1885.1 2^* [Rink. 



sion over the inland-ice in 187® disclosed regions of a nature never before 

 observed, and in 1883 he passed far bej-ond the points reached by others. 

 He toolv his starting point in 08° N. latitude. Tlie first forty kilometers 

 offered a very uneven ice, almost without snow and lull of water holes, 

 ending in a height of about 1100 meters above the sea. For the next 

 twenty two kilometers the ice was covered with a deep sheet of watery 

 snow to a height of 1500 meters, and finally tlie Laplanders who followed 

 him passed 115 kilometers, reaching a height of 2000 meters. The latter 

 part of this road was quite level, but passing over deep snow without 

 water, and only to be passed by means of snowslioes. 



Conclusions with regard to the unknown regions about the 

 POLES. — As far as I know, the existence of icebergs which miglit be sup- 

 posed to have their origin from regions not yet discovered, about the 

 North pole, has not been asserted. Ou the contrary, in the South sea, 

 we not only meet with bergs whose origin must be derived from an un- 

 known home, but whose dimensions by far exceed those of the arctic 

 bergs. The latter may reach the height of between 300 and 400 feet above 

 the level of the sea, but this only refers to edges or points occasionally 

 turned upwards by the movements to which these floating bodies are con- 

 continually liable. An iceberg tolerably preserved in its original state, 

 with a fiat surface, will not measure more than 100 feet on an average. 

 According to the report given by the Challenger expedition the Southern 

 bergs may be rated as nearly the double of this size. At tlie same time 

 their perpendicular walls offer a structure marked by horizontal streaks 

 which might augur a difference with regard to their formation. The report 

 adds that these bergs undoubtedly are detached pieces of the large ant- 

 arctic ice-covering, the perpendicular walls of which, measuring 180 feet 

 in height, were seen by James Ross. Morover, it is inferred from the 

 occurrence and nature of these blocks, that the South pole hardly can 

 be supposed to be surrounded oy continuous land of any extent, but most 

 likely by smaller groups of islands. These tracts then, with exception of 

 the high chain of volcanoes discovered by Ross, must be wholly buried 

 under the same continuous sheet of ice. This description appears to sug- 

 gest the idea, that the bergs originate more or less from the whole circum- 

 ference of the ice-crust, which, according to the same supposition, must be 

 imagined to be spread over more sea than land. 



I can not conceive of such masses of ice having been accumulated with- 

 out an extensive area contributing to it by concentrating the movements 

 of its ice-covering to certain points of its circumference, and this again 

 requires a more or less continental cliaracter of the land rei)resenling the 

 said area. The chief part of the latter at least must consist of land. If 

 the movement of the ice-covering was more equally distributed to the 

 whole of its circumference, its margin in being pushed into the sea would 

 be liable to break into smaller parts, and thus be gradually wasted before 

 fragments like bergs could be formed and get afloat. At the same time 



