Natur

In later life the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, the explorer and scientist Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) encouraged and supported the 1901 voyage of his fellow Norwegian Roald Amundsen (1872-1928), publishing this account of its scientific findings in 1906. Amundsen had just purchased his famous boat, the Gjoa, and wanted to test her in Arctic waters. He planned to pay for the expedition by hunting seals, but wanted to carry out scientific work at the same time. On Nansen's advice, he decided to make oceanographic observations. After a six-month voyage, he returned with both observations and samples of water and plankton which considerably enlarged understanding of the bottom waters of the Norwegian Sea and the play of current in the area. Nansen's work supplies technical details, diagrams and maps from this remarkable scientific survey.

First published in 1878, this English translation of the memoirs of Hans Hendrik (c.1834-89), a native Greenlander, provides a valuable alternative perspective on polar exploration in the nineteenth century. Inuit were often employed on Arctic expeditions of the period. Hendrik is remarkable, however, not only because his skills as a guide and hunter were called on repeatedly during several expeditions - notably those led by Elisha Kent Kane, Isaac Israel Hayes, Charles Francis Hall and George Strong Nares - but also because he wrote his own account of these experiences. The memoirs show that Hendrik distinguished himself through his application of survival skills and that he dealt with numerous challenges, including the forced abandonment of ship and drifting for months on an ice floe. Instances of sickness and malnutrition are also recorded, as is the poor treatment that Hendrik and other Inuit sometimes experienced from their employers.

James Bryce (1806-77) was a Scottish schoolteacher and geologist. His numerous articles on geology earned him a place in the Geological Society of London (1834) and in the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1875). He also campaigned to reform the Scottish universities and for Scottish education to be independent of the English system. In 1855 Bryce conducted a geological survey of Clydesdale and the Isle of Arran for the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS). His findings were published the same year, in this book. Bryce's study records the natural history of the two regions, with descriptions of the geological features encountered on various expeditions in Arran. Bryce also describes the Arran flora, marine fauna, and rare insect life. This book remained the geological authority on Arran and Clydesdale for a long time; the third edition, reissued here, was published in 1865.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, British Arctic exploration became defined by the search for the missing expedition of Sir John Franklin, who had in fact perished in desperate circumstances in 1847. As a newly qualified naval officer, William Hulme Hooper (1827-54) took part in one of the many expeditions which sought to find Franklin. Embarking in 1848, the crew of HMS Plover spent three winters in the Arctic, with tragic consequences for Hooper's health. On his return, perhaps realising time was short, he wrote this illustrated account of his travels, and saw it published the year before he died at the age of only twenty-seven. The work is of particular interest because of its detailed descriptions of the Bering Sea region, Alaska and the Canadian Arctic. Especially noteworthy are the observations on the way of life of the indigenous Chukchi people, whom Hooper called 'Tuski'.

Abandoning a promising career in the law, Barthelemy Faujas de Saint-Fond (1741-1819) enjoyed the encouragement of the eminent scientist Buffon in pursuing his love of natural history. His keen interest in rocks, minerals and fossils led to a number of important discoveries, among which was confirmation that basalt was a volcanic product. Appointed assistant naturalist at the natural history museum in Paris, he became a professor of geology in 1793, occupying this position until his death. This 1784 work begins with concise accounts of numerous varieties of basalt, describing the key features of each, before moving on to discuss several other volcanic products, including breccia and pozzolana. Of related interest, two other works by Faujas, Essai de geologie (1803-9) and the revised English edition of A Journey through England and Scotland to the Hebrides in 1784 (1907), are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

A significant limitation on the development of zoology, botany and palaeontology in the mid-nineteenth century was the absence of a centralised collection of specimens. Appointed superintendent of the British Museum's natural history departments in 1859, the distinguished biologist Richard Owen (1804-92) quickly realised the need to make various scattered samples more readily available for study, and began campaigning for a new, national museum with unprecedented space and resources. This book is the text of one of his speeches to the Royal Institution, given in 1861 and first published in 1862. He argues against the usual practice of exhibiting only one type form for each genus, provides possible floor plans, and presents case studies across the zoological field which show the limitations of the then current system. He also stresses a new idea, that such a museum should aim not only to help scientists, but to educate the general public.

Famed for his exploration of the Pacific and Australasia, James Cook (1728-79) was also an excellent surveyor and a meticulous keeper of records. The journal entries presented here cover Cook's first voyage around the world aboard the Endeavour, during which he mapped New Zealand and claimed the eastern coastline of Australia for George III, having made landfall at Botany Bay. Cook's journal is an invaluable first-hand account containing nautical details of his voyage around the Pacific as well as geographical observations, descriptions of flora and fauna, and notes on the peoples, cultures and languages encountered. Critical of the 1773 Hawkesworth edition (also reissued in this series), the naval officer William James Lloyd Wharton (1843-1905) published this annotated transcription of Cook's journal in 1893. A number of illustrations, maps and facsimiles of some entries are spread throughout the text. The work also contains a sketch of Cook's life.

Covering a wide area of the London and Hampshire basins, the London Clay has been famous for over two hundred years as one of the richest Eocene strata in the country. In this work, first published between 1849 and 1858, Fellows of the Royal Society Richard Owen (1804-92) and Thomas Bell (1792-1880) describe their findings from among the reptilian fossils found there. The book is divided into four parts, covering chelonian, crocodilian, lacertilian and ophidian fossils, and includes an extensive section of detailed illustrations. Using his characteristic 'bone to bone' method and an emphasis on taxonomy, Owen draws some significant conclusions; he shows that some of Cuvier's classifications were wrongly extended to marine turtles, and adds to the evidence for an Eocene period much warmer than the present. The work is a fascinating example of pre-Darwinian palaeontology by two scientists later much involved in the evolutionary controversy.

While living in Japan, John Milne (1850-1913) sought to study the 1880 Yokohama earthquake, soon realising that scientists lacked the proper tools. Aided by colleagues, he went on to develop the necessary instrumentation, and by 1896 he had built the first seismograph capable of recording major earthquakes in any part of the world. His textbook Earthquakes and Other Earth Movements (also reissued in this series) had appeared in 1886. In this follow-up work, published in 1898, Milne continues to discuss the nature of earthquakes, the methods and equipment needed to investigate them, and how to apply this knowledge to construction. He references the research, hypotheses and formulae of modern scientists, also noting in passing the suggestions made by earlier authors on the causes of seismic activity. The text is accompanied by many diagrams, especially of experimental apparatus, and several photographs illustrate damaged buildings and bridges.

John Tyndall (1820-93) was a prominent physicist, particularly noted for his studies of thermal radiation and the atmosphere. He was a prolific writer and lecturer, who was able to bring experimental physics to a wide audience. While researching his 1860 work, The Glaciers of the Alps, he became a proficient climber, and this work, first published in 1871, combines climbing expeditions in Switzerland with comments on glaciation and geology. It was extremely popular, with a second edition in the same year, and German and American editions in 1872. He was one of a group of noted Alpinists of the period, making the first ascent of the Weisshorn in Switzerland and finally conquering the Matterhorn in 1868, three years after its first ascent. This account of Victorian climbing expeditions makes fascinating reading, and shows the length an experimental scientist was prepared to go in search of knowledge.

An industrial chemist by profession, Luke Howard (1772-1864) proposed the method of cloud classification that is still in use today. His life-long interest in meteorology led him to produce this landmark work in the history of the subject. General scientific opinion at the time was that clouds were too changeable to be classified, but, inspired by Linnaeus' work in biological classification, Howard proposed a method which used Latin terminology - cirrus, cumulus, stratus and nimbus - to provide a standard description for each of three groups of cloud types. His work was first published in the Philosophical Magazine in 1803; it was produced in book form in 1832 but went quickly out of print. This reissue is of the third printing (1865) of the edition brought out after his death in 1864 by two of his sons. Howard's other meteorological works are also reissued in this series.

Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay (1814-91) was a British geologist with a particular interest in the effects of glaciation on the landscape. He travelled in Europe and America, and was a keen climber. His first work, Geology of the Island of Arran (1840), also published in this series, attracted the attention of Roderick Murchison, who found him employment with the Geological Survey, and Ramsay later succeeded Murchison as its director. He carried out important fieldwork in Wales, taught at University College London and the Royal School of Mines, and published a successful textbook. Another major contribution was his work on the origin of lakes: his controversial 1862 proposal that glaciers could hollow out lake basins even in the absence of earth movements was eventually accepted. Ramsay's younger colleague at the Geological Survey, Sir Archibald Geikie (1835-1924), who also wrote a biography of Murchison, published this memoir in 1895.

The renowned geologist James D. Forbes (1809-68) presents an account of his systematic exploration of alpine mountain regions and glaciers in this important 1843 publication. Forbes' graphic descriptions of alpine scenery and his mountaineering feats are combined with detailed records of his scientific research and experiments. The study cemented Forbes' reputation in the field, which was later to be commemorated by the naming of the Aiguille Forbes in the Alps and of Mount Forbes in both Canada and New Zealand. The aim in writing the book, says Forbes, was to 'illustrate the physical geography of a particular district in one of the most frequented regions of the Alps'. In doing this, he draws upon the important work of the 'bold mountaineer' Horace Benedict de Saussure, whose feats and achievements Forbes clearly admired. The book is still viewed today as one of the most influential and important publications on mountaineering.

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was an intellectual giant: an explorer who helped lay the foundations of biogeography, a naturalist who influenced Charles Darwin, and a botanist who developed a model of the Earth's climate zones. He travelled extensively in Europe, carried out scientific explorations across the Russian Empire and in Latin America, and devoted much energy to seeking a unified view of the different branches of scientific knowledge. Ansichten der Natur, published in 1808 with a second edition in 1826, aimed to 'engage the imagination' as well as to communicate new ideas, and was translated into many European languages. This authorised translation of the third and final 1849 edition, dating from Humboldt's eightieth year, was published in 1850, though another English translation (by Mrs Sabine) had appeared the previous year. The wide coverage, including geology, geography and biology, is typical of Humboldt, as is the precise and engaging style.

Although devoted to his parish, Leonard Jenyns (1800-93) combined his clerical duties with keen research into the natural world around him. His numerous publications include A Manual of British Vertebrate Animals (1835) and Observations in Natural History (1846), both of which are reissued in this series. This 1858 work is based on nineteen years of meticulous observation of Cambridgeshire weather, including trends in atmospheric pressure and precipitation. Jenyns' careful recording of his surroundings supplies the raw data for the text and many informative tables. The geological position of Swaffam Bulbeck, where most of the observations were made, is briefly discussed along with other factors bearing upon the climate of Cambridgeshire more generally. Throwing light on how meteorological observation was conducted and interpreted, the work reflects a growing interest in the topic in Victorian Britain.

Sir Henry Alexander Wickham (1846-1928) is remembered for his role in bringing the seeds of the rubber tree in 1876 from Brazil to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, where seedlings were successfully cultivated and then sent to Asia for the establishment of commercial plantations. Wickham later styled his actions in collecting some 70,000 seeds as a tale of botanical smuggling, though at the time such action was not illegal. Skilled as a self-publicist, he enjoyed the great acclaim of the rubber industry as it burgeoned in British colonies abroad. This account, first published in 1872, is of Wickham's earlier travels in South America. The first part of the work traces his journey by river into the continent, recording his observations on rubber cultivation in Brazil. The second part describes his time among the indigenous peoples who lived on the Caribbean coast of Central America.

Born in London, the geologist G. B. Greenough FRS (1778-1855) initially studied law. His studies took him to the University of Gottingen where, almost by chance, he attended lectures on natural history. He was immediately hooked, gave up his legal studies, and devoted himself to geology, going on a series of scientific tours of France, Italy, Britain, Ireland and lastly India. He helped to found the Geological Society, and under its auspices, he organised a cooperative project that led to his famous geological map of England and Wales. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1807 for his services to geology. This influential series of essays, published in 1819, debunked a range of geological theories that were popular at the time, and by so doing, Greenough helped to reform much of geological thinking. The book also includes transcripts from his presidential addresses to the Geological Society.

Although in the original preface to this work the British naturalist Charles Waterton (1782-1865) modestly says his book has 'little merit', his account is a rich description of his experiences in South America and the Caribbean. Waterton managed his family's sugar plantations in Demerara from 1804 to 1812, studied natural history, and later (1812-25) divided his time between the Americas and Europe. This book, originally published in 1825 and reissued here in its 1828 second edition, describes his four expeditions, beginning with his search deep in the rainforest for samples of the rare poison, curare. Waterton also recounts a fierce battle with the Maroons, but his main focus is zoology, including the capture of 'an enormous Coulacara snake', encounters with sloths, monkeys and vampire bats, and close observations of a huge variety of birds. The final chapter describes Waterton's methods of 'preserving birds for cabinets of natural history'.

In 1844 Charles Dickens (1812-70) and his family moved to Italy for a year, eventually settling in Genoa. This book, Dickens' second travel memoir, describes his experience of travelling through France and exploring Italy. Based on letters to friends, particularly John Forster, it was first published in instalments from January to March 1846 in the Daily News (a new radical newspaper which Dickens himself founded and briefly edited). The edition in book form reissued here appeared in May 1846. The main focus of the book is the northern regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Milan and Venice. It also includes substantial sections on Rome and Naples as well as a brief sketch of Switzerland. Landscapes, architecture, lodgings and food are described with selective but penetrating detail. The shrewd social observations characteristic of Dickens' novels are found here, especially in his critical remarks about poverty, popular religion and the Catholic clergy.

During 1834-5 the British naval officer and artist William Smyth (1800-77) and his fellow officer Frederick Lowe (1811-47) went on an expedition to Peru and North-Eastern Brazil. This account of their journey, first published in 1836, combines a travel narrative with anthropological observation. Their objective was to explore the river Pachitea in Peru and investigate its potential as a route from the Andes via the Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean that could reduce journey times and benefit Peruvian exports. The tone of the book is typical of early nineteenth-century European travel literature, in that it shows the authors to have been fascinated by the cultures they encountered while retaining a deep mistrust of the indigenous 'savages' some of whom were held to be 'cannibals'. It is, however, full of fascinating details about the rainforest and its inhabitants, the colonial settlers, and their interactions.

The son of a naturalist, William Bartram (1739-1823) was commissioned to undertake a tour of south-eastern North America in 1773. Collecting seeds, taking specimens and making meticulous drawings and observations of previously unknown flora and fauna, his four-year expedition took him from the foothills of the Appalachians, through Florida and on to the Mississippi. First published in 1791, within ten years this account had been translated into German, French and Dutch. A unique historical record now, and of particular interest at the time, his accounts of the Seminole, Creek and Cherokee Indians were seen by contemporaries as being sympathetic towards peoples commonly regarded as little better than savages, but his writings persuaded others of the need for a more humane approach to the indigenous people. This work influenced not only scientists, but writers such as Wordsworth and Coleridge, and it remains a classic of American science, history and literature.

Swedish archbishop Uno von Troil (1746-1803) had a lifelong enthusiasm for travel and scientific study which led him to accompany the famous naturalist Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) on an expedition to Iceland in 1772. Banks was already well known for his role as botanist on Captain Cook's first voyage on the Endeavour, which mapped the Pacific and uncharted parts of Australia and New Zealand. This book, first published in 1780, is a compilation of letters written by von Troil, documenting the tour of Iceland. The letters describe volcanos and other geological features as well as providing meteorological information and an account of the northern lights. Through his amiable and enthusiastic correspondence, von Troil paints a picture of the Icelandic people, their national character and culture, including their diet and occupations. Also featured is an account of the religious history of Iceland and the organisation of the Icelandic church.

John Reinhold Forster (1729-98), a scientific writer and translator of German origin, took part in Cook's second Pacific voyage, from 1772 to 1775, and published this study, which records his examinations of 'nature in its greatest extent; the earth, the sea, the air, the organic and animated creation', in 1778. He drew upon the ideas of 'the most ingenious men of the age' in constructing his observations on natural history and navigation. The first half of the book addresses the physical aspects of the world: earth and land, oceans, global changes and flora and fauna. The second half focuses on the anthropological origins of the people of the southern seas. The book was originally written as a popular travel narrative, and it remains an important publication which will appeal to readers interested in historical geography, zoology, ethnology, astronomy and travel writing.

John Hanning Speke (1827-1864) was a British army officer and explorer, remembered for his expeditions in search of the source of the Nile and his disputes with Richard Burton on that subject. On an expedition begun in 1856 Burton and Speke reached Lake Tanganyika together, but Speke travelled on alone to Lake Victoria. He controversially gave lectures about the lakes in London in 1859, without awaiting Burton's return. Speke returned to Africa later that year, leading an expedition organised by the Royal Geographical Society, to explore Lake Victoria and investigate whether it really was the source of the Nile. This book, published in 1863, describes the 1859 expedition's challenging and eventful journey through present-day Zanzibar, Tanzania and Uganda, and the indigenous peoples the explorers encountered. Speke made invaluable surveys of the area, but it was only after his death that his views about the Nile were finally proved correct.

Richard Inwards (1840-1937) trained as a mining engineer, working on projects in Europe and South America (his book on Tiwanaku in Bolivia, The Temple of the Andes, is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection). A fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society and the Royal Astronomical Society, Inwards became well known in scientific circles. Weather Lore was first published in 1869, with this 1893 second edition including new entries from the United States. Compiled from sources as diverse as Hesiod, the Bible and Francis Bacon, the collection includes the notable observations that 'if spaniels sleep more than usual, it foretells wet weather', but 'if rats are more restless than usual, rain is at hand'. Often entertaining, always fascinating, the book does not pretend to be scientifically accurate; as the author was to remark later, 'no human being can correctly predict the weather, even for a week to come'.

The geologist Joseph Beete Jukes (1811-1869) studied at Cambridge under Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873). Between 1839 and 1846, he participated in expeditions to the coasts of Newfoundland, Australia and New Guinea. This posthumous book, edited by Jukes' sister and published in 1871, contains selected highlights from Jukes' professional and personal writings. After a short biographical sketch, the material is arranged chronologically, beginning with Newfoundland and Australia and then focusing on Britain and Ireland, where Jukes was involved with national geological surveys. Linking passages by the editor explain the contexts of the pieces, and the book includes a list of Jukes' publications. Jukes lived during an exciting period that saw far-reaching discoveries and advances in his field, and his energy and enthusiasm permeates even his technical communications. Modern readers, like the original audience, will form a vivid impression of Jukes' lively personality, his 'penetrating glance and his sturdy step'.

First published in 1934, and then in a second edition in 1939, this book gives a full account of theoretical meteorology as it was understood at the time. Where theory failed to explain phenomena, the author limited himself to a description of the phenomena and an indication of such theory as was felt to be helpful. Little of the first edition was omitted, but additions were made to many chapters of the second edition, and the chapter on turbulence in the atmosphere was completely rewritten.

Born in Switzerland, Louis Agassiz (1807-73) distinguished himself as one of the most capable and industrious naturalists of the nineteenth century, working in fields as diverse as ichthyology and glaciology. In the late 1840s, he moved to North America, where he became a professor of zoology at Harvard and established the Museum of Comparative Zoology. His extensive bibliography of all known works relating to zoology and geology, which he had compiled for private use, was revised and substantially expanded by the English naturalist Hugh Edwin Strickland (1811-53) and published by the Ray Society in four volumes between 1848 and 1854. As such, it stands as the fullest record of the existing scientific literature just prior to the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Volume 4 (1854), completed by Sir William Jardine (1800-74) after the death of Strickland, concludes the list of works, arranged alphabetically by author, ranging here from Naccari to Zwinger.

Born in Switzerland, Louis Agassiz (1807-73) distinguished himself as one of the most capable and industrious naturalists of the nineteenth century, working in fields as diverse as ichthyology and glaciology. In the late 1840s, he moved to North America, where he became a professor of zoology at Harvard and established the Museum of Comparative Zoology. His extensive bibliography of all known works relating to zoology and geology, which he had compiled for private use, was revised and substantially expanded by the English naturalist Hugh Edwin Strickland (1811-53) and published by the Ray Society in four volumes between 1848 and 1854. As such, it stands as the fullest record of the existing scientific literature just prior to the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Volume 2 (1850) continues the list of works, arranged alphabetically by author, ranging here from Cabanis to Fyfe.

Born in Switzerland, Louis Agassiz (1807-73) distinguished himself as one of the most capable and industrious naturalists of the nineteenth century, working in fields as diverse as ichthyology and glaciology. In the late 1840s, he moved to North America, where he became a professor of zoology at Harvard and established the Museum of Comparative Zoology. His extensive bibliography of all known works relating to zoology and geology, which he had compiled for private use, was revised and substantially expanded by the English naturalist Hugh Edwin Strickland (1811-53) and published by the Ray Society in four volumes between 1848 and 1854. As such, it stands as the fullest record of the existing scientific literature just prior to the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Volume 1 (1848) provides a global list of all relevant periodicals before beginning the principal list of works, arranged alphabetically by author, ranging here from Aalborg to Bywater.