84 



" we commenced operations here, the soil was well frozen, the 

 "ground betrayed no symptoms of weakness and it was partially 

 "snow-clad; but as the power of the sun increased towards 

 " noon, the snow about me disappeared, the instrument legs sank 

 " deeper into the soil, the levels shifted and frequently required 

 " re-adjustment ; yet still the temperature as exhibited by a 

 " thermometer protected by the sun simply indicated 7° below 

 " freezing (Fah.) As noon passed, the soil in all the hollows or 

 " small water-courses became semi-fluid, at the edge of the 

 "southern bank, the mud could be seen actually flowing, 

 " reminding one more of an asphalt bank in a tropical region, 

 " than in our position in lat. 77 to. N. The entire aspect of our 

 " immediate position, and beneath, presented the features of a 

 " newly-drained lake, the lower land conveying its fluid mud to 

 " the sea. The soil, a dark-brown ferruginous clay, resulting 

 " from the disintegration of clay ironstone, black and glazed by 

 "exposure to the sun and cracking into compartments, impressed 

 " on my mind the probability that a continued series of hot days 

 " would materially change the outlines of my present position, 

 " converting it possibly into a similar slope to that exhibited 

 " beneath. Even where I stood the temperature was 25°." 



Flowing soil is alluded to as occurring in other places, 



(Sir E. Belcher, Arctic Voyage, i. p. 306. ) 



N.B. — The preceding extracts are the result of an extended search- 

 'though so meagre. In the printed accounts of the more recent Arctic 

 travels, notices of the action of ice and frost on the soil are almost 

 wholly confined to the evidences of glaciers having covered the land, 

 and to studies of perched blocks, rocJies rnoutonnes, and the direction of 

 scratches and travelled rocks, as if in these were comprised the whole 

 study of " Glaciation!' So completely is this the case, that even in the 

 " Arctic Manual " issued by the Admiralty, with instructions as to what 

 to observe, as suggested by the Royal Society, and prepared for the 

 expedition of 1875, no attention is directed to the subject of my enquiry, 

 nor in the " Manual" can I find a single quotation bearing on the matter. 

 This has not produced increased knowledge in the matter ; and I 

 conclude that the subject was considered unimportant both then and by 

 subsequent English and American writers. 



Under the general spread of vegetable soil it is com- 

 mon to find a thin layer of fine loam, its colour is usually 

 a clear yellow, brown or red. It is generally a homo- 

 geneous loam. Looking at a section of it made across 

 the line of its descent, it is occasionally seen that wavy 



