4 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
whalers to designate the neighbouring ice. Thus the ice 
discharged from the Polar basin, and carried southward along 
the Greenland coast by the Arctic current, is called the ‘‘ west 
ice,” the ice which occasionally comes round the south end of 
Spitzbergen out of the Barentz Sea the ‘east ice,” while the 
ice formed during severe frosts in an intermediate area of more 
or less still water ‘‘ south-east pack.” The “‘ west ice,” amongst 
which the capture of Mysticetus is solely carried on in these 
seas, is an ever-moving stream of ice coming from the north- 
ward, having its position mainly determined by the current 
which, flowing at an average velocity of about ten miles per 
day, carries the ice in its sinuous course, now to the eastward, 
now to the westward, forming a series of ‘ points” and 
‘“‘bights ’ which, being remarkably constant in position, are well 
known to the whalers, several being designated by names. The 
ice, as it leaves the Polar basin, is mostly in the form of 
‘‘ floes,” circular sheets of ice from ten to twenty miles in 
diameter, crumpled up round the edges owing to contact with 
one another, and varying considerably in thickness, ruggedness, 
&c. In its progress through the Greenland Sea, the ice is 
largely affected by the strength and direction of the winds. 
While northerly winds accelerate the drift of the ice, driving it 
southwards in compact masses at the rate of sometimes fifty 
miles a day, southerly winds have an opposite effect, greatly 
counteracting the drift, and spreading the ice outwards. Again, 
westerly winds, so much beloved by whalers, gradually spread 
the ice seawards, a series of open spaces of water alternating 
with strips of ice being formed, somewhat pleasing in appearance 
to the eye; while easterly winds, with their usual accompaniment 
‘‘ swell,’ soon convert the ice into a dismal and heaving pack of 
broken ice. The amount of ice in different years is subject to 
considerable variation, fluctuating between extreme limits with 
a certain periodicity, related either to the severity of the 
preceding winter or to the rate of the set or current, but probably 
mainly to the latter, as the amount of ice in any season has 
been observed to be inversely proportional to the drift of the ice 
itself. Finally, the amount of ice, having increased during the 
winter, and therefore at a maximum during the spring, gradually 
decreases during the summer, more especially in a season of 
easterly winds. 
