1876 DARKNESS OF WINTER. 223 



it must have been during the latter part of December, 

 although at the time we hardly realised the fact. In 

 comparing the number of days' absence of the sun ex- 

 perienced by different Arctic expeditions it is rather 

 startling to find how much darker it has been with us, 

 but here, owing to the small inclination of the sun's 

 path to our horizon, twilight lasts considerably longer 

 on either side of noon. In fact the actual amount 

 of light and darkness experienced during the year at 

 all places in our hemisphere is precisely the same. 

 Here we have one long day and one long night ; in 

 southern latitudes it is far more usefully divided into 

 the ordinary days and nights. 



1 Owing to the overflowing of the fire-hole another 

 one has been cut farther from the ship. In raising the 

 tide-pole from the bottom, a quantity of hard grey 

 mud was found sticking to the end of the pole where 

 it had been pressed with great force into the ground. 

 This appears to indicate that the ground at the bottom 

 is not frozen. At a short distance from the beach, 

 for as far as the fresh water can by any means per- 

 colate down through the ground with the temperature 

 of the sea at 28*5, the bottom is probably frozen. 



'During the afternoon we experienced squally 

 weather from the southward ; the temperature at 

 minus 40°, rising twenty degrees in as many minutes, 

 and falling again fourteen degrees in ten minutes.' 



It is remarkable that this warm wind passed the 

 sheltered position of Discovery Bay without affecting 

 the temperature there. The thermometer at that 

 place ranged between minus 49° and minus 52°. 



' ISth. — While walking at some distance from the 



