ICEBERGS IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN. 291 
passed thereabouts, eight hundred to one thousand feet above the 
sea and several miles in circumference.” And Towson! says :— 
“On the homeward passage to the meridian of 80° west, a great 
number of icebergs are met with in the lower rather than in the 
higher latitudes. But from June to December inclusive, the 
parallel of 57° south should be preferred, since in most cases those 
who have adopted the higher parallel have been impeded or en- 
dangered by pack ice.” 
It will be seen in the accompanying chart that the limits of 
this icefield in 1891 to 1895 was different from either of those 
mentioned above, and lies between 172° and 109° west. 
I find no record of icebergs to the east of New Zealand by | 
Maury, Fitzroy, or Towson, and yet they form in this outburst a 
conspicuous feature about the Chatham Islands. 
Lieutenant Maury, as we have seen, refers to a sudden accession — 
of icebergs, and Towson does the same, while we have now the 
evidence of a third and more extensive outburst ; but, so far, I 
have found nothin g to indicate a repetition in regular periods, and 
if the views expressed later as to the cause of the increase in 
numbers is correct, there is no reason to suppose that these periods 
should recur at regular intervals. 3 
The discussion of the records on which this paper has been 
: Written, brings before us such untold numbers of icebergs, that it 
. 1 difficult to believe that they have taken so many thousands of 
Years toform as some authorities demand.? Vast as the Antarctic 
Continent is, it does not seem possible that room could be found 
: 3 - it for the building up gradually from pre-adamite times all 
these multitudes of icebergs. When we trace them in the ocean, 
Wis evident that they drift northwards, get into warmer water, 
where they begin to break up with tremendous noise (see List 
ae 70) and grinding, which, aided by the solvent power of the 
Water, destroys the iceberg in a comparatively short time. 
How then can they have taken so many thousands of years 
Rt 4 OSs gies a) ot a Se 
1 
Towson, « Icebergs in the Southern Ocean,” p. 7. 2 Ibid. (Note) p. 3. 
