Reports & Proceedings—Royal Society of Edinburgh. 135 
100 feet per annum. A specially interesting feature of the land- 
scape was the raised beaches, which could be traced to over 300 
feet above sea-level. For 200 years after its discovery-Spitsbergen 
was the whale-hunting place of the world, one company alone 
capturing 32,000 whales in 46 years, and until recent times it was 
the trapper’s hunting ground for reindeer, fox, bear, seal, and 
walrus. But now that the fauna had been ruthlessly exterminated, 
there was a rush to exploit the rich coalfields, which occurred in the 
Tertiary, Jurassic, and Carboniferous periods, and were estimated 
to contain over seven billion tons. The flora consisted of 140 or 
so of Arctic flowering plants, lichens, and mosses, affording ample 
food for reindeer, and during the summer a grazing for cows at 
mining centres. 
2.“ An Exhibition of Sketches Illustrating the Scenery of 
Spitsbergen.> By H. M. Cadell, J.P:, D.L., B.Sc., F:R.S.K., of 
Grange, Linlithgow. 
Mr. H. M. Cadell exhibited a series of water-colour sketches and 
panoramas he had drawn during a visit to Spitsbergen last summer, 
showing the character of the scenery of the Ice Fiord district, in 
central Spitsbergen, and of the shores of Bell Sound and Lowe 
Sound, further to the south. The prevailing colour of the mountains 
was of a dun or brownish tint, and the lower parts of the cliff faces 
were buried under long scree slopes of crumbling debris. The 
geological structure was for the most part quite simple, and there 
were few faults or folded strata over wide areas. The most important 
line of fault or upthrust skirted the west coast, and produced a 
more picturesque kind of scenery than that of the undisturbed 
regions. The Middle Hook, a jagged mountain at the mouth of 
Lowe Sound, displayed the upturned strata in a magnificent cliff 
face at Axel’s Island, which, unlike most other spots, was partly 
covered with green vegetation that added to the artistic effect of 
the landscape. 
Roya Socrety oF EprnpurGu. 
February 7, 1921. 
“ Depths and Deposits of the Weddell Sea.” By J. M. Wordie, 
M.A., F.G8. 
A description of some of the oceanographical work of the 
Shackleton Antarctic Expedition, 1914-17. ‘‘ Blue mud”’ is no 
longer considered a suitable term for the deep-sea deposits off 
Antarctica; “glacial mud and clay’ more fitly expresses the 
poorness in organic remains and the lack of any sorting out of the 
constituents according to size characteristic of other glacial deposits. 
Rock fragments were frequently got whilst sounding or dredging ; 
and from a study of the prevailing drift in the Weddell Sea it was 
clear that they must have had their source in Coats Land. They 
offer the only evidence of its geological constitution, and suggest 
affinities with Victoria Land rather than with Graham Land. 
