128 
A CONFERENCE was held in the rooms of the 
Royal Geographical Survey, on July 5th, for 
the purpose of promoting Antarctic exploration. 
The chief object of the meeting was to bring 
the matter to the attention of the Australasian 
Premiers, then in London, with a view to induc- 
ing them to secure from their governments con- 
tributions toward a British Antarctic Expedi- 
tion, under the auspices of the Royal Geographi- 
cal Society. Sir Clements Markham, President 
of the Society, the Duke of Argyle, Sir Joseph 
Hooker and Professor Ricker made addresses 
urging the great scientific importance of explor- 
ing the South Polar regions. The Australasian 
Premiers were, it appears, unable to be present, 
but replies were made by representatives of 
New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand, 
favoring the plan. The President said that he 
had been authorized to state that the Council of 
the Society would contribute any sum up to 
£5,000 which the colonial governments might 
subscribe. 
THE London Times states that Sir Martin 
Conway and Mr. E. J. Garwood left London on 
June 29th for Spitzbergen, in order to continue 
the exploration of the interior of the main 
island begun by them last year. They are to 
be landed at King’s Bay, whence they hope to 
make sledge expeditions over the northern ice 
sheet. Afterwards they intend to revisit Horn 
Sound and complete the scientific exploration 
of the southern peninsula. 
THE London correspondent of the New York 
Evening Post cables that Mr. George Murray, 
keeper of botany in the British Museum, has 
proceeded to Panama at the instance of the 
government grant committee of the Royal So- 
ciety for researches on little known pelagic 
alge. During the voyage these organisms will 
be obtained by pumping sea water through fine 
silk tow nets. 
Mr. Gro. H. ExLprripe@n, of the Geological 
Survey, has completed the field investigation 
of the phosphate deposits of Florida, and re- 
turned to the Washington office to prepare his 
report. This investigation was one of consid- 
erable magnitude, Mr. Eldridge having spent 
one year and nine months in actual field work. 
THE Peary party includes, through arrange- 
SCIENCE. 
[N.S. Vou. VI. No. 134. 
ments made by Professor C. D. Walcott, Mr. 
Chas. Schuchert, from the U. S. National Mu- 
seum, and Mr. C. David White, from the U. S. 
Geological Survey. They will disembark at 
Disco Island, off the western coast near the 
70th parallel, and this island and the mainland 
immediately adjacent will be their field of work. 
Mr. Schuchert, who is in charge of the Depart- 
ment of Invertebrate Paleontology in the Na- 
tional Museum, will go in quest of Mesozoic 
and Tertiary fossils, and Mr. White, who is 
one of the paleobotanists of the Geological Sur- 
vey, expects to make a large collection of the 
Mesozoic and Tertiary plant remains of the 
region visited. America has thus far secured 
but meager collections of polar fossils, Europe 
being far ahead in this regard. Mr. Robert 
Stein, of the Geological Survey, also accom- 
panies the expedition, but not as an official 
representative of the bureau. He will leave 
the party at Wilcox Head, from which point he 
expects to make a survey of the coast north of 
Deyil’s Thumb, toward Melville Bay. 
M. Margy has contributed to the Paris 
Academy an account, by MM. V. Tatin and Ch. 
Richet, of trials of an aéroplane invented by 
them. ‘Their first experiments were made in 
1890, but the machine was wrecked. A new 
machine was then constructed, with which the 
first trial was made last year with some suc- 
cess. In a second trial in June last the aéro- 
plane travelled through the air 170 m. at the 
rate of 18m. persecond. The machine weighed 
33 kg. The authors compare their results with 
those obtained by Professor Langley, and, while 
admitting the greater distance traveled by the 
aerodrome, claim that their machine had the 
advantage of greater weight and greater 
speed. 
AT the Royal Naval Review the performances 
of the Turbinia, a boat in which the Hon. C. 
P. Parsons has made use of the steam turbine 
for marine propulsion, excited much attention. 
It steamed at a speed of 34 knots an hour, and 
it is said that even yet the full power has never 
been applied. 
AT the recent International Congress of Pub- 
lishers at Paris the inexactness of designating 
the size of books as 4°, 8° and 12° was dis- 
