 Hope?), that the entire journey lasted four years, 

 and that Necho caused the details of the voyage to 

 be engraved on a stele in the temple at Bubastis. 



In the discussion which followed the reading of 

 this paper, M. Naville expressed his belief in the 

 authenticity of the scarabs. Prof. Oberhummer, how- 

 ever, pointed out the necessity of caution in accepting 

 evidence of this character, and threw some doubts 

 on the genuineness of the scarabs. The net result 

 is that the layman is left very much where he was 

 before, and it would appear that even if the scarabs 

 be accepted as genuine, the accounts are too vague 

 to indicate any high degree of probability that the 

 supposed circumnavigation was accomplished at that 

 early date. 



Early in the proceedings of the congress a dis- 

 cussion was originated by M. Lecointe, director of 

 the Royal Observatory of Belgium, on the subject 

 of the organisation of an International Polar Institute. 

 It appears that such an institute was founded at 

 Uccle in 1907 by private enterprise, that it is 

 strongly supported by the Belgian Government, 

 and that it is intended eventually to instal the offices 

 and library of the institute in Brussels. 



.At present the institute docs not, perhaps, deserve 

 the appellation " International." Its staff is essen- 

 tially Belgian. It should be mentioned, however, that 

 the scheme has the support of the Duke of the 

 .\bru22i, of Captain Cagni, and of Mr. Nordenskjold. 



The intentions and objects of the Institute, as set 

 forth in the prospectus circulated at the Congress, 

 are : — (i) the formation of a special library, (2) the 

 collection of maps and photographs, (3) the compila- 

 tion of a bibliography, (4) the organisation of an 

 encyclopaedia, (5) the publication of an International 

 Polar Review, and (6) the formation of a museum. 



Now, although such an establishment would be 

 instructive, and would, no doubt, have an educational 

 value, it is extremely doubtful whether it would, in 

 the present state of knowledge, be of any real prac- 

 tical service in assisting the work of polar explora- 

 tion. For- instance, would an intending British ex- 

 plorer study at the Brussels Institute when there is 

 so much more first-hand information available in 

 London? Is the existing information which we 

 possess about the polar regions so voluminous as to 

 require special and formidable apparatus of the char- 

 acter above described? These considerations pre- 

 vented the British delegates from supporting the 

 scheme, although they did not actively oppose it. 

 Its ultimate failure or success will largely depend 

 on the attitude of the principal geographical societies. 



.\t the second general sitting of the congress. Prof. 

 Penck read a report on the state of advancement of 

 the general map of the world on the scale of 

 1 : 1,000,000. This scale was recommended by the 

 London congress of 1S95. Series of maps on this 



NO. 2024, VOL. 78] 



scale have been published by the British War Office, 

 by the French Service Geographique de T.-Xmi^e, and 

 by the German Landesaufnalime. The United 

 States Geological Survey is about lo publish maps 

 on the same scale, and General Schokalsky an- 

 nounced that the Russian geographical service was 

 .ibout to do the same. 



.\ very practical proposition was made by Prof. 

 Davis on behalf of Mr. Gannett, of the United States 

 Geological Survey, that a committee should be ap- 

 pointed to recommend a uniform system of symbols 

 and conventional signs. This proposal was warmly 

 supported by the British delegates, who made the 

 additional proposal that each Government or map- 

 producing office should be asked to supplv within 

 twelve months specimens of maps on this scale to 

 form a basis for discussion. 



A temporary committee composed of one representa- 

 tive each of Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, 

 and the United .States was appointed. The committee 

 met without delay, and drew up a series of resolutions 

 defining generally the character, symbols, and con- 

 ventional signs of the map in question. These re- 

 solutions were printed and submitted to a general 

 meeting of the congress, and were approved. They 

 will now be brought to the notice of the various 

 Governments concerned, and it is hoped that these 

 Governments will appoint an official international 

 committee to draw up detailed rules. 



.As was to have been expected, a good deal of time 

 was devoted to the discussion of the history, structure, 

 and action of glaciers. Prof. Penck gave an address 

 on the climate of the .Alps in the Glacial period. He 

 pointed out that although the glaciers descended to 

 a low level, there was in the centre of the .Alps a 

 region entirely free from ice. The extension of the 

 glaciers may be considered as due to a diminution 

 of temperature of a few degrees only. M. Chodat 

 supported Prof. Penck's theories from the botanist's 

 point of view. 



Prof. Brunhes dealt with glacial erosion. He de- 

 scribed the difference between glacial valleys of a 

 U form with a stepped longitudinal section, and those 

 of the V form of regular longitudinal slope. 



M. Raoul Gautier directed attenrion to the corre- 

 spondence between the oscillations of glaciers during 

 the nineteenth century and temperature observations 

 at the St. Bernard. Several speakers pointed out the 

 importance of the erosive action of the glacial 

 streams. M. Jacob described the glacial research 

 carried out in Dauphine under the direction and at 

 the cost of the Ministry of Agriculture ; and there 

 were many other communications on the same 

 subject. 



Glacial literature and discussion appear to be grow- 

 ing at a somewhat alarming rate. A summary, in 

 English, by a competent writer, of modern investiga- 

 tions and theories would be useful. 



There is no space here to describe, even in outline, 

 the discussions in the borderlands known as his- 

 torical geography, biological geography, and ethno- 

 graphic geographv. .As regards meteorology, few of 

 the communications had any strictly geographical 

 bearing, and the greater number were more suited 

 for discussion at a meteorological congress. 



The arrangements of the congress were satisfactory 

 as regards the halls and lecture-rooms, which were 

 lent bv the Universitv, to which body the delegates 

 owe their thanks. But in one important respect the 

 organisation was defective. No summaries of papers 

 were published in advance, and it was difficult to dis- 

 cover in advance anything about the character 

 of the communications. It is much to be hoped 

 that at the next congress, which will be held in 



