36 Chapter I. 



bability of this. We can even say with tolerable 

 certainty, that at the Pole itself it is not so cold in winter 

 as it is (for example) in the north of Siberia, an inhabited 

 region, or on the northern part of the west coast of 

 Greenland, which is also inhabited. Meteorologists 

 have calculated that the mean temperature at the Pole in 

 January is about 33 Fahr. ( 36 C.) while, for example, 

 in Yakutsk it is 43 Fahr. ( 42 C.), and in Verkhoyansk 

 54 Fahr. ( 48 C.). We should remember that the 

 Pole is probably covered with sea, radiation from which 

 is considerably less than from large land surfaces, such as 

 the plains of North Asia. The polar region has, therefore, 

 in all probability a marine climate with comparatively mild 

 winters, but, by way of a set-off, with cold summers. 



"The cold in these regions cannot, then, be any direct 

 obstacle. One difficulty, however, which many former 

 expeditions have had to contend against, and which must 

 not be overlooked here, is scurvy. During a sojourn of 

 any long duration in so cold a climate, this malady will 

 unquestionably show itself unless one is able to obtain 

 fresh provisions. I think, however, it may be safely 

 assumed that the very various and nutritious foods now 

 available in the form of hermetically closed preparations 

 of different kinds, together with the scientific knowledge 

 we now possess of the food stuffs necessary for bodily 

 health, will enable us to hold this danger at a distance. 

 Nor do I think that there will be an entire absence of 

 fresh provisions in the waters we shall travel through. 



