201 
.SOME IJEM Allies ON THE NATUKAL HISTOJIY OF 
FHANZ- JOSEF LAND. 
l!v H. W. Fkilukn, F.Ci.S., C.M.Z.S. 
2 Sf/i December, iSSo. 
Lkkork oulcriiig into tho more yi)ociaI subjects of tlii.s paper, it may 
1)0 as well to refer briotly to tlio geographical position ami physical 
characteristics ot this almost unknown laml. Its discovery we owe 
to the Austro-Hungarian Expedition of 1872—74, under tho 
guidance ot the celebrated Arctic voyagers. Payer and 'Weyprecht. 
It may be remembered, that when in June, 1872, the ‘Tegetthoft ’ 
set sail from r>remcrliaven, with her gallant crew of twenty-four 
souls, tho object in view was to effect the north-east passage by 
ptissing to the northward of Novaya Zcmlya. Peset on tho 
20th August, 1872, off the coast of that island, the ‘ Tegetthofl’ ’ 
remained a prisoner in the ice during the winter of 1872; and 
utterly lielpless, and exposed every hour to destruction, drifted 
with tlie i^ck for more than a year; until on the 30th August, 1873, 
the mist rising, revealed a high and mountainous land at a distance 
ot about fourteen miles from the ship, commencing in latitude 
/9" 43 N. Though the Austrians managed to effect a landing 
during October, 1873, it was not till the spring of 1874, that 
regular explorations could be undertaken ; and their results have 
ecu given us by Payer, in one of the most reliable and interesting 
works on Arctic discoveries, ‘New Lands within the Arctic Circle.’ 
ith tho abandonment of the ‘ Tegetthoff’ in May, 1874, the 
greater iiart of the collections diligently amassed bv Payer 'and 
other members of the expedition, had to be left behind, and only a 
small remnant, wliich was presented to the Imperial Acadeniv of 
‘Sciences at A’^ieiina, reached Euro 2 )c. 
