November 25, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



743 



membered that the German Parliament voted 

 800,000 Marks towards its equipment. Addi- 

 tional grants will be made to cover further ex- 

 penses and the cost of publishing the scientific 

 results. Professor Chun is accompanied by a 

 staff of eleven scientific men, each of whom 

 receives eight Marks per day from the Govern- 

 ment, and their lives are insured for 30,000 

 Marks each. 



The route to be followed may be divided into 

 three portions : (1) From Hamburg round the 

 north of Scotland to the Canary Islands, past 

 the Cape Verd Islands, touching at the mouth 

 of the Cameroons and Congo Rivers and Wal- 

 flsch Bay to Cape Town ; (2) from the Cape of 

 Good Hope the Agulhas Bank will be examined, 

 thence the expedition will proceed southwards 

 past Prince Edward Island to the edge of the 

 Antarctic ice, returning northwards through 

 the center of the Indian Ocean to the Cocosand 

 Christmas Islands, and thence to Padaug,in Su- 

 matra ; (3) from Padang to Ceylon, thence call- 

 ing at the Chagos, Seychelles and Amirante 

 groups to Zanzibar, returning home by Sokotra, 

 the Red Sea, Suez Canal |^and the Mediter- 

 ranean. 



The results so far obtained are of great in- 

 terest to naturalists and oceanographers. Serial 

 temperature observations were taken in the 

 warm and cold areas of the Faroe Channel, re- 

 spectively south and north of the Wyville- 

 Thomson Ridge, which separates the ice-cold 

 polar water flowing southwards from the warm 

 Atlantic water flowing northwards. Regular 

 observations were made on the specific gravity 

 of the surface waters, and, as opportunity 

 offered, on that of the deeper waters, also on 

 the density, color and transparency of the wa- 

 ter, and on the direction of the surface currents, 

 A meteorological register is kept, in which ob- 

 servations are entered every four hours day and 

 night, and self-registering instruments give con- 

 tinuous records of the barometric pressure, the 

 temperature and humidity of the atmosphere- 

 In the chemical laboratory the gases and ch o' 

 rine contained in many deep-sea waters have 

 been determined. 



The samples of deep-sea deposits are col- 

 lected and preserved by the chemist und er Pro- 

 fessor Chun's personal supervision. In some 



of the deposits the bacteriologist has observed 

 many forms of bacteria, and in the samples of 

 water from the greater depths various species 

 of bacteria have also been found. The dredg- 

 ings and trawlings, and the observations with 

 closing nets in intermediate waters, have yielded 

 results of the greatest importance. The closing 

 tow-nets and large vertical nets have been used 

 with remarkable success. Many deep-sea crus- 

 taceseand fishes, which were taken in the dredge 

 and trawl by earlier expeditions and were, there- 

 fore, supposed to live on the bottom, have been 

 proved to live a pelagic life, floating or swim- 

 ming in the intermediate waters. The botanist 

 is paying special attention to the contents of 

 these closing nets, with the view of determining 

 to what depth below the surface living diatoms, 

 peridinise and protococcaceaj descend. 



On the way to the Canary Islands observa- 

 tions were made in the neighborhood of the 

 Josephine and Seine Banks, which rise steeply 

 from the ocean bed to within less than 100 

 fathoms beneath the surface of the North At- 

 lantic. Around the Seine Bank series of sound- 

 ings and temperatures were taken, and the 

 dredgings showed a great abundance of crinoids 

 {Antedon phalangium) jhy AyoiAsi and antipathids. 

 The expedition proceeds from the Canaries, by 

 way of the Gulf of Guinea, to the Cape of 

 Good Hope, Cape Town being reached early in 

 November, and before it sails towards the Ant- 

 arctic ice the Agulhas Bank will be systematic- 

 ally explored. This expedition may be re- 

 garded as to some extent preliminary to the 

 Antarctic expedition which will leave Germany 

 in 1900. 



GENERAL. 



The American Humane Society meets in 

 Washington next month and it is expected that 

 it will attempt to secure the passage of the vivi- 

 section bill now pending in the Senate. It is 

 important that men of science and physicians 

 should use their influence, especially by direct 

 communication with their respective Senators, 

 to prevent the passage of a bill that will inter- 

 fere with the progress of science in the District 

 of Columbia, and which may exert a harmful 

 influence throughout the country. 



The Hurley Bill, providing for the adoption 



