METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 617 



July 23. 10 and 11 a.m. Highest temperature of the season, 

 + 51°*0 after a cahn for two days. 



" The warmest month is July, and the coldest is March, but 

 December is almost as cold, and December is colder than March 

 during the second winter." 



As other observers have noted, so Dr. Kane often remarks : — 



" There is a seeming connexion between the increasing cold and 

 the increasing moonlight." 



*'The full moon season, with cloudless nights, is always in cor- 

 respondence with the lowest mean temperatures." 



"p. o9.— Nov. 28th, 1853. After 8 a.m. the wind, which had 

 been previously from the S., set in from due S.E. The thermometer 

 instantly rose 2°'l, and by 6 p.m. gave the extraordinary tem- 

 perature of — 5° '4. This, when compared with the record of 

 the 24th, of -41°-8, shows a change of 36°-4. This effect is due 

 to the S.E. wind, and is sometimes much more excessive." 



Snow fell for 12 or 13 hours after this, during which the tem- 

 perature increased to + 1° F., although the wind was from the S. 

 and S.W. 



At 10 a.m. on tlic 29th the snow ceased, and the temperature 

 began to fall rapidly, reaching --24° at 11 p.m. In two hours, 

 at 1 a.m. on the 30th, snow began to fall, and the temperature 

 had risen to —9°, and continued to rise to — 3°-5. The snow 

 continued to fall until 8 p.m., after which the temperature fell. 

 Dr. Kane remarks ("Narrative," vol. i., p. 154) : — 



*' The temperature on the floes w^as always somewhat higher 

 than in the island, the difference being due, as I suppose, to the 

 heat conducted by the sea v/ater, which was at a temperature 

 of -f 29°, the suspended instruments being affected by radiation." 

 Also (p. 267), " Upon the ice floes, commencing with a surface 

 temperature of — 30°, I found at 2 feet deep a temperature of — 8°, 

 and at 4 feet + 2°, and at 8 feet -f 26°." 



This was in mid-winter, on the largest floe in the open way off 

 Cape Stafford. 



With Parry and other more recent Arctic travellers, Dr. Kane 

 notes the effect of the vessel in increasing the temperature in the 

 neighbourhood, causing a difference of sometimes 2°, and also the 

 heating effect due to the approach of the observer or a lantern. 



For very low temperature spirit thermometers are not trust- 

 worthy. Instruments agreeing within 1-8 down to —40° were 

 found to differ from 15° to 20° at a temperature of about —60°. 

 The freezing point of mercury varied from — 38° ' 5 to —41°* 5 ; 

 after freezing its contraction is very uniform, and the column was 

 seen to descend to —44°. 



Sir E. Belcher observed the mercury to descend to —46°. 



Spirit thermometers were found in some cases to agree well 

 together, but to differ considerably from others, and from the 

 most probable temperatures. In such cases they were probably 

 companion thermometers, made witli the same preparation of 

 spirits. 



From April to September 1854, observations were made with a 

 black bulb thermometer to determine the radiation of heat by the 



