IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 235 



of the Barne Glacier and vanished again ; or, worse still, 

 started southward, and broke in the first quarter-mile on the 

 rugged blocks of kenyte on the Cape ! Simpson and Bowers 

 were indefatigable in searching for the graphs, and recovered 

 about half of them, often walking ten miles to get a record. 

 A notice that any one finding a meteorograph would be 

 presented with a box of chocolates resulted in no great 

 diminution of our store of that attractive comestible ! 



It was good fun sending up the meteorographs in the 

 earlier months, and the vagaries of the balloon gave rise to 

 much chaff among the operators which in naval parlance is 

 called " hot air." It was an excellent school for " rounding 

 off rough corners," for each member had his mannerisms so 

 dinned into him that he could not be said to err in ignorance. 



On the 1 st May Dr. Bill gave the first lecture on Flying 

 Birds of the Antarctic. It was postponed from 8 p.m. till 

 8.15, while the sailors (in the " mess deck ") washed up ! The 

 ribald youth spent the quarter-hour drawing " dicky birds," 

 which we passed along to Dr. Bill to keep his mind occupied, 

 and so save him from stage fright. 



Dr. Bill shut off suddenly at 8.45, to the Owner's 

 pretended amazement. The discussion lasted till nearly ten, 

 each man being called on by Scott in the order in which he 

 happened to sit at the table. 



As the birds have no enemies down south their white 

 colour did not seem necessary for protection. I suggested 

 that it was because white plumage would radiate out less heat 

 than black (which seemed to recall some old physical experi- 

 ment I had done !). Oates said, " Talking about birds, why 

 were all Shackleton's ponies grey ? " Bowers wanted to know 

 how the second skua chick was killed in its first week. Did 

 its brother gobble it up ? Ponting instanced an example of 

 more than two in a clutch. He had photoed a chicken and 

 two eggs in a nest near the hut last January ! I inquired 

 into this phenomenon which interested Dr. Bill much, and 

 after some minutes broke it to Ponting that I had done the 

 deed, taking pity on a motherless chicken and placing it in a 

 warm nest near by ! A yarn that amused them was an 

 experience in the islands off South Australia. Here 5000 

 young cormorants were slain by an adjoining colony of terns 

 in a few hours. Where were the parent cormorants ? asked 



