VI 



PREFACE 



that I was able to experience the joys and trials of sledging. But this was 

 not the only occasions on which he showed his interest in meteorology by under- 

 taking part of the drudgery of making observations, for he was always ready 

 to take a set of observations if I was away from the hut at observation time. 



C. S. Wright was my right-hand man in regard to the magnetic work and 

 during the first year in addition to his own work of chemistry and ice study 

 he was always ready to relieve me of a set of absolute m.agnetic observations 

 or to take the routine meteorological observations. On my return at the end 

 of the first year he took over as much of nT,y work as possible and with the 

 help of T. Gran continued the chief magnetic and meteorological observations, 

 so making the record of these complete for two years. Gran's meteorological 

 work during the second year was remarkable as he was faced by difficulties with 

 which we did not have to contend during the first year and in working up the 

 results I have frec^uently had cause to be grateful to him for the trouble he 

 took to make the record complete. 



During the summ.er when nearly everyone was away from the hut and there 

 was no night watchman E. Nelson volunteered to relieve me of the n\idnight 

 observations and this made it possible for me to get a tolerable night's rest in 

 spite of having to turn out at 4 a.m. to read the meteorological instrum,ents. 



Turning now from the work in the field to the work in the study I find 

 that this part of m,y undertaking also requires explanation and the acknowledg- 

 ment of help ungrudgingly given. The whole of the data was not in my hands 

 until near the end of 1913 and before the discussion was half completed the war 

 broke out. These were strenuous times and as the work had to be done in my 

 spare time it was not until April 1916 that the discussion was conipleted. It 

 then seemed best not to print the work until the end of the war, but as the 

 war dragged on its weary way it was decided in June 1918 to make the experi- 

 ment of publishing the book in India. I was then engaged on war work and 

 had little time to give to work of this nature, which seemed of little account 

 in view of the great issues then being fought out on the battlefields of Europe. 

 The publishing house was also hard pressed and the printing of the work has 

 been long drawn out, but at last in happier times the book is ready for issue. 



One of the effects of the preparation of such a work in such circumstances 

 has been the impossibility of consulting original works, copies of which were 

 not available in India. Frequently I have had to rely on extracts and reviews 

 of previous work where I should have preferred to obtain the original papers, 

 but the disorganized state of the world and the uncertainty of mails made this 

 impossible. 



Many meteorologists will look in vain in this book for statistical results 

 with which they have become familiar in similar works. I am no statistician 

 and statistical meteorology has no attraction for me, therefore I have not loaded 

 my discussion with statistical tables. These have all been banished to Volume 

 III which will consist of tables only and will, I hope, prove a happy hunting 



