202 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XX. No. 505 



SCIENCE: 



Published by N. D. C. HODGES, 874 Broadway, New York. 



Subscriptions. — TTnited States and Canada $3.50 a year. 



Great Britain and Europe 4.50 a year. 



To any contributor, on request in advance, one hundred copies of the issue 

 containing his article will be sent without charge. More copies will be sup- 

 plied at about cost, also if ordered in advance. Reprints are not supplied, as 

 *or obvious reasons we desire to circulate as many copies of Science as pos- 

 sible. Authors are, however, at perfect liberty to have their articles reprinted 

 elsewhere. For illustrations, drawings in black and white suitable for photo- 

 engraving should be supplied by the contributor. Rejected manuscripts will be 

 returned to the authors only when the requisite amount of postage accom- 

 panies the manuscript. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenti- 

 cated by the name and address of the writer; not necessarily for publication, 

 but as a guaranty of good faith. We do not hold ourselves responsible for 

 any view or opinions expressed in the communications of our correspondents. 



Attention is called to the "Wants" column. It is invaluable to those who 

 use it in soliciting information or seeking new positions. The name and 

 address of applicants should be given in full, so that answers will go direct to 

 them. The "Exchange " column is likewise open. 



ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. 



BY HUGH ROBERT MILL, LIBRARIAN, ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOOIEXY. 



Considerable interest has been awakened by the greater part 

 of the Dundee whaling fleet abandoning the Davis Strait 

 "fishing" and taking their departure for the Antarctic seas. 

 The venture is a purely commercial one, and has been in con- 

 templation for some time, as the northern whaling has in recent 

 years become almost unremunerative. Shortly before the vessels 

 sailed it became known that they might possibly afford some 

 facilities for scientific work, and the Royal Geographical Society 

 (London), the Meteorological Office, and other institutions took 

 steps to obtain successful observations. Additional chronometers 

 and standard compasses were supplied to all the vessels, together 

 with a complete set of the best meteorological instruments. The 

 captains undertook to lay down their track as accurately as pos- 

 sible, and to fix the position and report upon the appearance of 

 any land they might sight in the far south ; also to observe the 

 variation of the magnetic needle as frequently and carefully as 

 they could. It is not likely that startling geographical discoveries 

 will be made, although perhaps the coast of Graham's Land may 

 be followed farther south and more accurately mapped. Every- 

 thing in this department must depend on the discretion of the 

 captains and the caprice of the whales. The vessels will not try 

 to make a high latitude unless it is necessary to do so in order to 

 get a cargo, but the captains will not hesitate to force their way 

 far into the ice if they find it to be necessary, and from their 

 long Arctic experience in ice-navigation it is safe to say that 

 nothing less than an impenetrable barrier will stop them. 



It is unnecessary to remind the readers of Science that since 

 the expeditions of Wilkes and Ross, fifty years ago, no explora- 

 tions worthy the name have been made in Antarctic seas. The 

 Challenger, probably the only steamer that has gone so far south, 

 merely crossed the Antarctic circle, and, being unprotected 

 against ice, had immediately to return. Recent oceanographical 

 and meteorological researches have gradually increased the de- 

 sirability of improved knowledge of high southern latitudes, and 

 representations have been made on several occasions as to the ad- 

 visability of a properly equipped scientific expedition being sent 

 out by the British Government. While this desirable expedition 

 is deferred, the necessarily fragmentary results of trading voy- 

 ages may afford most valuable hints, 



The four Dundee ships, which sailed on September 6, 7, and 8, 

 are barque-rigged wooden vessels fully protected for ice-work and 

 provided with auxiliary steam. Their tonnage is about 400, but 

 on account of the enormous thickness of their timbers the size 

 externally is nearly that of 600-ton ships. Three of the vessels, 

 the "Balaena,'' Captain Fairweather; the "Active," Captain 



Robertson; and the "Diana," Captain Davidson, carry surgeons 

 who were specially selected on account of their scientific tastes 

 and their willingness to utilize all opportunities to the full. Mr. 

 W. S. Bruce, the surgeon of the " Balaena" has a very complete 

 equipment of apparatus for sea-temperature work and for bio- 

 logical collecting. He is accompanied by an Edinburgh artist,. 

 Mr. W. G. Burn Murdoch, who goes specially with the object of 

 sketching the scenery of the southern ice. Dr. Donald on the 

 " Active," and Mr. Campbell on the " Diana '' are also equipped 

 with appliances for collecting. Each of the ships carries a pho- 

 tographic apparatus. 



The scientiiic results expected on the return of the whalers six 

 or seven months hence are as follows: Full meteorological logs 

 with records of surface sea temperatures and densities, and of 

 temperatures at a few points down to the depth of 150 fathoms; 

 deeper observations would be impracticable without hampering 

 the real business of the cruise. A large collection of small sur- 

 face organisms will be secured by tow-nets, a mode of collecting 

 for which there will be unlimited opportunities as the vessels 

 slowly follow their boats when engaged in whaling. No dredg- 

 ing can be attempted in deep water, but it is possible that there 

 may be some shore-collecting in southern lands not previously 

 visited. Observations on ocean-currents will be made by the 

 captains in the ordinary course of navigation, but floats will also 

 be launched in high southern latitudes, the recovery of which 

 will be looked for with interest. Special attention will be directed 

 to all phenomena connected with sea-ice, and, in case of any mud 

 or stones being observed embedded in icebergs, au effort will b& 

 made to secure specimens in order to get some idea of the geology 

 of the land hidden under the southern ice-cap. A large and rep- 

 resentative selection of birds will almost certainly be secured, and 

 some problems as to migration may be elucidated. Samples of 

 sea-water from various depths will be brought back for careful 

 analysis. 



From a scientific point of view the expedition will be the more 

 successful the worse it is commercially; for, if whales are not 

 found on the margin of the ice, a very high latitude may be 

 reached during' the search for them. In any case the barometric 

 readings are bound to be of the greatest interest, as they will- 

 throw light on the remarkable area of permanent low pressure 

 which surrounds the South Pole. And it is impossible that the 

 observations of so many higUy trained sailors and enthusiastic 

 naturalists can be barren of results in many departments. 



THE ABORIGINAL USE OF BONE IN VERMONT. 



BY Q. H. PERKINS, UNIVERSITY OP VERMONT. 



Objects wrought from bone appear to be quite uncommon 

 throughout the country, unless it be in the neighborhood of shell- 

 heaps. Certainly in the Cbamplain Valley they are the rarest of 

 archaeological finds, and until within a few years none had been 

 found, so far as is known to the writer. At Plattsburgh, on the- 

 New York side of the lake, a few pointed implements and barbed 

 spear-points have been found, and are in the fine local collection 

 made by Dr. D. S. Kellogg of that place ; but until very recently 

 none had been found on the Vermont side, and they are still ex- 

 ceedingly rare, although, in all, many hundreds of stone imple- 

 ments and ornaments, some of them of very fine workmanship, 

 have been discovered, as well as many fragments of decorated 

 earthenware and a few implements of copper and ornaments of 

 shell. 



For many purposes, as awls and the like, bone would seem 

 better suited than stone and much more easily worked ; and it is 

 hardly conceivable that bone was not used more commonly than 

 is indicated by our collections. And yet, making all possible al- 

 lowance for the perishability of bone, we cannot supjaose that 

 objects made of this material were ever very abundant; for the 

 other specimens found in some of our localities are not very 

 ancient; and, in more than one instance, entire bones have been^ 

 found in fair- preservation, and there is no reason to think that if 

 bone objects had ever been associated with those of stone they 

 would not now be found with them. 



