1894.] Geography and Travels. 693 
General Notes. 
GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS. 
Antarctic Exploration.—The most important geographical dis- 
coveries made in the Antarctic regions since Ross traced a part of Vic- 
toria Land’s coast, and saw its smoking mountains, fifty-two years ago, 
have just been reported by an old and well-known Norwegian whaler, 
Captain Larsen, who, by this time, is undoubtedly on his way home 
with a cargo of seals. His discoveries were made in the latter part of 
November and early in December last, on the steam whaler Jason. 
Later he went north to the Falkland Islands, where he found an oppor- 
tunity to send home his log for this period. He then returned to the 
sealing grounds near the Antarctic Circle. His log was forwarded from 
Norway by Mr. Christensen of Sandefjord to Dr. John Murray, the 
well-known Scottish scientist and member of the Challenger expedition, 
who has just published the extract from the Jason’s journal in the 
Scottish Geographical Magazine. Only a few lines, including the lati- 
tude and longitude attained, are given in the log to each day’s events, 
and the narrative is therefore lacking in detail. When Capt. Larsen 
returns to Europe, he will doubtless give a full account of his interest- 
ing voyage. 
If the reader will refer to a map of the Antarctic regions, he will see 
a large land mass, known as Graham’s Land, lying across the Antare- 
tic Circle, south of Cape Horn. Except Victoria Land, which lies on 
the other side of the Antarctic area, Graham’s land is the largest bit 
of terra firma that has yet been found in South Polar waters. It was 
discovered by John Biscoe in 1831, and a brief allusion to the explora- 
` tion there is necessary in order to understand what Larsen has achieved. 
Biscoe skirted its lofty western coast for about 200 miles, and, landing 
on little Adelaide Island, not far from the mainland, he was the first to 
set foot on shore within the Antarctic Circle. No one ever saw any 
other part of Graham’s Land except Ross, over fifty years ago, and the 
Scottish and Norwegian whalers who were there in the season of 1892- 
93. Capt. Larsen’s recent achievement was to steam for days along the 
east coast of the unknown land, and when he was finally compelled to 
turn north again, he could still see the lofty summit of the mainland 
stretching south and east as far as the eye could reach. Dr. John Murray 
