236 THE ANTARCTIC. 



summer. These numbers are confirmed, at least for the 

 latter region, by the observations made by Bruce on 

 board of the Balcena between latitudes 6i° and 64 40' 

 S. On the 15th of January, 1893, he noted a maximum 

 of 37*22° F. in about latitude 64° S., and on the 17th of 

 February, 1893, in about latitude 62 S., a minimum of 

 20*84° F. The mean temperature of the second half 

 of December and of the month of January was 31*1° F., 

 and of the first half of February it was 30'56° F., both 

 between the above-named latitudes, which correspond to 

 southern Greenland, where on the narrow strip of coast 

 between the sea and the inland ice, bushes of willows 

 and alders, more than six feet high, are met with along 

 the river banks, and where at Godthaab the mean July 

 temperature is 43*52° F. 



The supposition that these unexpectedly low summer 

 temperatures would be accompanied by relatively mild 

 winters may possibly be disproved by future observations,, 

 or at best prove to hold good only for the South Shetland 

 and South Orkney Islands, which are at a considerable 

 distance north of the Antarctic circle, and naturally also 

 for all those islands whose latitude is even lower than 

 6o° S. The minimum thermometer left behind by Foster 

 on Deception Island, and discovered in 1842 by Smiley, 

 indicated a minimum temperature of — 4 F. Considering 

 the protected position, and the volcanic nature of the 

 insular bay, this record may not supply a standard, 

 nevertheless it is interesting. On the other hand the 

 observations made at the German station in South 

 Georgia in Moltke Haven show a mean annual tempera- 

 ture of 37*52° F. ; February was the warmest month, 

 and showed a mean temperature of 41*54° F. ; the coldest 

 month was June, with a mean temperature of 26*78° F. 

 On the hottest day, the 1 ith of February, the thermometer 

 stood at 64*04° F., on the coldest day, the 23rd of July, it 

 stood at 19*86° F 



