July 12, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



43 



example of animal mechanics, being inter- 

 locked so as to be quite rigid. No traces of 

 hind limbs have as j'et come to light, but 

 that section of the skeleton where they 

 might have been was unfortunately defec- 

 tive. The material will be described at 

 lengi3h in a Bulletin of the ISTational Museum. 

 Apropos of Zeuglodon Mr. Schuchert char- 

 acterizes the statement that their remains 

 are so plentiful as to be used for building- 

 stone wall as a myth, but it will doubtless 

 continue to live on in text-books in com- 

 pany with the iigure of the pouched rat with 

 everted pouches, which has held its place 

 ever since the first description of the animal 

 and seems likely to last indefinitely. 



F. A. L. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 

 THE BOTANICAL SURVEY OF NEBRASKA. 



In the American Naturalist, for June, Pro- 

 fessor Charles E. Bessey gives an account 

 of the ' Progress of the Botanical Survey of 

 Nebraska.' The Survey, though a private 

 enterprise, has received encouragement and 

 support from the State Board of Agriculture, 

 the State Horticultural Society and fi-om 

 the University of Nebraska, the work be- 

 ing in the hands of a ' Botanical Seminar ' 

 composed of Graduates of the University. 

 The first imj)ortant work issued by the Sur- 

 vey was H. J. Webber's ' Catalogue of 

 the Flora of Nebraska,' published in 1890 

 in the Eeport of the State Board of Agri- 

 culture, and also issued as a separate Mono- 

 graph. In it 1 ,890 species were enumerated, 

 almost equally divided between flowering 

 aud non-flowering plants, nearly all of 

 which were based on actual specimens in 

 the possession of the author. Since this 

 time the work has been steadily continued 

 and the results have been published at fre- 

 quent intervals, so that the list of known 

 species now catalogued reaches about 3,050. 

 Additional studies have been made in 

 special directions on the distribution of 



species. Of the 64 trees and 77 shrubs 

 known to occur in the State the distribution 

 is already well ascertained. The final Ee- 

 port of the survey is in preparation. It 

 will be entitled the Flora of Nebraska, and 

 will be issued in twenty-five parts of about 

 50 pages each. Part I. and part II. were 

 issued in August, 1894 (I'eviewed in Sci- 

 ence, Jan. 4, p. 25), and part XXII. The 

 Calyeijiora is now in press. 



M. andree's polar expedition. 



A committee of the Paris Academy of 

 Sciences, consisting of MM. Faye, Daubree 

 and Blanchard, have reported on the pro- 

 ject of M. Andree to explore the polar re- 

 gions by baloon. They state that under 

 the circumstances he is likely to reach the 

 pole and M'ill be able to solve many prob- 

 lems of scientific interest. But they fear 

 that the return to inhabited regions will in- 

 volve serious difficulties. 



In the meanwhile M. Andree is in Paris 

 superintending the construction of a bal- 

 loon. The balloon is to be of sufficient size 

 to carry three persons, scientific instru- 

 ments and provisions for four months and 

 a boat transformable into a sledge, weigh- 

 ing in all about 3,000 kg. Gas under 

 pressure in cylinders will be taken in or- 

 der to refill the balloon from time to time — 

 sufficient to keep the balloon in the air for 

 thirty days. 



M. Andree expects to start from one of 

 the Norwegian Islands of the Spitzbergen 

 Archipelago situated to the extreme north- 

 west of the mainland. July is fixed as the 

 month of departure. A clear day will be 

 chosen with a south wind. The balloon will 

 travel at a minimum rate of 27 km. an hour, 

 and M. Andree hopes to reach the pole in a 

 voyage of forty-three hours and to return 

 safely to the inhabited regions of North 

 America or Siberia. 



According to an account in the Eevue 

 Scientifique by M. Ch. Eabot, the m'eteoro 



