I l<; Mr. W. Eagle Clarke on the 



based. The length of this island is about 12 miles, its 

 maximum breadth (! miles, and its area fully 30 square 

 miles. The interior is lofty, and several of the summits 

 reach to an altitude of from 2000 to 3000 feet. A number 

 of deep hays run inland from north to south, separated by 

 narrow rocky peninsulas or steep lofty mountain- ranges, and 

 cause the island to have a very remarkable outline. All the 

 valleys are ehoked by glaciers, and what little exposed rock 

 is visible is precipitous in the extreme. Here and there on 

 the lower slopes and at sea-level are a few acres of more or 

 less level ground. In winter the whole island and even the 

 facc^ of the precipitous cliffs are covered with snow, which 

 docs not commence to disappear till October and November 

 (the late spring and early summer months) ; but then many 

 patches of moss-covered ground are laid bare, some of them 

 heaiing soil from six to ten inches deep. Except this vege- 

 table mould, there is little soil anywhere. The rocks, 

 various kinds of graywaekc, are mostly covered with lichens, 

 especially Usual, which, with various species of moss, form 

 the entire terrestrial flora of the island. 



Concerning climatic conditions, Mr. Mossman informs 

 me that, in spite of their low latitude, the climate of 

 the South Orkneys is essentially polar. One of the mosl 

 powerful factors in determining the temperature of the 

 air over this region is the cold antarctic current which 

 carries streams of ice and numerous icebergs to a latitude 

 corresponding with that of the northern part of England. 

 The mean annual temperature, based on nearly two years' 

 observations, was found to be 22°*7F., the means of the seasons 

 being summer 31°"4, autumn 22°"7, winter 13° 7, and spring 

 23°"3. The most remarkable feature was the low and equable 

 summer temperature, which rarely rises above 37° or falls 

 below 25°. In winter, owing to the freezing up of the sea to 

 the south, the islands are virtually on the edge of a continent, 

 and the temperature at that season is thus characterised by 

 great variability, the range of the thermometer frequently 

 exceeding 60° in twenty-four hours. If the wind is in the 

 south, very low temperatures, as low as 10' below zero P., 

 are recorded ; but with a change of wind to the north the 



