252 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [June 



fuel we expected. Under the impression that we should 

 require them whilst magnetic observations were being taken on 

 board, they were made of phosphor bronze (a non-magnetic 

 material), and we now find that this metal burns so easily that 

 one stove is already practically destroyed, and the other is in a 

 bad way ; luckily we have spare ones which are made of iron. 

 But the worst trouble in this connection is perhaps not so much 

 the fault of the stove itself as of the chimney ; we find that 

 with certain directions of wind it is impossible to avoid a down- 

 drai^ght, and directly the wind turns to this quarter we have to 

 draw fires with all speed and remain fireless till the weather 

 becomes more favourable. 



' But the stove arrangement has its good points as well as 

 its bad : it is satisfactory to find that we can do well with a 

 single stove in each compartment instead of the two that were 

 originally fitted, and the flat stove itself, with its broad grate 

 and transparent talc windows not only forms a very cheerful 

 object, but affords an excellent toasting surface, and as we 

 gather round it before our cheerful midday tea we are not 

 inchned to quarrel with its shape. 



' It is laid down by Parry, I think, that no artificial ventila- 

 tion is necessary in a ship wintering in polar regions, as the 

 difference in temperature without and within is sufficient to 

 cause a speedy interchange of air through the cracks or on the 

 opening of doors. Such a dictum would hold at a time when 

 it was exceedingly difficult to make a ship tight, and no doubt 

 it would hold also in the present condition of the " Discovery" ; 

 but if our decks had been thoroughly caulked some form of 

 air inlet would have been necessary, and an ideal living-space 

 for polar regions should certainly possess a ventilating system 

 capable of regulation and an entire freedom from casual 

 draughts. An efficient ventilating system, however, is a difficult 

 thing to provide in a ship at the best of times, and under polar 

 conditions there are many circumstances which tend to increase 

 the difficulty.' 



As ventilation must always be a subject of serious con- 

 sideration to polar explorers, it may be of interest to describe 



