Deiembkr 4, l'J03.] 



SCIENCE. 



735 



which extends its area beyond the palearctic 

 region. Of the 7,500 recognized genera of 

 plants it contains 5,000, and many subgenera. 



The Geophysical Institute at Gottingen, 

 which is the only one of the kind in Germany, 

 is about to be enlarged by an additional wing. 



The London Times states that Dundee 

 whalers which have returned from Davis Strait 

 make reports concerning the Ericksen (Dan- 

 ish) and Amundsen (Norwegian) exijeditions. 

 On June iij the whalers Eclipse. Captain 

 Milne, and Diuna, Captain Adams, met at 

 Dalryniple Rock, near Smith's Sound, where 

 they had a rendezvous with Captain Amundsen. 

 They found no signs of the explorer, but by 

 arrangement left a large quantity of stores. 

 Since he left Norway nothing has been heard 

 of Amundsen. He was expected to touch at 

 the Danish settlements on the west coast of 

 Greenland. The past summer is memorable 

 in whaling records, the winds and ice condi- 

 tions rendering the passage to the north ex- 

 tremely hazardous. It is feared that disaster 

 may have overtaken Amundsen's little craft, 

 but experienced whalemen state that if he has 

 kept to the west side of the straits he may 

 have escaped the great ice. When in the 

 neighborhood of Dalrymple Rock, Captains 

 Milne and Adams fell in with Ericksen and 

 his company. They were in Saiinders's Island, 

 and were in a pitiable state of destitution. 

 Count Moltke, the artist of the expedition, was 

 very ill, and the explorers, who were in com- 

 pany with several natives, inhabited an old 

 and tattered tent. Food, but for a supply of 

 eggs, was very low, and they had only one 

 gun. They had abandoned their boat and all 

 but one of their sledges at the northern part 

 of Melville Bay. The captains were unable to 

 furnish them with a boat or to convey them to 

 Greenland. They, however, gave them wood 

 to build a boat, some ammunition, potatoes, 

 butter and other stores. The captain now 

 expects that they may not have attempted 

 to leave, as in the terrific weather that fol- 

 lowed it is almost certain that they would 

 have perished; and it is surmised that they 

 elected to stay with the Eskimos. They would 

 quickly fall in with Amundsen should his 



party not have come to grief. The whalemen 

 consider it almost hopeless that they will suc- 

 ceed in nuiking the Danish settlement this 

 winter. 



The forthcoming session of the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society, says the London Times, 

 will begin on November 4, a week earlier than 

 is usual. This, we understand, is due to the 

 fact that Sir Frederick Lugard, who has prom- 

 ised to give tlie opening paper of the session, 

 (in northern Nigeria, is due to leave England 

 early in November to resume his work in that 

 part of the empire. The second paper,_ on 

 November 10, will be by Commander R. E. 

 Peary, who will give an account of his North 

 Polar exjilorations and attempts to reach the 

 North Pole, during the years 1898-1902. The 

 next meeting, on November 23, will be occu- 

 pied by a paper by Colonel C. C. Manifold, 

 who will give an account of his recent explora- 

 tions and survey work in western China, and 

 expound his views on the economic develop- 

 ment of that region. At the meeting on De- 

 cember 14 Colonel Sir Thomas Holdich will 

 describe some of the results of his work among 

 the Patagonian Andes, when carrying out the 

 delimitation of the frontier between Chile 

 and the Argentine Republic. The arrange- 

 ments for the meetings of the society after 

 Christmas are more or less provisional. Pa- 

 pers, however, may be expected by Colonel P. 

 II. M. Glassy, on his seven years' journeys in 

 Asia ilinor; by Captain Philip ilaud, R.E., 

 on the exploring expedition along the southern 

 Abyssinian border, organized by Mr. Butter, 

 who obtained Captain Maud's services as sur- 

 veyor. It is possible also that Sir William 

 Garstin may be able, before the conclusion of 

 the session, to give the society an account of 

 the results of his recent investigation of the 

 Nile basin. A popular exposition of the views 

 at present entertained with regard to the Gulf 

 Stream may he expected from Mr. II. N. Dick- 

 son, wliilc Mr. Keith Lucas may deal with his 

 recent investigations among the lakes of New 

 Zealand. It is hoped that Lieutenant Ernest 

 Shacklcton may be able to tell, in the form of 

 a Christmas lecture to young people, of some 

 of his adventures in the Antarctic regions, 



