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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol VII. No. 167. 



lections and observations of the greatest 

 interest to all naturalists and physiologists ; 

 and without such information it was im- 

 possible to discuss with success the present 

 distribution of organisms over the surface 

 of the globe, or to form a true conception 

 of the antecedent conditions by which that 

 distribution had been brought about. 

 There were many directions, Dr. Murray 

 concluded, in which an Antarctic expedi- 

 tion would carry out important observa- 

 tions besides those to which he had alluded. 

 From the purely exploratory point of view 

 much might be urged in favor of an Ant- 

 arctic expedition at an early date. For the 

 further progress of scientific geography it 

 was essential to have a more exact knowl- 

 edge of the topography of the Antarctic 

 regions. This would enable a more just 

 conception of the volume relations of land 

 and sea to be formed, and in connection 

 with pendulum observations some hints as 

 to the density of the sub-oceanic crust 

 might be obtained. -In case what he had 

 said might possibly have created the im- 

 pression that we really knew a great deal 

 about the Antarctic regions, it was neces- 

 sary to re-state that all the general 

 conclusions which he had indicated were 

 largely hypothetical, and he again urged 

 the necessity for a wider and moi'e solid 

 base for generalizations. The results of a 

 successful Antarctic expedition would 

 mark a great advance in the philosophy 

 — apart from the mere facts — of terrestrial 

 science. " No thinking person doubts," 

 Dr. Murray concluded, " that the Ant- 

 arctic will be explored. The only ques- 

 tions are — when, and by whom ? I should 

 like to see the work undertaken at once, 

 and by the British navy. I should like to 

 see a sum of £150,000 inserted in the esti- 

 mates for the purpose. The government 

 may have sufficient grounds for declining 

 to send forth such an expedition at the 

 present time, but that is no reason why the 



scientific men of the country should not 

 urge that the exploration of the Antarctic 

 would lead to important additions to knowl- 

 edge, and that, in the interests of science 

 among English-speaking people the United 

 Kingdom should take not only a large but 

 a leading part in any such exploration." 



The Duke of Argyll, who was not pres- 

 ent, but had sent a note on the subject, re- 

 ferred to the generally accepted glacial- 

 period theory, with which he disagreed, and 

 pointed out that the Antarctic continent 

 was unquestionably the region of the earth 

 in which glacial conditions were at the 

 maximum, and therefore it was the region in 

 which we must look for all the information 

 attainable towards, perhaps, the most diffi- 

 cult problem with which geological science 

 had to deal. 



Sir Joseph D. Hooker (who was a mem- 

 ber of Sir James Ross's expedition half-a- 

 century ago) said that Dr. Murray's admi- 

 rable summary of the scientific information 

 obtainable by an organized exploration of 

 the Antarctic regions left nothing further 

 to be said under that head. He could only 

 record the satisfaction with which he heard 

 it read, and his earnest hope that it would 

 lead to action being taken by the govern- 

 ment in the direction indicated. Sir Joseph 

 Hooker referred to the vast area of the un- 

 known region which was to be the field for 

 investigation — a region which in its full ex- 

 tension reached from the latitude of 60 S. 

 to the Southern Pole, and embraced every 

 degree of longitude. Referring to the vast 

 ice-fields which covered the Antarctic area, 

 Sir Joseph said that the explorer naturally 

 asked where and how the components of 

 these great fields of ice had their origin, 

 how they arrived at or maintained their 

 present position, what were their rate of 

 progress and courses, and what was their 

 influence on the surrounding atmosphere and 

 ocean. That they orginated over extensive 

 areas of open water in a higher latitude than 



