SCIENCE 



FRIDAY, MAY ii, li 



The grave apprehensions as to the fate of Stanley's expedi- 

 tion, that are occasionally published in the daily papers, have no 

 other foundation than the lack of any news since Stanley's depart- 

 ure from the mouth of the Aruvimi. We know from Junker's de" 

 scriptions, that the region he has to pass through is a very difficult 

 one, and that his original estimates of the time required to reach the 

 Mvutan Nsige from the Kongo were too low. If any serious mis- 

 hap should have occurred to him, exaggerated rumors would un- 

 doubtedly have reached the coast ; for even in Africa a caravan of 

 hundreds of men, including several white men, does not disappear 

 never to be heard of again. News did not reach the lower Kongo, 

 as no steamer has been able to visit Stanley Falls and the mouth of 

 the Aruvimi since Stanley's departure. It is somewhat difficult to 

 understand the reason for this state of affairs, except it may be that 

 the steamers have suffered from their long-continued service, or 

 are needed for the actual use of the stations near Leopoldville. The 

 steamers of the missions and of the Sandford Exploring Expedition 

 are not at the disposal of the Free State. The ' En Avant ' has just 

 returned from her great expedition up the Welle, and thus the 

 number of available steamers was practically very small. Recent 

 papers inform us that a new steamer, the ' Roi des Beiges,' was 

 launched on Stanley Pool Feb. i8, while the ' Ville de Bruxelles' is 

 being transported to the upper Kongo. It is to be hoped that com- 

 munication with the upper Kongo, which has practically been in- 

 terrupted since the capture of Stanley Falls Station by the Arabs, 

 — except when Stanley and Tippo-Tip ascended the Kongo, — will 

 be resumed ere long. 



niture. Cooking-utensils and axe would be kept there, and there is 

 a good supply of fuel at hand. The structure will be useful in two 

 ways : first, as a resting-point for persons who wish to visit the 

 Northern Peaks, or to traverse the ridge to or from Mount Wash- 

 ington, but who have not the strength to accomplish these expedi- 

 tions (distinctly the most interesting in the White Mountains) in a 

 single day ; second, as a comfortable camping-place for scientists, 

 photographers, and lovers of scenery, who will be able to make pro- 

 longed stays in this interesting upper region, and be independent of 

 the weather. The structure which the council have in mind will 

 cost (at that altitude) from five hundred to seven hundred and fifty 

 dollars, if built in a thorough manner. Until five hundred dollars 

 are secured, it will hardly be prudent to begin the work. The coun- 

 cil have appropriated one hundred and fifty dollars from the yearly 

 income, and some subscriptions can probably be obtained outside ; 

 but at least three hundred dollars ought to be made up by sub- 

 scriptions inside the club. The council make, therefore, an earn- 

 est appeal to all persons interested in this enterprise to indicate at 

 once the sums they are willing to contribute. Assistance from any 

 one interested will be gladly received. Subscriptions should be 

 sent to the councillor of improvements, Frederic D. Allen, lo Hom- 

 boldt Street, Cambridge, Mass. 



William C. Wyckoff, late editor of the American Magazine, 

 who died in Brooklyn last week, was well known among the scien- 

 tific men of the United States. A few years ago, when the New 

 York Tribune devoted much more space to scientific matters than 

 now, Mr. Wyckoff, then a member of its editorial staff, reported the 

 annual meetings of the American Association for the Advancement 

 of Science ; and it is doing him only justice to say that no equally 

 good reports have ever been made for a daily newspaper, rarely if 

 ever for a weekly or monthly journal devoted to science. He was 

 singularly careful and painstaking as a reporter, and his work re- 

 ceived wide recognition among those most interested in and best 

 able to judge of it. The same conscientiousness characterized all 

 of his work as a writer and editor. His service upon the Tribune 

 extended through many years. More recently, as secretary of the 

 Silk Association of America, he has published a number of very 

 valuable volumes in relation to that industry. His latest work was 

 upon the American Magazitte, as its editor, which in one year he 

 built up from the old Brooklyn Magazine. This work speaks for 

 itself. Mr. Wyckoff had a very wide circle of acquaintances and 

 friends in the journalistic profession. 



The project of having a refuge-hut high up on the main range 

 of the White Mountains — one which should afford adequate shel- 

 ter in any weather — has long been entertained by members of the 

 Appalachian Mountain Club, and the council of the society believe 

 that the time has come for an effort in this direction. It is their 

 desire to build this summer a permanent stone cabin at Madison 

 Spring, in the saddle between Mount Adams and Mount Madison, 

 provided with sleeping-bunks, a stove, and the most necessary fur- 



DR. EMIL BESSELS. 



In a recent number of Science we announced the death of Dr. 

 Emil Bessels, who won so much well-deserved renown on the 

 ' Polaris ' expedition. The deceased was born in 1847 at Heidel- 

 berg. At an early age he left school and entered business, but his 

 love of science prompted him to resume his studies. He became a 

 student at the University of Heidelberg, and paid particular atten- 

 tion to zoology. His first publication of importance was on the 

 distribution of the American deer. In 1869, at the instance of the 

 late Dr. A. Petermann, he joined the first German polar expedition, 

 which, although unsuccessful in its attempts to reach Gillis Land, 

 made important discoveries in those parts of the Arctic Ocean lying 

 between Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla. Particular attention was 

 paid to observations on the temperature and salinity of the ocean. 

 His work on this expedition had proved him to be an energetic 

 worker and excellent observer ; and when the American polar expe- 

 dition was organized, in 1870, he was invited to join it as scientist. 

 The progress and the events of this expedition are so well known 

 that it is unnecessary to dwell upon them. It ought to be stated, 

 however, that the scientific results are almost solely the work of 

 the deceased. Setting aside the valuable geographical discoveries 

 which Bessels made on excursions by sledge, and among which the 

 exploration of Petermann Fiord ranks highest, his hydrographical 

 and meteorological observations are of great importance. He was 

 the first to give the explanation of foehn-like winds now universally 

 adopted ; he was the first to pronounce the insularity of Greenland, 

 founding his conclusion upon the fact that the Atlantic tide entered 

 the northern part of Robeson Channel. It will be remembered that 

 his conclusions were fully corroborated by the discoveries of the 

 Nares and Greely e.xpeditions. After his return from the Arctic, 

 he was engaged in working up the results of the expedition ; but 

 he had hardly finished this task, when he began to make prepara- 

 tions for a new expedition, the prime object of which was to be 

 physical observations. He corresponded about his plans with Wey- 

 precht and Dorst, and preparations were made ; but, when all was 

 ready, unfortunate events prevented the carrying-out of the plan, 

 which would doubtlessly have resulted in great additions to our knowl- 

 edge of the polar regions. During the last years of his life he resided 

 in Washington, engaged in completing a work on physical geography 



