1876 WATER-POOLS ON THE ICE. 55 



brow of the coast-hills, and probably belonged to the 

 same herd as those shot yesterday by Parr. 



6 Poor Bruin, the dog that has performed such good 

 work in dragging fresh-water ice to the ship from the 

 quarry, was to day found drowned, having probably 

 fallen into the water in a fit. 



' The water-pools on the surface of the old Polar 

 floes are not increasing in size to the same extent as 

 those on the younger ice. On ice formed from water 

 newly frozen over during the previous season the 

 surface is so level that when the thaw first commences 

 the water from the melted snow collects in one vast 

 sheet many acres in extent, until at last it runs off 

 through holes or cracks in the ice. The snow on the 

 surface of an old floe, affected only superficially by the 

 heat rays of the sun, and not appreciably so by the 

 temperature of the water below, does not melt nearly 

 so quickly, and owing to the very uneven surface 

 the snow-water collects only in the hollows, and 

 presents a totally different appearance from that of the 

 large seas of water which are met with early in the 

 season on smooth ice. 



' Since the first melting of the snow we observe that 

 several of the floebergs near the mouths of the large 

 ravines are covered in parts by pebbles and debris 

 carried down by the rapid streams. 



' The fresh- water at a temperature slightly above 

 32 readily melts all the sea- water ice with which it 

 comes in contact, and smooths off the upper surfaces of 

 the floebergs, leaving a level icy floor, above which the 

 stream spreads itself out and deposits a thick horizontal 

 layer of rounded pebbles which it has transported from 



