406 Chapter VII. 



gate thickness to 3* 1 7 metres. On August 22nd the old ice 

 was r86 metres, and the aggregate thickness 3*06 metres. 

 On September 3rd the aggregate thickness was 2 '02 

 metres, and on September 3Oth i '98 metres. On October 

 3rd it was the same ; the thickness of the old ice was then 

 175 metres. On October i 2th the aggregate thickness was 

 2'oS metres, while the old ice was 1*8 metres. On 

 November loth it was still about the same, with only a 

 slight tendency to increase. Further on in November and 

 in December it increased quite slowly. On December i ith 

 the aggregate thickness reached 2'i i metres. On January 

 3rd, 1895, 2 '3 2 metres ; January loth, 2*48 metres ; 

 February 6th, 2*59 metres. Hence it will be seen 

 that the ice does not attain any enormous thickness by 

 direct freezing. The packing caused by pressure can, 

 however, produce blocks and floes of a very different 

 size. It often happens that the floes get shoved in 

 under each other in several layers, and are frozen 

 together so as to appear like one originally continuous mass 

 of ice. Thus the Fram had got a good bed under her. 



Juell and Peter had often disputed together during the 

 winter as to the thickness of ice the Fram had under 

 her. Peter, who had seen a good deal of the ice before, 

 maintained that it must at least be 20 feet thick, while 

 Juell would not believe it, and betted 20 kroner that it 

 was not as thick as that. On April igth this dispute 

 again broke out, and I say of it in my diary: " Juell has 

 undertaken to make a bore, but unfortunately our borer 



