422 



have been the south-easterly; the average force 3. Oa one day only a strong wind was recorded, and on 

 that day the mean force was not higher than 4. Snow fell on 4 days, fog occurred on 2 days, and the 

 weather was overcast on 4 days. 



" Southern Cross," I n the year 1900, from the 10th to the 20th February, the " Southern Cross" cruised in the Ross Sea in 

 about the same latitudes and partly between the same meridians, viz., between 77 17' S. and 78" 35' S- 

 and between 168 15' E. and 164" 10' W. 



During this cruise she registered a higher mean pressure than that registered by the " Discovery," viz., 

 29 '13 inches. Her highest barometer reading of 29-520 inches is entered against the 14th of the month; 

 her lowest, 28-830 inches, against the 17th. The moan of her observations for temperature, 14 F., is 2 

 lower than that of the " Discovery." A maximum temperature of 30 F. is entered against the 20th ; a 

 minimum, - 12 -5 F., against the 19th. The prevailing wind appears to have been from southward, the 

 average force 3, which is the same as that of the " Discovery " ; but a gale, in which the extreme force 

 was estimated as 10, was experienced on the 13th, and winds of force 6-7 were recorded on three other 

 occasions. The weather was dull and overcast ; snow fell on 6 days, fog occurred on 5 days. 



Boss Expedition, From 138 observations made in the month of February, 1842, on board the "Erebus" and "Terror," 

 t>- during the Expedition under Sir JAMES Ross, between the parallels of 75 S. and 77" 30' S. and the 

 meridians of 165 E. and 160 W., the following results are obtained: Mean pressure, 28 -87 inches; 

 mean temperature, 25; prevailing winds from between south-east and south-west, the predominating wind 

 the south-easterly. The average force of the wind 4. Under the head "be," 21 observations were 

 recorded ; under " c," 49 ; under " o," 68. Snow was entered 33 times ; fog 6 times. 



" Discovery," 1902, The " Discovery " arrived in McMurdo Sound, as has already been mentioned, on ,9th February, and 

 D ' between this date and the end of the month barometer observations showed a mean pressure of 29 257 

 inches. The highest barometer reading, 29-580 inches, is logged on the 22nd; the lowest, 28-862 inches, 

 after noon on the 9th, giving a range of 0-718 inch (Table 1, p. 40S). 



From observations for temperature a mean of 15 -9 F. is obtained; the maximum, 29 -2 F., occurred 

 on the 28th ; the minimum, - 0-8 F., on the 22nd ; a range of 30. 



Winds from between north-east and south-east were most frequent, but by far the largest percentage of 

 wind observations out of 225, i.e., 45 per cent., were of east winds, and 15 per cent, of all observations 

 were of calms. The mean force of the wind is estimated at 3 ; but fresh gales were recorded on 3 occa- 

 sions, and strong winds on 7. The weather was overcast or cloudy for the most part, and snow fell on 5 

 days. 



The vessel was made snug in her "Winter Quarters on 12th February, in latitude 77 50' 30" S., 

 longitude 166 44' 45" E., and remained there until her release from the ice on the 16th February, 1904. 

 Describing the position of the "Discovery's" Winter Quarters, Lieutenant C. W. R. ROYDS, R.N., in 

 a paper read by him before the Royal Geographical Society on 27th February, 1905, said: "The ship 

 was in a small bay of about a quarter of a mile in depth. All round from north-north-west through east 

 to south-east there was land rising quickly to some height. In the north-north-west the hills were 

 400 feet high, and these extended to north-east, and there was a hill of 1000 feet in the east, and one of 

 700 feet in the south-east. Between the east and the south-east was a deep gully, or gap as we call it, 

 which opened out to the ice barrier. From south-east through south and west to north-west we were 

 entirely open, except for land 20 to 50 miles away. From north-west back to south-west was the Albert 

 range, rising to peaks of 15,000 feet, and to the south were some islands 3000 feet and land lising to 

 8000 feet." 



Lieutenant ROYDS mentions, in the paper from which I have quoted, that there was a pronounced local 

 wind from an easterly direction in the bay in which the "Discovery" lay, frozen up; and that, not 

 infrequently, when the wind was blowing a fresh gale at the ship a calm prevailed a little more than 

 a mile and a half to the south of the ship, round Cape Armitage. This conclusion, however, is not 

 apparent in the recorded observations. In commenting on the experiences of a sledge party, led by 

 Lieutenant ROYDS, on a journey to Cape Crozier and back in March, 1902, to which reference will be 

 made later on, Captain SCOTT, in his book, ' The Voyage of the " Discovery," ' writes as follows : " On 

 comparing notes with this party we realised for the first time what a difference there might be in the 



