2o6 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [June 



necessary under these conditions to temporarily close the venti- 

 lating holes, and if at this time the cook is intent on preparing 

 our breakfast with a frying-pan we are quickly made aware of 

 his intentions. A combination of this sort is rare and lasts only 

 for a very short time, for directly the fire is aglow the ventilator 

 can be opened again and the relief is almost instantaneous. 



This very satisfactory condition of inside air must be a highly 

 important factor in the preservation of health. 



I have to-day regularised the pony ' nicknames ' ; I must 

 leave it to Drake to pull out the relation to the ' proper ' names 

 according to our school contracts ! * 



The nicknames are as follows : 



James Pigg Keohane 



Bones Crean 



Michael Clissold 



Snatcher Evans (P.O.) 



Jehu 



China 



Christopher Hooper 



Victor Bowers 



Snippets (windsucker) 



Nobby Lashly 



Friday, June 2. — The wind still high. The drift ceased at 

 an early hour yesterday; it is difficult to account for the fact. 

 At night the sky cleared; then and this morning we had a fair 

 display of aurora streamers to the N. and a faint arch east. 

 Curiously enough the temperature still remains high, about 4-7°- 



The meteorological conditions are very puzzling. 



Saturday, June 3. — The wind dropped last night, but at 

 4 A.M. suddenly sprang up from a dead calm to 30 miles an 

 hour. Almost Instantaneously, certainly within the space of one 

 minute, there was a temperature rise of nine degrees. It is the 

 most extraordinary and interesting example of a rise of tem- 

 perature with a southerly wind that I can remember. It is 

 certainly difficult to account for unless we imagine that during 



* Officially the ponies were named after the several schools which had subscribed 

 for their purcliase: but sailors are inveterate nicknamers, and the unofficial humour 

 prevailed. See Appendix, Note i8. 



