1902] ECONOMISING FUEL 105 



was worthy of consideration. It is still doubtful, however 

 whether my decision to use one boiler commonly, instead of 

 two, really effected the saving I intended. At this time the 

 ' Discovery,' with both boilers alight, would burn from five to 

 six tons of coal a day, and for this she could maintain a speed 

 of six or seven knots in calm water ; with one boiler, she 

 would burn from three and a half to four tons, productive of a 

 speed of four to five knots in calm water. So far the problem, 

 though not very exact, is capable of solution ; but the trouble 

 is that a calm sea is a rarity, and the ' Discovery ' was so 

 dependent on wind and sea that when these conditions were 

 included, the question was complicated out of all recognition. 

 The problem as to whether the ground could more economi- 

 cally be got over with one boiler or two was therefore one 

 that could only be decided by experience. At this time we 

 had no experience to guide us ; for good or ill I decided on 

 using the single boiler, and with rare exceptions this became 

 our custom throughout the summer cruise. 



On such occasions as the present, however, it meant that 

 our progress against an adverse wind was exceedingly slow. 

 On the nth we only made fifty-five miles, and on the 12th 

 only thirty-two miles, on our southerly course. The wind 

 gradually increased, and the weather became very unsettled. 

 On the afternoon of the nth we had a succession of snow- 

 storms, and the land was blotted out in thick haze. During 

 the misty evening we were surrounded by large flocks of 

 Antarctic petrel, which stayed with us for a time, and vanished 

 as suddenly as they had come. Almost immediately after we 

 were surrounded with flocks of snow petrel, quaint little 

 ghostly forms flitting about in the mist, and dropping now and 

 again to the edge of a floe to capture the small euphausia on 

 which they feed. 



During the 12th we scarcely made any headway at all. 

 The wind increased from the S.W., and occasionally bore down 

 on us in heavy snow squalls. The low black rock and bold 

 capes of the coastline stood out distinctly ; but heavy, ominous 

 clouds obscured the mountains, We could now distinguish 



