i9l ON PHYSIOGRAPHY 269 



of a humble sub-lieutenant. Withal it is still a very long way 

 from the fate of the ' one-horse shay.' 



Taylor gave us his final physiographical lecture last night. It 

 was completely illustrated with slides made from our own nega- 

 tives, Ponting's Alpine work, and the choicest illustrations of 

 certain scientific books. The preparation of the slides had in- 

 volved a good deal of work for Ponting as well as for the 

 lecturer. The lecture dealt with ice erosion, and the pictures 

 made it easy to follow the comparison of our own mountain 

 forms and glacial contours with those that have received so 

 much attention elsewhere. Noticeable differences are the absence 

 of moraine material on the lower surfaces of our glaciers, their 

 relatively insignificant movement, their steep sides, &c. . . . 

 It is difficult to convey the bearing of the difference or similarity 

 of various features common to the pictures under comparison 

 without their aid. It is sufficient to note that the points to which 

 the lecturer called attention were pretty obvious and that the 

 lecture was exceedingly instructive. The origin of ' cirques ' or 

 1 cwms,' of which we have remarkably fine examples, is still a 

 little mysterious one notes also the requirement of observa- 

 tion which might throw light on the erosion of previous ages. 



After Taylor's effort Ponting showed a number of very beau- 

 tiful slides of Alpine scenery not a few are triumphs of the 

 photographer's art. As a wind-up Ponting took a flashlight 

 photograph of our hut converted into a lecture hall : a certain 

 amount of faking will be required, but I think this is very allow- 

 able under the circumstances. 



Oates tells me that one of the ponies, ' Snippets,' will eat 

 blubber ! the possible uses of such an animal are remarkable ! 



The gravel on the north side of the hut against which the 

 stable is built has been slowly but surely worn down, leaving 

 gaps under the boarding. Through these gaps and our floor 

 we get an unpleasantly strong stable effluvium, especially when 

 the wind is strong. We are trying to stuff the holes up, but 

 have not had much success so far. 



Saturday, August 26. A dying wind and clear sky yester- 

 day, and almost calm to-day. The noon sun is cut off by the 

 long low foot slope of Erebus which runs to Cape Royds. Went 

 up the Ramp at noon yesterday and found no advantage one 

 should go over the floe to get the earliest sight, and yesterday 



