POLAR-ICE.' — FIELDS. 241 



the land : for in every opening of the main body of 

 ice at a distance from the sea, the water is always 

 as smooth as that of a harbour ; and as I have ob- 

 served, the growth of ice up to a foot in thickness in 

 such a situation, during one month's frost, the effect 

 of many years we might deem to be sufficient for 

 the formation of the most ponderous fields. 



There is no doubt but a large quantity of ice is 

 annually generated in the bays, and amidst the is- 

 lands of Spitzbergen ; which bays, towards the end 

 of summer, are commonly emptied of their contents, 

 from the thawing of the snow on the mountains 

 causing a current outwards. But this will not ac- 

 count for the immense fields which are so abundant 

 in Greenland. These evidently come from the 

 northward, and have their origin between Spitzber- 

 gen and the Pole. 



SECT. III. 



Description of Ice-Fields, and Remarks on their 

 Formation and Tremendous Concussions. 



Ice-fields constitute one of the wonders of the 

 deep. They are often met with of the diameter of 

 twenty or thirty miles ; and when in a state of such 

 close combination that no interstice can be seen, 

 they sometimes extend to a length of fifty or near 



VOL. I. Q. 



