258 REPOJIT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



impression of being a man of rare reliability and intelligence, and will 

 doubtless prove a great help to tlie expedition, especially when we come 

 to Spitzbergen, where he seems to be nearly as well acquainted as at his 

 birth-place, Tromso. 



Before we reached Hammerfest we visited the Alten-fjord, where ex- 

 plorations were made at two points. Here, too, we found an intermedi- 

 ate minimum of temperature, though not before reaching the dej)th of 

 100 fathoms. The fauna of the sea-bottom showed, as might be expected, 

 a more marked Arctic character than in the West-fjord, where it still 

 was perfectly Atlantic, 



In Hammerfest, where we arrived on Saturday the 22d of June, early 

 in the morning, the members of the expedition were most cordially re- 

 ceived by the city authorities, and the two days we spent here afforded 

 us ample evidence of the rare hospitality and kindness for which this 

 most northern town of our mundane sphere is famous. 



On Monday night, the 24tli of June, we weighed anchor and directed 

 our course to the north and east in the usual steamship route. On our 

 way we examined two of the large Finmark-fjords, namely, Porsanger- 

 fjord and Tana-fjord. In both a series of careful observations of the 

 temperature were taken, which did not, however, show any such inter- 

 mediate minimum as was found in the West-tjord and Alten-fjord, un- 

 doubtedly on account of the greater shallowness of the water. The 

 fauna was likewise examined, both with the dredge and the trawl-net, 

 whereby its genuine Arctic character could be established. Among the 

 hauls made liere it is necessary to make special mention of the one 

 made in the Tana-fjord with tlie beam-trawl, under the supervision of 

 Captain Grieg. A richer haul we zoologists have hitherto scarcely seen. 

 The trawl-net was brought up containing more than two barrels of loose 

 mud, out of which protruded large beautiful sea-anemones and varie- 

 gated star-fishes, and wherein we saw tumbling about a number of fishes 

 (sea-perch, flounder, and skate). We were here thoroughly convinced 

 of the superiority of the beam-trawl over the common di-edge, espe- 

 cially after we had made various important improvements, not only in the 

 net but also in reference to the arrangement of the weights which are 

 to hold the runners in the right position against the bottom. But the 

 instrument being very large, it is also diflicult to manage, and hence it 

 can as a rule be used only in calm weather, and in a comparatively 

 smooth sea. We have since had occasion to test it with excellent suc- 

 cess in the open sea, and desire all the more to make use of it here- 

 after, since it has been found that even the most active animals and 

 fishes can be secured in this manner. 



In fine, calm, bright weather we doubled the barren and exposed coast 

 of East Finmark and arrived during the night on June 25th at Yardo 

 Isle, where we remained during the following day to complete our 

 equipment and to determine more accurately the geographical position 

 of this point. Early on the morning of the 27th of June, we weighed 



