134 THE ANTARCTIC. 



some direct connection, later discovery and careful investig- 

 ation on the spot alone can determine. The subject will 

 again be approached. For the present we turn to consider 

 the conformation of Antarctic lands, and the geological 

 structure with which the surface is so intimately connected. 

 Before entering upon this quest, it will be well to 

 pause and realise how far it is possible to deal with the 

 subject, and to consider to what extent the observations 

 hitherto made on the spot supply matter for drawing up 

 a summarised account of the countries of the Antarctic 

 regions. The result of such consideration must prove 

 discouraging. All the voyages hitherto made have by 

 their discoveries scarcely added more to our knowledge 

 than the determination of coast outlines, and the state- 

 ment of the elevations along the coast lines, but neither the 

 one nor the other is even remotely complete or scientifically 

 accurate. The sketch of the history of discovery only 

 too frequently shows that ice prevented all such approach 

 to the shore as would have allowed the details of the 

 coast to be ascertained with any degree of certainty, 

 and, in like manner, frequent dense fogs probably shut 

 out the view of land that might perhaps otherwise have 

 been seen. In the same manner, the value of the 

 measurements made of high land is greatly diminished 

 when regard is paid to the heaving of the vessel and 

 to its distance both from the coast, and the mountain 

 summits of whose height an approximate estimate was 

 made. It must be remembered that even the heights given 

 by Ross, who surpasses all others in accuracy, were cal- 

 culated from angles taken on board from different positions 

 of the ship, and these very positions could not be deter- 

 mined with perfect accuracy on the heaving sea. An 

 error of a few seconds in the astronomical observation 

 would be productive of an important error in comput- 

 ing distant heights. If the representations of Antarctic 

 countries on our maps and the measurement of their 



