Preparations and Equipment. 



29 feet long and 9 feet wide. These were intended for 

 use in case the ship should, after all, be lost, the idea 

 being that we should live in them while drifting in the 

 ice. They were large enough to accommodate the whole 

 ship's company with provisions for many months. Then 

 there were four smaller boats of the form sealers generally 

 use. They were exceedingly strong and lightly built, 

 two of oak, and two of elm. The seventh boat was a 

 small pram, and the eighth a launch with a petroleum 

 engine, which, however, was not very serviceable, and 

 caused us a great deal of trouble. 



As I shall have frequent occasion later on to speak of 

 other details of our equipment, I shall content myself 

 here with mentioning a few of the most important. 



Special attention was, of course, devoted to our com- 

 missariat with a view to obviating the danger of scurvy 

 and other ailments. The principle on which I acted in 

 the choice of provisions was to combine variety with 

 wholesomeness. Every single article of food was 

 chemically analysed before being adopted, and great care 

 was taken that it should be properly packed. Such 

 articles, even, as bread, dried vegetables, etc., etc., were 

 soldered down in tins as a protection against damp. 



A good library was of great importance to an expedi- 

 tion like ours, and thanks to publishers and friends both 

 in our own and in other countries We were very well 

 supplied in this respect. 



The instruments for taking scientific observations of 



