AERIAL EXPLORATION OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 217 



from the vapor-laden winds of the Atlantic. The snowfall immedi- 

 ately round the Pole would thus be moderated, and the summer 

 begin so much earlier. 



I have already referred to the physical resemblances of Baffin's Bay, 

 Smith's Sound, etc., to the Baltic* the Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of 

 Finland. These aro frozen every winter, but the Arctic Ocean due 

 north of them is open all the winter, and every winter. The hardy 

 Norse fishermen are gathering their chief harvest of codfish in the 

 open sea around and beyond the North Cape, Nordkyn, etc., at the 

 very time when the Russian fleet is hopelessly frozen up in the Gulf 

 of Finland. But how far due north of this frozen Baltic are these 

 open-sea fishing banks ? More than 14 degrees more than double 

 the distance that lies between the winter quarters of some of our 

 ships in Smith's Sound and the Pole itself. This proves how greatly 

 physical configuration and oceanic communication may oppose the 

 climatic influences of mere latitude. If the analogy between Baffin',* 

 Bay and the Baltic is complete, a Polar sea will be found that is open 

 in the summer at least. 



On the other hand, it may be that ranges of mountains covered 

 with perpetual snow, and valleys piled up with huge glacial accumu- 

 lations, extend all the way to the Pole, and thus give to our globe an 

 Arctic ice-cap like that displayed on the planet Mars. This, how- 

 ever, is very improbable, for, if it were the case, we ought to find a 

 circumpolar ice-wall like that of the Antarctic regions ; the Arctic 

 Ocean beyond the North Cape should be crowded with icebergs in- 

 stead of being open and iceless all the year round. With such a con- 

 figuration the ice-wall should reach Spitzbergen and stretch across to 

 Nova Zembla ; but, instead of this, we have there such an open 

 stretch of Arctic water, that in the summer of 1876 Captain Kjelsen, 

 of Tromso, sailed in a whaler to lat. 81 30' without sighting ice. He 

 was then but 510 geographical miles from the Pole, with open sea 

 right away to his north horizon, and nobody can say how much 

 farther. 



These problems may all be solved by the proposed expedition. 

 The men are ready and willing ; one volunteer has even promised 

 1000 on condition that he shall be allowed to have a seat in one of 

 the balloons. All that is wanted are the necessary funds, and the 

 amount required is but a small fraction of what is annually expended 

 at our race-courses upon villanous concoctions of carbonic acid and 

 methylated cider bearing the name of " champagne." 



Arrangements are being made to start next May, but in the mean- 

 time many preliminary experiments are required. One of these, con- 

 cerning winch I have been boring Commander Cheyne and the com- 

 mittee, is a thorough and practical trial of the staying properties of 

 hydrogen gas when confined in given silken or other fabrics sat- 

 urated with given varnishes. We are still ignorant on this funda- 

 mental point. We know something about coal gas, but little or noth- 

 ing of the hydrogen, such as may be used in the forthgoing expedi- 

 tion. Its exosmosis, as proved by Graham, depends upon its adhe- 

 sion to the surface of the substance confining it. Every gas has its 

 own specialty in this respect, and a membrane that confines a hy- 

 drocarbon like coal gas may be very unsuitable for pure hydrogen, 

 or vice versa. Hydrogen passes through hard steel, carbonic oxide 

 through recWiot iron plates, and so on with other gases. They are 



