OCR Rendition - approximate

266 At that time some exceedingly interesting experiments in horticulture were commenced. A small garden was first formed by breaking up the layer of turf on the surface, to enable the sun to thaw the frozen earth underneath, and in this manner sufficient mould was obtained to lay out proper beds. In these were then planted seeds, among others radishes brought from Sweden, while several species of the Spitzbergen fauna were planted here. Both flourished remarkably, as did also the rye and oats which we planted here. The latter grew well, although slowly, and were, at the end of July, six to eight centimetres long. Their growth was measured every fifth clay, while studies of the Sun's chemical influence on the same were simultaneously prosecuted. The migratory birds continued to arrive : thus on June 2 the brent geese put in their appearance, and in great flocks took possession of the innumerable lagoons. They were, however, very shy, and comparatively few were shot. Of wild reindeer several were shot, and one Polar bear was seen, but escaped. At last on June 26, at 4 p.m., the first reminder of the outside world appeared in the shape of a fishing smack, but, although every effort was made to attract attention, she passed northwards. On July 8 _n expedition was despatched to Cape Staratschin. the "general post-office" of Spitzbergen, which brought back news, letters, and the literature of the civilised world for a whole twelvemonth, the period of our isolation. Shortly afterwards we had several calls of Norwegian hunters, among whom may be mentioned the well known Capt. Kjeldsen, of the Isbjiirnen, who participated in the Payer-Weyprecht expedition of 1872, and in the Austrian to Jan-Mayen, 1882-83. He made the remarkable report that he had found the sea at the Norse Islands early in July this summer entirely free from ice, not even seeing the c ice-blink," i.e. the light reflected from new ice formed out of sight. This was in the exact spot where the Swedish expedition was compelled to return on account of enormous pack-ice, at the same period in 1882. He was of the opinion that a steamer would have been able to penetrate very far north of the Seven Islands this summer. In the middle of August the relief boat Urd arrived, and, after having cleared the houses, and nailed up the windows and doors, we went on board, and steamed out of the Ice Fjord on August 25, having for a period of exactly 40o days, contributed our quota to International Polar research. ITHE WEIGHTS OF BRITISH NOBLE.1IF1V DURING THE LAST THREE GEA'hRAIIONS T is of considerable interest to know in an exact way the amount of change that may have occurred in our race during recent generations. I therefore send the following results concerning the changes in weight, which I have calculated from data obligingly furnished to me by Messrs. Berry, of 3, St. James's Street, London. Messrs. Berry are the heads of an old-established firm of wine and coffee merchants, who keep two huge beam scales in their shop, one for their goods, and the other for the use and amusement of their customers. Upwards of 20,000 persons have been weighed in them since the middle of last century clown to the present day, and the results are recorded in well-indexed ledgers. Some of those who had town houses have been weighed year after year during the Parliamentary season for the whole period of their adult lives. I examined two of the ledgers at my own house, and was satisfied of their genuineness and accuracy ; also that they could be accepted as weighings in " ordinary indoor clothing " unless otherwise stated. Much personal interest attaches itself to these unique registers, for they contain a large proportion of the historical names in our upper classes. I have ventured to discuss only a small and definite FIG. i -One-fourth f the Series arc :;,,re Brag; , air thar , s Specimen. ('i he ulrper Qssanile ) FIG. e.-One-fourth of the Series are less irregular than this Specimen. (The Lower Quartile.) large scale on each schedule. My best thanks are due to Messrs. Berry for their careful oversight of the tedious' clerical work and for the intelligent assistance they gave in having it satisfactorily accomplished. The age-weight traces differ widely and in many ways: (1) in the annual range of weight, (2) in its tluctuations from year to year, (3) in the age at which the weight reaches its maximum, (4) in the bluntness of the culminating point. The annual range is shown in Figs. i and 2 by the short, v, rtical lines that connect. the upper and lower contours. The top of each line corresponds to the highest weight recorded in the year to which it refers, and the bottom of the line to the lowest. I find the average annual range in my whole series of cases to be 6 lbs., and that, in the successive decades extending over, ninety years, it has decreased prettily steadily from 7 lbs.' to 5 lbs. This points to an irregularity in the mode of life that was greater two or three generations back than now, and we shall shortly see that it is by no means' a' solitary indication of this well known fact. It would' be interesting to learn how much annual irregularity in the weight of an adult is consistent with perfect health. NATURE .7("l- 17, 1884 part of this mass of material, and I selected the nobility for the purpose, because the dates of their births could be easily learnt, which had to be dune in order to connest the years in which they were weighed-with their ages at the time. They formed a more homogeneous group than one that included younger brothers and men about town, who marry late and lead less regular lives. I therefore begged Messrs. Berry to find a clerk for me who should make the required extracts under their direction in an anonymous form for statistical purposes. I also asked to be furnished with an alphabetical list of the persons weighed, that I might know generally with whom I was dealing, and that each schedule should bear a reference to the folio whence it was extracted, so that, whenever verification was needed, the original might be referred to. All this was done, and I am in possession of 139 schedules referring to as many different persons, namely, 109 peers, 29 baronets iwho were added as makeweights)., and i eldest son of a peer. They were born at various times between 1740 and 1830, or thereabouts. Each schedule gives the age and year of the several weighings, the highest and lowest weights recorded in that year, and a copy of such remarks as were entered at the time about the dress. An age-weight trace similar to those in Figs. i and 2 was plotted on a Specirrteus of the J,,-e- J1d'i;ht Cwvv, of Indiuiduais ace 30 CIibPDF - www.fastio.com