294 



Proceedings, &c.,foT 1886, 



Abernethy often remark about the firmer whales and black whales. 

 We showed him a drawing of a Greenland whale, and he said it 

 was like whales he had seen in the Antarctic regions, except that 

 the latter were somewhat flatter in the crown. The whales he 

 chiefly noticed were short, broad, black whales. Whales were so 

 common that they seldom took much notice of them. He had often 

 seen the men amusing themselves by throwing pieces of holystone 

 at them, and had seen herds of whales asleep on the surface. He 

 had heard Sir James Ross say that it would be a splendid specu- 

 lation to send ships here on a whaling voyage. Mr. Beeman con- 

 sidered that the expedition was always too late in being out by six 

 weeks. They never experienced any bad weather until the end of 

 the season. Snow was more troublesome than fogs, and he did 

 not think there was any more difficulty in navigating the Antarctic 

 than the Arctic seas. 



No. 7. — Table showing the Highest Latitudes 

 w^iTHiN THE South Polar Circle : — 



Reached 



Navigators. 



Highest Latitude. 



Longitude. 



Date. 



1. Bellinghausen ... 



69° 30' S 



77° W. 



Jan., 1821 



2. Weddell 



74° 15' „ 



34° 17' „ 



Feb., 1423 



3. Ross 



71° 30' „ 



14° 51' „ 



March, 1843 



4. Bellinghausen ... 



70° „ 



93° „ 



Jan., 1821 



5. Cook 



71° 15' „ 



109° „ 



Jan., 1874 



6. Wilkes 



70° „ 



103° „ 



March, 1839 



7. Ross 



78° 4' „ 



173° E. 



Feb., 1841 



8. Ross 



78° 11' „ 



161° 22' W. 



Feb., 1842 



Note. — It will be observed that ISTos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 refer to 

 explorations in the immediate locality recommended for the prosecu- 

 tion of the fishery. 



No. 8. — Comparative Table, showing the Mean Tempera- 

 tures observed within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles 

 respectively for the corresponding three months in each 

 OF the years undernoted, viz. : — 



Within the Arctic Circle in the 

 years 1871 and 1872. 



Mean 

 Temperature. 



June ... ... 32-2 



July ... ... 35-9 



August ... ... 38-5 



Mean ... 



34-9 



Within the Antarctic Circle in 

 the years 1841, 1842 and 1843. 



Mean 

 Temperature, - 



December... ... 40*15 



January ... ... 30'13 



February ... ... 27*17 



Mean ... 32-48 



