June 25, 1886 ] 



SCIEXCE. 



567 



it is well outlined, as no one exploration could en- 

 compass the whole of it. One bay alone has some 

 six or seven glaciers coming down from the south- 

 ern spurs of these Alaskan Alps just off the sum- 

 mits of Mounts Fair weather and Crillon, which, 

 dipping into the sea, snap off into icebergs that 

 float away nearly as high as the masts of the ex- 

 cursion steamers that visit this bay — called 

 Glacier Bay — monthly during the spring and 

 summer. From Glacier Bay northward to beyond 

 Icy Bay (just seaward from Mount St. Elias) there 

 can be seen these huge rivers of solid ice coming- 

 down to the sea ; one, Le Grand Plateau, so named 

 by La Perouse, its discoverer, being probably the 

 largest one of the immense group covering so 

 wide a territory. It is quite evident, if the ex- 

 pedition accomplishes any thing, that no small 

 share of it will be in this particular field of re- 

 search. 



"Between the St. Elias Alps and the sea — the 

 Pacific Ocean — is a narrow strip of flat lands 

 where the Indians live, and which, from the 

 ocean, seems to be heavily wooded. It is proposed 

 to find out the status of this timber and that on 

 the foothills of the Alps, as far as it is possible 

 without spending too much time upon it. If fine 

 forests of merchantable timber are found, which 

 is not at all unlikely, it is known that there are 

 good harbors here which will make it quite accessi- 

 ble, and give value to the discovery. If any thing 

 near as valuable as the present yellow cedar forests 

 of the shores of the inland passage of Alaska can be 

 found, the expedition will be a double success 

 from this very fact. 



" In the way of precious minerals there is the 

 usual prospect of seeing them ; and while the 

 search for them is probably the last on the list of 

 undertakings, if at all, the party will not go by 

 any mountains of gold or silver without at least 

 taking a photograph of them. 



"It is hardly to be hoped that the country is 

 much richer in furs than the general average of 

 the Alaska mainland ; but, should it fortunately 

 prove otherwise, the public shall know of it in 

 due time. 



" Agriculturally there is little to be expected in 

 such a rough Alpine country ; but if the low flats 

 known to exist along the coast are not too marshy, 

 and have fertile soil, there is nothing to prevent 

 their being cultivated to the fullest extent, in 

 which case it would be doubly valuable by there 

 being no other agricultural lands near by. 



" Of the Indians living here, but very little is 

 known ; and this very fact is somewhat in favor 

 of the expedition, as among these little known 

 savages there is every reason to suppose that a 

 rich ethnological collection can be made, which 



will not only shed some light on the people them- 

 selves, but on adjoining tribes that are somewhat 

 spoiled for ethnological purposes by long contact 

 with white men and civilization." 



The exploring party is well supplied with arms 

 and ammunition, as well as with food ; and the 

 precise course to be pursued by them is left large- 

 ly to the discretion of the commander. When the 

 expedition will return depends largely on its suc- 

 cess ; for Lieutenant Schwatka is determined not 

 to return until lie has accomplished something 

 worthy of the expenditure of time and money. 

 He hopes, however, to be back to the Alaskan 

 coast by September of the present year. 



ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. 

 The large dome for the Lick observatory. — At 



the meeting of the Royal astronomical society on 

 May 14, Mr. Grubb, the well-known Dublin instru- 

 ment-maker, presented a model of an equatorial 

 mounting and dome which he had designed, at the 

 request of the Lick trustees, for their 36-inch ob- 

 jective. The main idea throughout was to bring 

 under the direct control of the observer all the 

 required motions of the instrument and of the 

 dome, so as to give him as little physical exertion 

 as possible. To effect this the motive power was 

 to be a number of small water-engines, controlled 

 by an electrical apparatus which the observer could 

 carry about with him. A tap on oue key will turn 

 the dome in one direction ; another will reverse 

 the dome; a third key will control the telescope in 

 right ascension, and another in declination ; and so 

 on ; while there is one for lighting up the observa- 

 tory ; and lastly, in order that the observer shall 

 have as little difficulty as possible in getting into a 

 position to observe, instead of climbing into a chair 

 which would perhaps require to be * wenty-five feet 

 high, a key is provided which will make the whole 

 floor move up or down. During the discussion 

 upon this ingenious device, Mr. Common quoted 

 the following paragraph from Professor Holden in 

 regard to the prospects of completing the observa- 

 tory : "We hope during the early part of 1887 

 that we may see the objective, both photographi- 

 cally and visually, completely finished, and per- 

 haps delivered in California. Our large dome will 

 undoubtedly be finished during the current year ; 

 and we look forward to commencing serious work 

 with the whole observatory during the year 1887, 

 and possibly sooner." The contracts for the mount- 

 ing and dome, if any have yet been made by the 

 Lick trustees, are not yet public. 



Change of latitude. — Miss Alice Lamb, assist- 

 ant astronomer at the Washburn observatory, has, 

 in the June number of the Sidereal messenger, given 



