Dr. P. Marshall took up the history of discovery in geography and geology, and gave some details of the voyages from the finding of the South Shetlands in 1599 to the second year of the Scottish expedition, which was first reported on the 31st May of this year. He laid particular stress upon Cook's voyage in 1744, and Ross's in 1839–43, and mentioned that each of the voyagers considered that a southern continent existed, owing to the numerous large flat-topped icebergs consisting of inland ice that they encountered in every longitude. He mentioned that fossils had been discovered by the Swedish expedition in Graham Land that were probably vegetation indicating a tropical climate, and also some land-animals. Mr. Ferrar, of the “Discovery,” had found leaf-fossils at an elevation of 6,000 ft. in south Victoria Land. The existence of volcanoes in south Victoria Land and Graham Land seemed to point to a connection between the great volcanic land of South America and a Pacific line through New Zealand.

Mr. J. S. S. Cooper spoke of what had been done by the expedition in physics. He referred to the very cold weather experienced, the register being at times 68° below zero, which was much colder than anything experienced in the Arctic regions. Pendulums were swung in order to discover the force of gravity, and the results would have an important bearing on the theories as to the shape of the earth. Important findings were also made in atmospherical electricity. A very complete set of apparatus sent down was checked in Christchurch before it went away and after it came back. It was owing to the liberality of the New Zealand Government in providing a magnetic observatory at Christchurch that Lyttelton was made the base of the expedition. One curious thing he mentioned—namely, in the western sledge journey Lieutenant Shackelton got to the south of the south magnetic pole, so that his magnetic needle pointed in an exactly contrary direction to that in which it should point, the north end pointing south. A suspended needle pointed almost vertical, the horizontal force being practically nothing. Mr. Cooper exhibited curves taken by Mr. Bernacchi, and compared them with curves taken at the same time in Christchurch and Germany. On corresponding days they showed similar characteristics, thus proving that the disturbances recorded had been felt all over the world at the same time. A great magnetic storm in November, 1903, which largely deranged the telegraphic system of Europe, was clearly recorded at Christchurch and by the “Discovery” party.

Mr. G. M. Thomson touched on the biological work of the expedition. There were, he said, several remarkable differences betweent the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The former had quite a rich flora, including a large number of flowering-plants, and numerous mosses and lichens. In short, in the Arctic summer of a few weeks' duration the sheltered parts were full of verdure and beautiful flowers—poppies, buttercups, white scurvy-grass, purple saxifrages, and others—with beds of green grass in many places. The mosses—green, red, and brown—occurred in large beds wherever there was moisture, and the dead moss formed masses of peat. The rocks were everywhere covered with many-coloured lichens. Thus the whole aspect was varied and warm-coloured. But in the Antarctic there were no flowering-plants whatever, very few lichens, and still fewer mosses. There being no plant-life, there was none of the insect-life such as was always associated with plants. The invertebrate fauna were all obtained within the 100-fathom line. There was no littoral or tidal zone, because the shore was mostly hidden under a permanent ice-face. The “Gauss” found much the same. The coast, where accessible, was covered with an ice-face, and elsewhere was precipitous and inaccessible, and falling steeply to a deep sea. The most interesting discovery of all, perhaps, was that made by Mr. Ferrar, who accompanied Captain Scott on his western journey. A great