July 6, 1883.) 



SCIENCE. 



21 



gion, and sea-birds, there is a certain supply, the for- 

 mer being present tlie year round, thougli only male 

 bears occur in winter, and the small auks for two- 

 thirds of the year. The lowest ten\perature observed 

 was forty-three degrees below zero, Fahrenheit, and 



this in latitude 80°. Troinholt, whose researches 



into the aurora boreal is have proved its connection 

 with electrical discharges from the earth, proposes to 

 spend the winter 18S3-84 in Iceland, devoting himself 

 to similar studies with Lemstrom's apparatus, and on 



the lines indicated by him. The U. S. S. Yantic 



sailed June 14, from New York, to join the Proteus 

 at St. Johns. Ensign U. G. Dresel, U.S. N., accom- 

 panies the Yantic as naturalist. Later advices an- 

 nounce the departure of both vessels from St. Johns 



for Lady Franklin Bay, June 2'X The Danish 



South Greenland expedition has arrived at its field 

 of work, and at last accounts expected to begin 

 operations immediately. — w. ii. D. [19 



Northern notes, Pacific region. — June 2, the 

 steamship Dakota Ifft San Francisco for an excur- 

 sion throughout south-eastern Alaska with a large 

 number of excursionists. Similar excursions are 



planned for July and August. The schooner Leo 



has sailed from .San Francisco to Point Barrow, to 

 relieve Lieut. Kay and his party, and to obtain 

 absolute magnetic astronomical and pendulum ob- 

 servations at the station. Keturning, Mr. Clarke of 

 the signal-service will relieve the present officer at 

 St. Michaels, Norton Sound, and take charge of the 

 station, which will be the most northern signal-ser- 

 vice station then in operation. A vessel for the 



hydrographic exploration of the waters of Alaska, 

 under the auspices of the U.S. coast-survey, is about 

 to be constructed on the Atlantic coast, and sent out 

 via Cape Horn, it being found that the expense of 

 building her on the Pacific coast would considerably 



exceed the funds available. The last reports from 



the mines near Juneau, Alaska, are very favorable: 

 the owners of one mine ' cleaned up ' .*9,0iH) in April; 

 $80,000 have been refused by the owners of another 

 claim. A number of miners will have preceded 

 Lieut. Schwatka on his journey down the Lewis and 

 Yukon rivers this season, bound to join the Schreffelin 

 party on the Tananah. If these numerous prospect- 

 ors and adventurers were to record their observa- 

 tions, doubtless much valuable information on other 



than mining topics might be preserved. The 



rock upon which the steamer Eureka was lost last 

 month proves to be a previously unknown danger. 



The decrease of salmon in the rivers of Oregon 



and elsewhere has led to much activity in pushing 

 out into the new north-west in search of unpillaged 

 streams. A great many new salmon-fisheries have 

 been established at various points in British X-'olum- 



bia and Alaska. The U.S. S. Adams is to visit 



the island of Kadiak on her summer cruise. The 



authorities of British Columbia have instituted an 

 exploration of the Queen Charlotte Islands with 

 reference to agricultural lands. The north-eastern 

 portion of the northern island has been noted for 

 nearly a century for its attractive aspect. The Hudson 

 Bay company has long had a station at the entrance 



of Massett Inlet (named Hancock Kiver by Capt. 

 Crowell of Boston in 1701), where potatoes and other 

 vegetables flourish ; and the fat and sleek appearance 

 of the cattle has been often mentioned by more recent 

 visitors. The western coast of these islands has 

 hardly been visited by explorers since Ingrahara, in 

 17'.)1, made his sketch-map of the coast. It is high 

 and mountainous as far as known, and, like the 

 south-eastern part of the group, likely to be chiefly 



valuable for its timber, minerals, and fish. The 



body of a \yhite man murdered by the British Indi- 

 ans has been found near Milbank Sound, concealed 

 near the shore; while two Alaskan Indians, who 

 enlivened a visit to British Columbia by slaying two 

 Chinamen, have been sentenced to be hanged at 



Victoria, V.I. The steamer I'inta of the U. S. 



navy, w-hich was prepared for police-duty and explo- 

 ration on the Alaskan coast, and lately pronounced 

 unseaworthy, has been re-examined, and the decision 

 reversed : she will sail shortly vid Cape Horn under 

 the command of Lieut. Uriel Sebree, U.S.X. This 

 voyage will offer excellent opportunities for scientific 



observations en route. The U. S. S. Corwin, under 



the command of Capt. Healy, has sailed under in- 

 structions to visit Juneau, and settle certain quar- 

 rels between American and British miners there, 

 then to proceed to the Pribiloff Islands to protect the 

 seal-fisheries; after which St. Lawrence Bay, Bering 

 Strait, will be visited, and the presents from the gov- 

 ernment to those hospitable Chukchis who preserved 

 the lives of the Kodgers party will be delivered, arc- 

 tic whiskey-smugglers looked after, and the usual 

 observations made. — w. u. D. [20 



BOTANY. 

 Cryptogams. 



Notes on Laminariae. — In the fourth part of his 

 Observatioues phycologicae, Prof. J. E. Areschoug 

 gives a revision of some species of Laminaria and 

 related genera, including several of the forms found 

 in the United States. He considers that L. platy- 

 meris, De la Pyl., is the same as L. Cloustoni, which 

 he places in the genus Hafgygia, to which he considers 

 that L. Andersonii also belongs. — w. G. r. , [21 



Iowa fungi.— Professor J. C. Arthur gives very full 

 descriptions of twelve species of Iowa Uromyces, 

 including one new species, U. acuminatus, on Spar- 

 tina. At the end is an inilex of synonyms and 

 host-plants. — ( Bull. Minn. (u:ad., ii.) w. o. v. [22 



Injurious Algae. —In a paper on some .Vlgae of 

 Minnesota supposed to be poisonous, Prof. J. C. 

 Arthur gives an account of a species of Kivnlaria 

 infesting the water of ponds at Walerville. Minn., 

 and supposed to be the cause of death or injury to 

 cattle. He also describes the condition of Lake 

 Phalen, near St. Paul, in which he found several 

 species of Nostochaceae. — (Bi(H. Minn, acad., ii.) 

 w. o. F. [23 



Ohio fungi. — In a continuation of his paper on 

 the mycologic flora of the Miami valley, Mr. .\.. P. 

 Morgan gives a description of the Hyporhodii, Der- 

 mini, Pratelli, and Coprinariiof the region mentioned, 

 including sixty-five species. — W. o. F. [24 



