January 3, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



13 



future is bringing us — a united, harmoni- 

 ous body of trained men, whose endeavor 

 is to carry forward the banner of science, 

 not for pei-sonal advantage, but for the 

 glory of the science to which we have 

 dedicated our lives. 



Charles E. Bessey 



BECENT EXPLOBATIONS IN SIBERIA 



According to recent information received 

 from the American Consul at Vladivostok 

 (transmitted to the Dept. of State, Sept. 10, 

 1912), and from other sources the following 

 scientific exploration has been carried on dur- 

 ing the current year in the Russian far east: 



An important work was carried on in Siberia by 

 the Russian Geological expeditions sent out to 

 look for new gold deposits. The Russian Mining 

 Department had expeditions in the Bargusin dis- 

 trict on the Zeia River, in Minusinsk and in 

 Kamchatka. The Russian Mineralogical Society 

 was studying Lake Ingel in the Achinsk district. 

 The Russian Geological Society has also begun an 

 extensive study of the Kalbin Mountains in the 

 TJst-Kamennogorsk district on the left bank of 

 the river Irtish, where three independent parties 

 are working at present. A Russian Gold Mining 

 Company is studying the river Kolba, for which 

 purpose three professors of the Tomsk University 

 have been engaged. The Russian Geological So- 

 ciety has also sent out an expedition to study the 

 country on the river Yenisei from Krasnoyarsk 

 down to Dixon Island, situated in the Arctic Sea 

 about two miles from the mouth of the Yenisei 

 River. The purposes of this expedition are the 

 study of the magnetism of the earth, and the 

 definition of the astronomical coordinates for the 

 northern sea route. An auxiliary motor schooner 

 has been sent to the village Dudinskoe to serve as 

 a temporary magnetic laboratory. The Yenisei 

 River will also be studied from a botanical point 

 of view, and the fish resources of the river are to 

 be investigated. 



The director of the Irkutsk Laboratory is 

 making magnetic observations on the Lena River 

 down to its ostuary, where the region of the 

 maximum magnetic force is located. The Col- 

 onization Department is making studies of the 

 flora and soil in the Semiretehie, Barabinskaia 

 Steppes in Kainsk and Mariynsk districts and in 

 Akmolinsk Province. 



The Russian Society for the Study of Asia is 

 investigating the unknown ruins on the right bank 

 of the river Obi in the Barnaul district. Bones 

 of animals and birds, stone and bone weapons and 

 articles of bronze and copper have been found, as 

 well as some fragments of pottery with ornaments 

 belonging to an old civilization. 



Dr. A. Hrdlifika, of the United States National 

 Museum, has been engaged in anthropological ex- 

 ploration along the upper Yenisei River, on the 

 Selenga, and in northern Mongolia. 



The Altai is attracting special interest and 

 several well equipped expeditions are working 

 there on various lines. 



Siberia, and especially the Russian Far East, 

 seem to attract a great deal of attention in 

 Europe. The French Department of Education, 

 the Geographical Society and the Museum of 

 Natural and Historical Knowledge have sent 

 Daniel Busson with assistants to Siberia to pre- 

 pare ethnographical, anthropological and natural 

 history collections, as well as to take photographs 

 and moving pictures. From Irkutsk they are to 

 go to the Transbaikal, and from there to Yakutsk 

 by the Lena River and from the river Kolima to 

 Vladivostok. Much interest is manifested in scien- 

 tific circles, as well as by students of economics, 

 in regard to this almost unexplored and unex- 

 ploited country which is so rich in opportunity 

 for the seeker after truth. 



Professor George Mixter, of Boston, has recently 

 concluded a successful scientific expedition and 

 hunting trip in the vicinity of Lake Baikal under 

 the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, Wash- 

 ington. 



A Russian expedition has been sent out from 

 St. Petersburg to examine the coasts of the 

 Okhotsk Sea, the valley of the Anadir River close 

 to Behring Straits, and the Gisehiti and Aldon 

 valleys. The chief of the expedition is Mr. P. I. 

 Polevoi, a learned geologist and mining engineer, 

 who is accompanied by topographers of the army. 



It is further reported that the following expedi- 

 tions have or will also visit Siberia: 



1. An expedition to the Altai Mountains by 

 Professor Lyman and Mr. Hollister for the pur- 

 pose of making a collection of plants and animals 

 for the United States National Museum and Har- 

 vard University. 



2. Dr. Stanislav Hanzlik, professor of Prague 

 University, to make a study of climatical and 

 meteorological conditions of the Russian Far East. 



