180 Scientific Intelligence. — Meteorology. 



might be made the object of an excursion from Tromso, with the 

 aid of the steamer. 



11. A detailed examination of the Bergsfiord, Jbkulsfiord, and 

 Qvenanger range, has been already recommended (p. 84). 



12. Every opportunity should be taken to ascertain the direction 

 of the abrading and smoothing agency, which has left such extra- 

 ordinary traces along the coast, between the Throndhjem-fiord and 

 the Lofoddens ; and in general it should be sought to observe how 

 far the striae correspond or not in direction with the general declivity 

 of the ground, or whether they are in any case extensively parallel 

 with the coast. 



13. The limits of vegetation of the birch and the snow-line should 

 be observed wherever practicable ; but with regard to the latter, the 

 great difficulty of ascertaining the extreme limit of recession of the 

 snow should be borne in mind, and the time of year, the character 

 of the season, and the exposure, should be particularly noticed. 



14. The meteorology of Norway is in a state which is not credit- 

 able to the acknowledged intelligence of the people, and the emi- 

 nence of its scientific men. I know of but two places, Christiania 

 and Kaafiord, (separated by 10° of latitude) of which the mean tem- 

 perature is known with any accuracy. This is lamentable in a 

 country whose climate is one of the most interesting in Europe. The 

 means of remedying it seem easy. Let observations, in the first 

 instance, be confined to the thermometer. It is impossible to doubt 

 that a net-work of say fifty stations, might be quickly established 

 over the entire country. The intelligent officers of the Royal Marine 

 and Trigonometrical Survey ; the clergy (who have almost all had 

 a university education) ; the masters of schools and academies, — like 

 my well-informed friend, M. Blom, at Tromso ; the active magis- 

 trates and civil officers ; even the station-holders and substantial mer- 

 chants on the steamboat routes, would probably, in many instances, 

 lend a cheerful aid to so simple and interesting an inquiry ; whilst 

 the combination of the results could not be placed in better hands 

 than those of the Professors of Christiania. — {Norway and its Gla- 

 ciers, by Professor James Forbes, p. 245.) 



5. Theory of the Pile and the Aurora Borealis. — M. de la Rive, 

 the celebrated physicist of Geneva, has presented to the Academy 

 the first volume of a treatise on Theoretical and Applied Electricity, 

 which he has published in London, and of which he is now preparing 

 an edition in French. In explaining the plan of his work, M. de la 

 Rive dwelt more especially on the theory of the pile. He has always 

 been a defender of the chemical theory ; but, while acknowledging 

 the influence of chemical action, he now recognizes, that we cannot 

 always admit that chemical action precedes the production of elec- 

 tricity, and he is led to consider the two phenomena as commonly 

 simultaneous, and due to a more general cause, viz., molecular polar- 



