140 EJNAR MIKKELSEN. 
preceding summers, but this was entirely reversed during our third sum- 
mer, when in the month of June the wind blew for twenty days from 
the south and for five from the north. 
These unusual wind-conditions altogether changed the state of the 
pack-ice during the summer of 1912, and it became uncommonly favour- 
able. The pack-ice was far removed from land, even in April and so 
on during the whole of the summer, and it was very slack, as far as we 
could see from an elevation of 300 a 400 metres. 
The land-water decreased a little in extent during July, but the 
belt of pack-ice must have been very open and narrow, as a northerly 
gale, which blew on July 11th, raised a swell so heavy that it broke 
up the land-ice and heaved the shore-ice at least 50—60cm up and down. 
The strait between Bass Rock and Pendulum Island became im- 
passable on July 10th, and the land-ice in the larger bays and along 
the east side of Freeden Bay broke up and drifted away on July 17th. 
The warm weather during the latter part of April had a lasting 
effect on the vegetation of all the lower lands of Bass Rock and Pen- 
dulum Island, which had been floated during this warm spell. These 
areas froze during the ensuing cold snap, and the consequences were 
that the growing vegetation became cased in ice, which either killed 
it or delayed it so much that the flowers only began to bloom a couple 
of weeks after they were blooming in more elevated parts. 
The yellow poppy bloomed on July 22nd on the south end of 
Bass Rock, which was exposed to the rays of the sun day and night, 
but they were hardly even in buds on the east coast of Bass Rock at 
the same time. But Bass Rock was on the whole rather bare of vege- 
tation except mosses and rank grass between the hollows of the stones, 
thus making a great contrast to the fertile Pendulum Island, the slopes 
of which were covered with an abundance of grasses and mosses, but 
surprisingly few willows. The north coast of Pendulum Island, which 
was steep and very disintegrated, was contrary to expectations and in 
spite of its exposed conditions, more fertile than any other part of the 
neighbourhood. Several kinds of flowers were seen on Pendulum Island, 
amongst which were the only bluebells, which we saw on this expedition. 
They were in bloom on July 3rd. 
The first sign of returning animal life in 1912 was seen on April 
28th, when we noticed the first migratory birds i. e. a few snow-buntings. 
Gulls were not seen till May 29th. A few guillemots were roosting on 
Bass Rock and had eggs on June 3rd, but only very few birds lived 
on this island, which we had expected to be a favorite place for roosting 
birds, because of its steep and inaccessible cliffs. 
The birds were, all told, rather scarce on Bass Rock as well as on 
Pendulum Island, where we only saw some few eiderducks and geese, 
besides ptarmigans. These latter had very few brown feathers on May 
9th, when several couples were shot, and we were surprised to notice 
