488 



the ship was most open and exposed were precisely those from which the wind seldom or never blew, and 

 therefore the absence of winds from westerly points could not have been due to the effect of the land in 

 obstructing or deflecting a westerly current, supposing one to have existed. 



On the other hand, the winds which were of most frequent occurrence reached the ship after crossing 

 the southern spur of Ross Island, which at Discovery Bay is not more than a couple of miles in breadth 

 from west to east, and on its eastern side is bounded by the open Barrier ice. In traversing the Barrier 

 an easterly wind current would meet with no obstruction, and the land interposed between the Barrier and 

 the ship, although hilly, was not of a character materially to affect its course. 



It has been suggested that " The Gap," the valley which lay to the south-east between Crater Hill and 

 Observation Hill, formed a kind of funnel which had an effect upon the direction of the wind at the ship. 

 But in that case the predominant direction would have been south-easterly, and Table II. shows that 

 south-east winds were less frequent than north-east winds, and less than half as frequent as winds from 

 the east. 



The effect of the surrounding land upon the direction of the winds observed at the ship's quarters can, 

 however, be tested more directly, by comparing the results shown in Table I. with those given in 

 Table IV., which are derived from observations of the direction and force of the wind made at a point 



TABLE IV. Distribution of Observations of Wind Direction made at a Point on the Ice Half a Mile 



to the South of Cape Armitage. 



* Percentage of total number (424) of wind observations. In calculating the relative distribution of directions the 



number of calms (60) was omitted. 



about half a mile to the south of Cape Armitage, the southernmost point of Boss Island, where the 

 exposure was perfectly open in every direction. These observations were made generally once a day, and 

 they cover, with some breaks, a period of 16 months. 



It should, however, be borne in mind that the observer at Cape Armitage had to observe the direction 

 of the wind without the assistance of a wind vane, and probably this was at times a disadvantage ; but 

 whatever allowance should be made on this account, the distribution of wind directions is practically the 

 same there as at the ship. Thirty-four per cent, of the winds were from east, 17 per cent, from east- 

 north-east, 12 per cent, from north-east, and 7 per cent, from south-east; whilst grouping all the 

 easterly points from north-east to south-east, we get a percentage of 80, which is precisely that obtained 

 by similarly grouping the observations made at the ship, as shown in Table II. This result seems fully to 

 justify the conclusion that the direction of the wind at Discovery Bay was not materially affected by the 

 surrounding land, and that the relative distribution indicated by the percentages given in Table II. may 

 be accepted as fairly representing the wind frequency of the district. 



SLEDGE JOURNEYS. 



Observations of the direction and force of the wind were made upon most of the sledge journeys 

 undertaken at various times during the stay of the Expedition at Koss Island. 



In dealing with these observations, not only has the varying position of the observer from day to day 

 to be kept in mind, but in some instances the changes also which were constantly taking place in his height 

 above sea level, and in the character of his surroundings ; and particularly was this the case in the western 

 journeys up the slopes of the mountain ranges lying in that direction. As might have been expected, 



