14 It. H. CAMBAGE. 



fact by over 100 miles, from the position assigned to the 

 south-east boundary of the area by Professor David and 

 Dr. Mawson on the Shackleton expedition on 16 January, 

 1909. One must conclude either that the area of the 

 vertical needle has a width of about 100 miles — (there can 

 be little doubt that it must have a width of at least 30 or 

 40 miles) — or that Shackleton's Magnetic Pole party did 

 not reach the exact mean position of the area of the vertical 

 needle, or that the whole area, if not more than 40 miles 

 in diameter has travelled to the North-west for a consider- 

 able distance since January 1909. When these results are 

 all elaborated and correlated, together with the few mag- 

 netic observations taken on the Shackleton expedition, it 

 will certainly be possible to locate very closely the position 

 of the South Magnetic Pole in 1912. As it was frequently 

 necessary to leave Mr. Webb alone in the tent when he 

 was making his observations, his comrades Bage and 

 Hurley had meanwhile to dig for themselves a cave in the 

 hard snow in order to shelter them from the furious blizzard 

 wind. All three therefore endured great hardships, and it 

 is well-known that on the return journey they all but 

 forfeited their lives in consequence of missing the depot 

 through thick blizzard weather. Mercifully, like Dr. 

 Mawson himself on his terrible retreat after the tragic loss 

 of his comrades Lieutenant Ninnis and Dr. Xavier Mertz, 

 their lives were preserved, and it has been permitted them 

 to bring back results of priceless value to science. 



In the department of biology a large number of valuable 

 collections have been obtained by Mr. J. Hunter, who was 

 assisted by Mr. C. F. Laseron. Collections have also been 

 gathered by Mr. Edgar R. Waite and Professor Plynn on 

 separate cruises of the "Aurora," in intervals between her 

 first and second voyages to Antarctica. About 250 miles 

 of new coast line have been charted in this region. Invalu- 

 able work in this respect has been rendered by Mr. J. 



