64 



SGIENGE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 54. 



the only account of his experiences which he 

 has contributed for publication. He writes 

 that he believes that Cape Adare is the very 

 place where a future scientific expedition might 

 stop safely even during the winter months. 

 From this spot several accessible spurs lead up 

 to the top of the cape, and from there a gentle 

 slope runs on to the great plateau of Victoria 

 Land. The presence of the penguin colony, 

 their undisturbed old nests, the appearance of 

 dead seals (which were preserved like Egyptian 

 mummies, and must have lain there for years), 

 the vegetation to the rocks, and lastly the flat 

 table of the cape above, all indicate that here 

 is a place where the powers of the Antarctic 

 Circle do not display the whole severity of their 

 forces. Neither ice nor volcanoes seemed to 

 have raged on the peninsula at Cape Adare, 

 and a future scientific expedition might well 

 choose that place as a center of operations. On 

 this particular spot there is ample space for 

 house, tents and provisions. 



Mr. Borchgrevink offers to be the leader of a 

 party to be landed either on the pack or on the 

 mainland near Colman Island. From there he 

 would work toward the south magnetic pole, 

 calculated to be in latitude 75° 5', longitude 

 150° E. Should the party succeed in pene- 

 trating so far into the continent, the course 

 should, if possible, be laid for Cape Adare, 

 there to join the main body of the expedition. 

 As to the zoological results of future researches, 

 great discoveries may be expected. It would 

 indeed be remarkable if on the unexplored 

 Victoria continent, which probably extends 

 over an area of 4,000,000 square miles, there 

 should not be found animal life hitherto un- 

 known in the southern hemisphere. It is of 

 course a possibility that the unkno'wn land 

 around the axis of rotation might be found to 

 consist of islands joined only by perpetual ice 

 and snow ; but the appearance of the land, the 

 color of the water, with its soundings, in addi- 

 tion to the movements of the Antarctic ice, 

 point to the existence of a mass of land much 

 more extensive than a mere group of islands. 



GENERAL. 



Nature has in recent numbers urged the need 

 of employing scientific experts and scientific 



methods in the public service. Twenty years 

 ago a Royal Commission urgently advised the 

 appointment of a Ministry and Council of Sci- 

 ence. Its recommendations have never been 

 carried into effect, and Nature deplores the lack 

 of men scientifically trained and of proved abil- 

 ity and originality in the government depart- 

 ments. The United States government and the 

 separate States undoubtedly do more for the ad- 

 vancement of education and science than does 

 any other country, yet the administration com- 

 pares unfavorably not only with France, where 

 M. Berthelot, the great chemist, is Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs, but also with Great Britain 

 where the Cabinet includes men such as Lord 

 Salisbury, Mr. Balfour and the Duke of Devon- 

 shire, who take sincere and intelligent interest 

 in the advancement of science. 



The Lecomte prize (50,000 fr.) of the Paris 

 Academy of Sciences has been awarded to Prof. 

 Eamsay and Lord Rayleigh for the discovery of 

 Argon. The Valz prize has been awarded to 

 Mr. W. F. Denning for astronomical work. 

 The Albert Levy prize (50,000 fr.) of the Paris 

 Academy of Medicine has been awarded to Dr. 

 Behring and Dr. Roux for the discovery of the 

 serum treatment of diphtheria. 



The British Medical Journal learns that the 

 Calcutta municipality has decided that Dr. 

 Haffkine's anti-cholera inoculation experiments 

 are to be continued there for another year, and 

 have assigned a grant of 7,500 rupees for this 

 purpose. 



Me. Feank M. Chapman, of the American 

 Museum of Natural History, will give the fol- 

 lowing lectures, ' On Birds, their Habits and In- 

 stincts,' under the auspices of Columbia College, . 

 in the Academy of Medicine, New York : Janu- 

 ary 7th, ' Distribution and Migration ;' January 

 14, ' Sexual Relationships and Nesting Habits ;' 

 January 28, 'Color: its Nature and Uses;' 

 February 4, ' Modification of Structure by 

 Habit.' 



The Chief of the Weather Bureau, Mr. Wil- 

 lis L. Moore, has answered an inquiry from the 

 Scientific American, to the effect that the de- 

 partment is considering the feasibility of using 

 weather forecasts as cancellation stamps in the 

 post-ofl&ce. 



