I904J VOYAGE HOMEWARD 297 



as it had enabled us to accomplish some tasks of importance. 

 Amongst these was the completion of our magnetic survey, 

 which was thus carried about the greater part of the circum- 

 ference of the Antarctic area, as well as to such regions as we 

 had visited within it. 



After leaving New Zealand we gradually increased our 

 latitude until the greater part of our track lay between the 

 parallels of 56° and 60°. This was a route which had often 

 been taken by ships, but one in which the depth of the ocean 

 was entirely unknown. So far as the weather and the circum- 

 stances of the voyage would permit, we endeavoured to supply 

 this deficiency, and although we were not able to sound so 

 frequently as I had hoped, the few soundings which we took 

 are of great interest, as they constitute our only knowledge of 

 the depth of the Pacific in high Southern latitudes. On the 

 whole, these soundings showed a fairly uniform depth of 

 something over 2,000 fathoms. The shallowest, 1,710 fathoms, 

 was obtained on the meridian of 136 W., whilst the deepest, 

 2,738 fathoms, occurred on that of 106 W. close down on the 

 60th parallel. This is only a step, and a very small one, 

 towards what is greatly needed — namely, a complete oceano- 

 graphic survey of the seas about the Antarctic Circle. 



Another point of geographical interest occurring in this 

 voyage may be noted : on two occasions an island named 

 Dogherty Island has been reported approximately in latitude 

 59 S., longitude 120 W., but later observations have thrown 

 some doubt upon its existence. On June 25 we arrived on 

 the supposed position of this land, and found a depth of 

 2,318 fathoms. It was remarkably clear both before and after 

 we took this sounding, and had there been an island within 

 any reasonable limits of its assigned position we could not 

 have failed to see it. The case for the retention of an oceanic 

 island on the chart after it has been proved absent from its 

 supposed position is that the original discoverer may have 

 largely miscalculated that position, but the evidence against 

 the existence of Dogherty Island is now too strong to allow of 

 this explanation. 



