COLLECTING IN ANTARCTIC SEAS. 9 



source of loss ; but if the ice could lie hooked up from below before any attempt was 

 made to release it, the loss could be avoided. It should be borne iu mind that a large 

 proportion of the work was done in the dark and, apart from this fact, once water 

 gained access to the hole, the whereabouts of the line was more or less a matter of 

 guesswork. Lines cannot be coiled nor wound on a winch ; when frozen they snap only 

 too readily. It was always necessary to " walk away " with them when hauled, and let 

 them lie out straight on the floe. If, however, the depth was greater than 30 fathoms, 

 or thereabouts, they lay out in festoons. Lengths of flexible steel rope not exceeding 

 an eighth of an inch in diameter are strongly recommended, as these can be wound on 

 a small light winch, but it is necessary to be on the sharp look-out for kinks, which are 

 of far greater importance than in temperate climates. The use of steel rope involves the 

 use of snatch-blocks and tripods. A single winch secured to a sledge is sufficient for 

 any number of holes, also a single snatch-block. The tripod should be frozen in over 

 each hole, the rest is a mere matter of management. Another very important tool of 

 which we were quite deficient is an ice saw, some 3 or 4 feet long, with a wooden 

 handle, to be worked by one man. For keeping the holes open and for negotiating 

 cracks these would be invaluable. Our smallest ice saw was 13 feet long, and 

 useless for biological purposes without a number of men. 



The lines were very frequently " stranded," though never cut through, presumably 

 by the seals corning in contact with them and snapping at them as they passed ; there 

 did not appear to be any other reason for this. The lines had then to be cut through 

 and knotted. Although the line was always hauled over a bar, usually the pricker, 

 it was especially in the deeper water deflected by the current and, cutting into the 

 ice, hitched up at every one of the knots, which before long were numerous. This 

 rendered hauling the traps single-handed rather a difficult matter, but the lines stood 

 the strain well ; it was only when completely frozen that they snapped. The traps 

 used were at first wooden frames two feet square at the base, covered with mosquito 

 netting, after the fashion of a lobster-pot. As the ice increased in thickness these 

 rigid traps became difficult to negotiate through the holes, and moreover supplies were 

 not inexhaustible. The ordinary tow- net, tied up at one end and baited, was much 

 more convenient and quite as effective. Swabs attached to the traps were always 

 used and very satisfactory. 



Dredging in some form was always carried on inside the 25-fathom line, but 

 beyond this depth stationary traps only could be used. However, in deep water 

 (125 fathoms) the trap or D-net was frequently sent down light and very slowly, so 

 as to be carried by the current as much as possible from the vertical. Then one or 

 two 25-lb. sinkers were sent down and the net hauled. Sometimes this was very 

 successful, sometimes it was not. The captures were brought to the ship either in 

 glass bottles or in a large tin-lined packing-case previously made water-tight. In the 

 winter of course everything froze at once and had to be thawed out on board ship. 

 In the summer the specimens were hardly so well off', for, although they did not freeze, 



