Proceedings of the British Association. 373 



placed under the care of Col. Sabine the observations made on 

 board each ship, the results of which were most satisfactory, as 

 regarded the practicability of making accurate observations at 

 sea ] for out of 647 observations of this kind made between Lon- 

 don and the Cape, on board the Erebus, one only had been de- 

 clared doubtful, while the observations taken by both ships ex- 

 hibited a steady accordance that could not be accidental, and 

 might well be called beautiful. From these it would appear, if 

 earlier observations are to be relied on, that the line of least in- 

 tensity, in successive meridians, is travelling rapidly northward. 

 The term of November, 1840, had been kept (by Capt. Ross) at 

 the Auckland isles; those of May and June, 1841, at Van Die- 

 men's Land ; that of July, at Sydney ; the four succeeding terms 

 had been kept in New Zealand. From a letter from Capt. Ross, 

 dated Nov. 22, 1841, it appeared that the expedition was to sail 

 the day following, to resume the investigation : it was his inten- 

 tion to traverse the isodynamic oval, surrounding the focus of great- 

 est intensity, supposed to be in lat. 60° S. long. 235° E. ; com- 

 mencing in long. 210°, and lat. 52° or 53° S., and steering thence 

 directly to the edge of the ice-pack, to make, on reaching it, for 

 the point where the first year's exploration of the new continent 

 (of Victoria) had terminated, and to pursue that barrier ; the 

 working out of which intention might of course involve another 

 winter, spent within the Antarctic zone. Should it be other- 

 wise, we might expect ere long to hear of its arrival at the Falk- 

 land isles ; but in the other alternative, another year would elapse 

 without any further tidings of the Expedition. As to British 

 and foreign observatories, the British and Indian stations, except 

 that at Aden, as well as the chief continental ones, had long 

 been in full activity. The Russian government has been pre-em- 

 inent in the aid given. Supported by M. Cancrin, Minister of 

 Finance, as well as aided by the funds placed at his disposal by 

 Prince Mentchikoff, M. Kupffer had brought into activity mag- 

 netic observatories at Kasan, Barnaoul, Nertschinsk, and Catha- 

 rineburg. He had also effected the re-erection of observatories 

 at Tiflis and Nicolayeff, and the erection of a new one at Mos- 

 cow, under the care of Count Strogonoff, curator of the Univer- 

 sity of that city. These operations, conducted by every Euro- 

 pean power, had occupied much time ; the original term granted 

 by our own government and the East India Company expired in 



