340 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May 



to England, forwarded by the British Admiralty to the 

 United States Government. The chronometer found 

 at the boat-camp, after four years' exposure to the 

 vicissitudes of Arctic temperature, kept excellent time 

 from the period of its arrival on board the 'Dis- 

 covery,' until that ship returned to England during 

 November 1876. 



A bag of wheat was found at Polaris Bay, which 

 was, T understand, sent to the Arctic Eegions from the 

 Smithsonian Institute of Washington, for the purpose of 

 ascertaining the power of cereals to resist the extremes 

 of cold ; after an exposure for at least four successive 

 winters and three summers at Polaris Bay, out of a 

 small sample tried at Kew by Sir Joseph Hooker, 

 sixty-two per cent, germinated ; the rest of this grain 

 was returned to the Smithsonian Institute. 



In order to avoid the heavy pack outside of Cape 

 Brevoort all the North Greenland division of sledges 

 crossed the land at the back of the cape, through the 

 M'Cormick pass, on their return journeys. During 

 the month of May when the snow-floor, cemented 

 by the frequent gales, presented a hard road for 

 sledging, Dr. Coppinger was only a clay and a half in 

 crossing. Between the 21st and 24th of May, Eawson, 

 with an invalid on his sledge and himself snow-blind, 

 w T as a little more than three days in performing the 

 journey ; and between the 14th and 19th of June, 

 when most of the snow had melted, and water was 

 rushing down the southern ravine, Lieutenant Beau- 

 mont returning with his crippled party crossed in five 

 days. 



I append the following extract from Dr. Coppinger's 



