The Royal Society Expedition to southern Chile

Abstract

Professor Pantin has already explained how the Royal Society Expedition to southern Chile arose as a part of the Darwin-Wallace Centenary celebrations, and how it was regarded as a first step in a more comprehensive scheme. As a pilot expedition it was expected to have several uses. I t would reveal some of the difficulties involved in sending a small party to a rather distant part of the southern hemisphere, it would test the utility of a small, compact, party and assess the kind of scientific work such a group could accomplish, and it would provide a basis for the organization and work of later expeditions.