158 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



G. Tandy as Prasiola crispa, a species of green alga also known from the Arctic and from 

 the temperate regions of Europe, Asia and Africa. It is possible, though we think it un- 

 likely, that the green patches on some of the other islands belong to a different species. 



That there are other forms of vegetation on the islands was evident; on two at least, 

 Leskov and Vindication, lichens grow in some abundance. The unicellular alga, 

 Chlamydomotias, which forms "red snow", was observed on a number of islands, pro- 

 bably occurring on all, and samples were collected on Thule. 



In our trawls and dredges we obtained several kinds of red and brown sea-weed, but 

 kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, was not found, and its complete absence from the islands is 

 a noteworthy feature. At South Georgia kelp grows luxuriantly along the shores and on 

 all reefs, even far out at sea: its fronds, floating on the surface, are a most valuable aid 

 in navigation. At the South Orkneys kelp also occurs, but less abundantly, while in the 

 South Shetlands it appears to be absent. Growing kelp is known to be cut away by ice, 

 but at the South Sandwich Islands it is unlikely that all could have been removed by 

 this agency, especially in an unusually mild season. 



Zavodovski Island 

 Lat. 56° 19!' S, long. 27° 34*' W 



(PlatesXIIandXIII; Fig. 5) 



This island is about 9 miles in circumference and is nearly circular in outline. A single 

 peak, the cone of a volcano, lies a little to the south of its middle point and according 

 to our observations is 1600 ft. in height.^ On the western side the coast is precipitous, 

 with sheer cliffs falling abruptly to the sea, but from the north to the south-east there is 

 a low-lying plateau rising gently to the base of the cone. 



To the west and north-west the water is deep, with 50 to 100 fathoms close inshore, 

 but on the east and south-east sides soundings of 14 to 20 fathoms may be obtained at 

 less than a mile from the coast, with good holding ground on a bottom of scoria and 

 boulders. Owing to the shape of the island the swell carries round and it is necessary to 

 shift berth as the wind changes. 



Seen from the east, with the summit bearing 242°, the island rises as a central cone 

 from a plateau extending far to both right and left (Plate XIII, fig. i ; Fig. 5 c). The cone 

 from this point of view is snow-covered and during our visit its apex was largely ob- 

 scured by clouds of steam and vapour issuing from the crater. When these clouds drifted 

 aside it was possible to see two dark streaks diverging downwards from the lip of the 

 crater — evidently fissures in which the snow cannot lie owing to the warmth of the 

 ground. The fissure on the southern side is short and curved ; the other is much longer, 

 and, with some sharp angular turns in the middle of its course, extends downwards for 

 about two-thirds the height of the cone. It is perhaps to this long fissure that Bellings- 

 hausen alludes in an obscure passage in his narrative, which reads (as translated): "the 



1 Bellingshausen gives the height as 1200 ft., Brown as 800 ft., Filchner as 350 m. (= 1150 ft.), while 

 Wild states that it is "not more than 3500 ft." 



