REVIEWS 89 



end of the Callovian epoch the sea receded to the southward from 

 Franz Josef Land, while Spitzbergen and Novaja Semlja were partly- 

 submerged. 



The main body of the sedimentary Jura of Cape Flora extends 

 from sea level up to 575 feet. It is fossiliferous in horizons only. 

 The Callovian part of the Jura extends from 37b feet to 575. 



The fossil plants secured by Nansen, also from the region about 

 Cape Flora, were placed in the hands of A. G. Nathorst, and his report 

 upon them constitutes Part III of the volume. These plant remains 

 are all fragmentary and very poorly preserved, so that in most instances 

 no specific identification could be made. Out of the twenty-nine forms 

 recognized, only two are specifically identified with certainty, though 

 seven others are compared with described species. The conclusions 

 reached by Nathorst as to the age of the plant-bearing deposit is that 

 " it was formed toward the close of the Jurassic or commencement of 

 the Cretaceous period, without our being able at present to settle 

 which." The fossil plants occur in two beds which lie between certain 

 of the seven extrusive basaltic flows. 



The account of the birds is divided into four sections, the first 

 treating of the journey along the north coast of Siberia; the second 

 gives the observations made while the "Fram" was drifting with the 

 ice before Nansen left it; the third gives the observations made during 

 the sledge journey of Nansen and Johansen ; while the fourth gives 

 the observations made on the "Fram" after Nansen left it in March 

 1895. This section of the report is a technical description of the 

 species of birds seen. 



The section on the Crustacea is in much detail and will be of great 

 interest and value to zoologists. The conclusion is reached that the 

 bulk of the pelagic animals found in the North Polar basin were 

 derived from the west through the Atlantic current flowing in beneath 

 the superficial Siberian current. It has also been found that forms 

 which have hitherto been regarded as quite southern in distribution 

 are found in the polar sea. 



The volume also makes some announcement of the contents of 

 future volumes of the report. The second volume is announced to 

 contain "The Astronomical Observations and their Results," "Terres- 

 trial Magnetism," and "Pendulum Observations and their Results." 

 The third volume will deal with "The Oceanography of the North 

 Polar Basin," "Hydrometers and their Errors, especially those caused 



