Evening star., 1896-12-26

area covers not less than As, oOO, 900 square
miles-about once and a half that of the
United States and equal to the area of the
great Chinese empire. II is with good
son that at the last international geograph-
icaI congress, held in London in the sum-
mer Cf 1s.t5. the first general resolution of
recommendations embodied the statement
that the greatest piece of geogra phical work
that was left for the future, and one that
should be Immediately taken up in the pres
ent, was the exploration of this terra or
aqua incognita-
AT the present time three expeditions are
being planned or actually being placed In
commission for the important work of dis
covery in the south polar regions. At the
he ad of one of these will be the Norwegian.
BOrchgrevink, who, in association with his
commander, Capt. Kristensen, in 1S94-9J,
while OH a whaie-catching cruise reached
in Ross trail latitude IA degrees south, and
made the first landing on which Is common
Iy designated the antarctic continent, If in
reality such continental mass exists.
Borchgrevink's fitness for this command
seems eminently established. and the lucid,
graphic and wholly unpretentious account
of his late experiences has placed to his
credit a confidence similar TO that which
has been reposed In the still more illus
trious sire of Norwegian SOIL, Fridtjof Nam
sen.
of vegetable forms part of the product
of the southern lands Up to the year 1885,
when fragments of what appear to be true
lichens Were picked or from the bleak and
forhidding rocks of Cape Adarl, on Victoria
Land, and the on-lying Possession Island,
IL had been assumed that not a trace, type
or form of vegetation of any kind belonged
10 this inhospitabie tract of the south-a
tract OF land or Ice destitute of terres-
trial fauna as it was assumed 70 5e of a
\ covering or partially covering vegetation
Strangely contrasting is the discovery
made by Capt. Larsen in 1893 on Seymour
Island. a patch of antarctic land lying al
most due south of Patagonia, of an abund-
ance Of fossiLzed plant remains-remains
not Indicative of a low type of vegetable
/. organization, but of the noble structure of
Ire South American pine or arancaria
When There Was Vegetation.
However meager or absent may be yege-
tation of the far south today. the evidence
IS conclusive that at q former period OF the
earth's history, and one that is quite recent
when measured by geological standards
perhaps extending no farther back than
10000 years, or even considerably Iess-a
goodly vegetation of forest trees and with
II, doubtless. a multitude of herbaceous
plants OF various kinds. gave nfe, color and
freshness 10 the landscape of Antarctica
the landscape which today sees hardly
more than giant glaciers, walls of ice hun
Adreds of miles In length and as many feet
N height. undulating mountain slopes
~cried beneath perhaps thousands of feat
thickness of snow, and few grandly
smoking volcanic cones, like Erebus send
ing skywards the products of the internal
destruction Of the earth
The second expedition Is planned under
the direction of Lieut.. GerIache young
Belgian, and receives, in addition to the
warm support OF the town. Antwerp, from
which II IS expected to take its departure
the official patronage OF the Belgian gov
eminent in the shape of a timely financial
backing; presumably. therefore, a possible
failure on its part Will not be due to the alb
scnce OF those "sinews of war which are
so emineatly necessary for this far-off ex-
plOration- IL Is gratifying 10 learn that the
scientists OF America are fully awake TO the
Importance of the explorations that are
planned and to the discoveries that await
the successful investigator of AntaF:.ica.
At the last annual meeting of the Ameri-
can Society OF Naturalists a committee
vas appointed TO examine into the prac-
ticability and the ways and means of fur
tEering an Observation-Disclosures expedj+ion
and at the coming meeting tn Boston of the
up. Professors Angelo HeiIprun and r. ID
Cope Of Philadelphia are members OF this
cOm1ittee. and ii Is known that they
strongly favor the immediate $50 far as it
may be possible) equipment OF such an ex-
pedition. 1t Is thought that $4,000 VIII
adequately cover an important reconpais-
sance. II not deep penetration. with the use
OF one or more steam whalers from the
Newfoundland or Norwegian feet.
Region of Graham. Land.
l. seems likely that the points of attack
for all expeditions will be the region OF
Grahain's Land, south of Patagonia. which
lies nearer to the base of operations than
the Victoria Land of Ross. and offers ad-
ditional advantages to exploration which
/ are not found I'm the track lying south of
Australia. II holds out, moreover, hopes Of
important scientific results even with the
fat1 Of hon oh a{r -.
tionI.e., high penetration southwark II