for the year 1873. xxi 



observing points as nearly as possible the earth's diameter 

 distant from one another, so that the apparent paths of 

 Venus across the Sun's disc shall be as widely separated as 

 possible, such separation being due to the difference of 

 distance between the Sun and Venus, Venus and the Earth, 

 as well as to the widely separated position of the observers. 

 This being the case, and one extreme position presenting 

 itself at Nertchinsk, a mining town in North Siberia, some 

 position in the extreme south was indicated as the other 

 desirable station, such a position is represented by the 

 Antarctic shores, and notably that position called South 

 Victoria Land, an island off which visited by Sir J. Ross in 

 1841, called "Possession Island," has been most strongly 

 recommended as the station of the south, by Mr. Proctor and 

 others. By none of the projected national expeditions is a 

 station on this island, or any place so far south contem- 

 plated, and this omission has been most energetically 

 criticised, especially by Mr. Proctor, who has lost no oppor- 

 tunity of forcibly urging that almost national disgrace will 

 attach to Great Britain if so valuable an opportunity be 

 neglected. It is true that Mr. Proctor shows very conclu- 

 sively the astronomical value of such a southerly station, but 

 there is another equally important side to this question, on 

 which there appear numerous, if not all-sufficient reasons, 

 for not sending an expedition to such inhospitable regions, 

 and these have evidently outweighed the simple astronomical 

 importance. Possession Island is in 72° south latitude, it is 

 enclosed in bonds of ice until the middle of January, or 

 beginning of February in each year. No expedition would 

 be a«ble to reach Antarctic Land until late in December or 

 early in January ; it would be necessary, therefore, that it 

 should arrive there ten months beforehand, and remain 

 through a polar winter, and wintering in Antarctic regions 

 means the incurring of very serious risks. Some of our best 



