194 Bods and Debris on the Ice. 



uiiiiu half a mile or more each way, and of which the whole surface is more or 

 less co\ero(l Avith smaller stoues, sand, and shells. To suppose the wind strong 

 enough to blow these substances such a distance would be absurd ; nor is the 

 supposition of their having- been washed there scarcely more probable, for as a 

 floe ot ice must float considerably above the surface of the sea,, it is not easy to 

 c'onceix how it can be overflowed, and much less how heavy stones can be car- 

 ried half a mile along" it. It has been suggested that the floe may be held down 

 by its firm cementation to the shore while the water from the land above it 

 rushes in a torrent along its upper surface. This, however, is contrary to expe- 

 rience, which shows that long before the streams on the land are suflBcient to 

 eflect this, the ice next the shore is completely thawed and detached from the 

 beach, and, therefore, at liberty to float in the natural way. The only explana- 

 tion of this fact that I can suggest is, that, as it is generally found to be the case 

 to the greatest extent upon the ' hummocky' floes, the substances may have been 

 (h'i>osited upon each mass of ice when separate, and eventually brought into the 

 middle of a large floe by the process detailed above. This explanation, how- 

 ever, goes but a little way toward clearing up the difficult^" ; for, besides the 

 necessity of supposing, in this case, that each mass of ice has in its turn been 

 l)rought into close contact with the shore, we have never seen an instance in any 

 bay or harbor where ice so brought, even under the most favorable circum- 

 stances, has received any such deposit. In whatever manner it may be eftected, 

 it is certain tliat these substances act an essential part in the dissolution of the 

 ice, as even the smallest stone or collection of sand may always be observed to 

 have formed a pool of water around it in consequence of the radiation of heat 

 from its surface." 



It will be seen nearly at the commencement of these remarks of Parry, that 

 he says: "The quantity in which these substances have occurred was really sur- 

 l)rising, and puzzled us extremely to account for the manner in which they found 

 llieir way upon the floes." The same subject has puzzled many a man, but I am 

 rniiiidciii the fact is as follows: The stones, sand, shells, and weeds are not 

 deposited upon the surface of the ice; they simply are seen or appear there, as 

 the ice e\aporates or wastes away, which it eventually does more rapidly, of 

 course, as warm weather comes on. These stones and other substances are picked 

 u\i from tlic l»ottoiii of shallow waters by the ice resting awhile upon them and 

 brroiiiin;,' (M'liiciilcd to them by the fingers of King Cold during low tide; and 

 when tlie liood makes, u]> goes ice with its ponderous i)i(;kings. But, to begin at 



