NO. 7.] INTRODUCTION. 



employed in addition to the above-named watches. The error and rate of 

 the watches used have been kindly communicated to me by Professor GEEL- 

 MUYDEN who has also given me a table of the latitude and longitude of the 

 places on the route where the magnetic observations were taken. In every 

 case the hour is given according to local time, and to the nearest whole 

 minute. 



After a few preliminary determinations of the terrestrial magnetic elements 

 on the north coast of Siberia, in the beginning of August, 1893, the regular 

 magnetic observations made during the drift in the ice, were commenced on 

 October 7th, 1893, and were continued until July 8th, 1896. During this 

 period, which comprises 33 months, magnetic observations were taken on 194 

 different days, thus on an average every 5th day. As will be seen from the 

 following tables, however, the observations fall somewhat irregularly, more 

 than a month occasionally elapsing between two determinations, e. g. from 

 December 12th, 1893, to January 23rd, 1894, from January 19th to March 

 5th, 1895, and from May 24th to July 2nd, 1895, while at other times the 

 observations were made on several successive days. The three above- 

 mentioned periods of cessation in the work of magnetic observation were due 

 to the following circumstances. On the 26th November, 1893, the appa- 

 ratus was accidentally upset, as it stood upon its stand on deck. The 

 pivot of the horizontal circle was thereby bent a little, and it was not until 

 the middle of January, 1894, after repeated attempts to take out the pivot 

 and place tin foil under it, that everything was brought into such constant 

 order again, that the observations could be continued without any further 

 fear of any inconvenience from the above-named accident. 



From the end of January and all through February, 1895, it was the 

 preparations for Dr. NANSEN and JOHANSEN'S sledge-expedition, and in June, 

 1895, pendulum observations, and sharing in the work of fitting out the 

 kajaks, etc., that prevented SCOTT-HANSEN from making magnetic observations. 



On the 4th October, 1893, the work of setting up a tent on the ice was 

 completed, and the magnetic observations were made in it; but no later than 

 the llth October, the instrument had to be taken on board on account of 

 movement in the ice; and on the 15th, the tent also had to be brought on 

 board, as the ship was getting under way in readiness for pushing farther 

 northwards. The ice, however, did not relax, so the Fram remained where 



