46 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
hence the absence of diatoms. The absence of animal life 
proves that in the ocean, as well as upon the land, independent 
of plant-life animals cannot flourish. 
June 8.—Lat. 77° 38’, long. 0°7' H. Shot a Turnstone, 
Strepsilas interpres, the first straggler of the kind I have ever 
met with on the whaling-grounds. 
June 10.—Lat. 78° 10’, N., long. 2° W. It so happens that we 
are in the same position as on May 25th, when we were lying 
in the open space of water amongst the ice, as described. 
The formation of the ice still remains the same, and the surface 
water continues deeply discoloured with diatoms. The position 
remaining the same, it is interesting to note the different kinds 
of ice which have been drifted southwards over the ground during 
the interval. On the first occasion of our visiting the locality 
the sea was covered with broken-up bay ice; this, however, was 
soon replaced by bay floes, these in turn by newly broken-up 
fields of heavy ice, and finally large floes appeared and covered 
the ground. Subsequent to the appearance of the latter we saw 
no more Whales, and I have little doubt they retreated south- 
wards, whence they came, before the large fields of ice. 
June 14.—Lat. 77° 30’, long. 0°3’ W. Owing to our not having 
seen any Whales since May 28th, and swell having come in from 
the §.H. and broken up all the floes, we made the best of our 
way out to sea, and then shaped our course south-westwards 
along the ice, for the South Greenland whaling-grounds. 
June 16.—Lat. 75° 50’, long. 6° 9’ W. Water dark blue and 
clear ; temperature at the surface, 31°. At a depth of about 
forty fathoms, with a tow-net, I secured a large quantity of the 
Copepod, Calanus jfinmarckicus, with their alimentary canals 
filled with diatoms. This would seem to show that (even when 
the water at the surface is blue and clear) diatoms may exist in 
abundance at a trifling depth. 
June 17.—Lat. 75° 80’, long. 10° 80’ W. The water remains 
blue and clear, the temperature being 30°. About noon we 
approached the first field of ice, behind which a Whale was 
discovered feeding. ‘Two boats left the ship and pulled towards 
it. The water being very clear, the Whale must have seen the 
boats at the surface, for it was observed to approach them very 
cautiously, as if conscious of danger, and with the intention 
evidently of examining them. At first only the eddy or swirl 
