i9io] SCIENCE IN THE ICE 51 



turning to avoid others, she seemed like a living thing fighting 

 a great fight. If only she had more economical engines she 

 would be suitable in all respects. 



' Once or twice we got among floes which stood 7 or 8 feet 

 above water, with hummocks and pinnacles as high as 25 feet. 

 The ship could have stood no chance had such floes pressed 

 against her, and at first we were a little alarmed in such situ- 

 ations. But familiarity breeds contempt; there never was any 

 pressure in the heavy ice, and I'm inclined to think there never 

 would be. 



' The weather changed frequently during our journey through 

 the pack. The wind blew strong from the west and from the 

 east; the sky was often darkly overcast; we had snowstorms, 

 flaky snow, and even light rain. In all such circumstances we 

 were better placed in the pack than outside of it. The foulest 

 weather could do us little harm. During quite a large percentage 

 of days, however, we had bright sunshine, which, even with the 

 temperature well below freezing, made everything look bright 

 and cheerful. The sun also brought us wonderful cloud effects, 

 marvellously delicate tints of sky, cloud, and ice, such effects as 

 one might travel far to see. In spite of our impatience we would 

 not willingly have missed many of the beautiful scenes which our 

 sojourn in the pack afforded us. Ponting and Wilson have been 

 busy catching these effects, but no art can reproduce such colours 

 as the deep blue of the icebergs. 



1 Scientifically we have been able to do something. We have 

 managed to get a line of soundings on our route showing the 

 raising of the bottom from the ocean depths to the shallow 

 water on the continental shelf, and the nature of the bottom. 

 With these soundings we have obtained many interesting observa- 

 tions of the temperature of different layers of water in the sea. 



1 Then we have added a great deal to the knowledge of life 

 in the pack from observation of the whales, seals, penguins, 

 birds, and fishes as well as of the pelagic beasts which are 

 caught in tow-nets. Life in one form or another is very plentiful 

 in the pack, and the struggle for existence here as elsewhere 

 is a fascinating subject for study. 



4 We have made a systematic study of the ice also, both the 

 bergs and sea ice, and have got a good deal of useful information 

 concerning it. Also Pennell has done a little magnetic work. 



