NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 433 



rently dirt bands. In one of the bergs there were two or three such bands, very broad, 

 parallel to the blue bands, and separated by considerable intervals, in which the berg 

 showed the usual stratification. In another two black bands existed at one end of the 

 berg and one at the other. Both were parallel in direction to the blue bands, but the 

 stratification at the end where the two black bands were situated was inclined at an angle 

 to that of the remainder of the berg, as if a dislocation of a part of the berg had taken 

 place. These bergs were too far distant to allow of the exact nature of the black bands 

 being determined. 



In none of the numerous bergs was there seen any bending or curved vertical bands, 

 giving evidence of a former differential motion in the mass, such as are to be seen on 

 every land glacier. How far the absence of these characteristic lines of motion may be 

 explained by the fact that only about the uppermost tenth of the entire height of the 

 bergs is seen, it is difficult to say. 



The colouring of the southern bergs is magnificent. The general mass has an 



appearance like loaf sugar, with a slight bluish tint, except where fresh snow resting on 



the tops and ledges is absolutely white. On this ground colour there are parallel streaks 



of cobalt blue, of various intensities, and more or less marked effect, according to the 



distance at which the berg is viewed. Some bergs with the blue streaks very definitely 



marked have, when seen cmite close, exactly the appearance of the common marbled 



blue soap. The colouring of the crevasses, caves, and hollows is of the deepest and 



purest azure blue possible (PI. B. figs. 1, 3). None of the artists on board was able to 



approach a representation of its intensity; it seemed a much more powerful colour than 



that which is to be seen in the ice of Swiss glaciers. In the case of the bergs with all their 



sides exposed, no doubt a greater amount of light is able to penetrate than in glaciers 



where the light can usually only enter at the top. A large berg full of caves and 



crevasses, seen on a bright day, is a most beautiful and striking object. One small berg 



was passed at a distance which was of a remarkable colour; it looked just like a huge 



crystal of sulphate of copper, being all intensely blue, but it seemed as if attached to, 



and forming part of, another berg of normal colour. Possibly it was part of the formerly 



submerged base, and of more than ordinary density. Only one other such berg was 



seen. The intensity of the blue light received from the bergs is ordinarily such that the 



grey sky behind them appears distinctly reddened, assuming the complementary tint, 



and -the reddening appears most intense close to the berg. At night bergs appear as if 



they had a very slight luminous glow, suggesting that they are to a very small extent 



phosphorescent. The sea at the foot of the bergs usually looks of a dark indigo colour, 



partly, no doubt, in contrast to the brighter blue of the ice. Where spurs and platforms 



run out under water from the bases of the berg cliffs, the shallow water is seen to be 



lighted up by reflection of the light from them. 



The surf beats on an iceberg as on a rocky shore, and washes and dashes in and out 

 (narr. ohali,. exp. —vol. i. — 1884.) 55 



