88 PLAN AND PREPARATIONS 



We had two photographic cameras, an air ther- 

 mometer, two aneroids with altitude scale to 15,000 feet, 

 and two hypsometers. The hypsometer is only an 

 instrument for determining the boiling-point, which 

 gives one the height above the sea. The method is 

 both simple and reliable. 



The medical stores for sledging were given by a 

 London firm, and the way in which the things were 

 packed speaks for the whole outfit. There is not a speck 

 of rust on needles, scissors, knives, or anything else, 

 although they have been exposed to much damp. Our 

 own medical outfit, which was bought in Christiania, and 

 according to the vendor's statement unusually well 

 packed, became in a short time so damaged that the 

 whole of it is now entirely spoilt. 



The sledging provisions must be mentioned briefly. 

 I have already spoken of the pemmican. I have never 

 considered it necessary to take a whole grocer's shop 

 with me when sledging; the food should be simple and 

 nourishing, and that is enough a rich and varied menu 

 is for people who have no work to do. Besides the 

 pemmican, we had biscuits, milk-powder, and chocolate. 

 The biscuits were a present from a well-known Nor- 

 wegian factory, and did all honour to their origin. They 

 were specially baked for us, and were made of oatmeal 

 with the addition of dried milk and a little sugar; 

 they were extremely nourishing and pleasant to the 

 taste. Thanks to efficient packing, they kept fresh and 



