bs ray 
536 
tious season ; and the history of the polar zones 
is replete with instances where explorers at 
different times have found the most startling 
variations in the state of the ice in the same 
locality, and at the corresponding time of the 
year. So well is this fact appreciated by ex- 
perienced navigators of these waters, that you 
ONG. 10.) nwith.  10.E.G. 
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Fie. 1. —IcE-FIELDS IN 1876 AND 1881. 
will seldom find one eager to give that credit 
to arctic nautical success so often fully accorded 
by the press and the public. Rightly estimat- 
ing that it was not altogether superior manage- 
ment over his more unfortunate brethren, but 
largely due to the fortunate circumstance of 
a lucky season, which is a problem defying 
calculation, Lieut. Payer has pointedly said, 
‘+The commander of an expedition must pos- 
sess sufficient self-control to return as soon as 
he becomes convinced of the existence of con- 
ditions unfavorable for navigation. It is better 
to repeat the same attempt on a second or even 
a third summer than with conscious impotence 
to fight against the supremacy of the ice.’’ 
Splendid as this maxim appears upon the face 
of it, it nevertheless has the weak point, that it 
is based on things as they should be, rather than 
on things as they are; and should any arctic 
commander, actuated by honorable motives, 
adopt such a course, he would probably find this 
maxim, when he returns home, exchanged for, 
‘ Nothing succeeds like success ;’ and, should 
‘the same attempt be repeated on a second or 
third year, it is more than doubtful if he would 
SCIENCE. 
YY "A 
Accliond. 
find himself retaining his original position. 
Nothing can show the variable state of the ice 
at different seasons so well as the accompanying 
map (fig. 1) of the ice-edge between Green- 
land and Spitzbergen, upon the authority of 
the Bremen geographical society’s publications 
for 1876 and 1881. The explorer of 1876 
would have been counted as a great suc- 
cess, and his equal brother of 1881, a 
failure. 
The next difficulty encountered by a 
vessel will be the outlying ice-packs ; and 
much has been said on this, while con- 
sidering the relative merits of steam and 
sails (p. 506). ‘The commander has now 
before him two general routes, one of which 
is to keep well out to sea, if the breadth of 
the channel will permit ; and the other is 
to hug the shore-line. This point seems 
to be pretty well settled at this hour, and 
in favor of inshore navigation when in 
the vicinity of ice. Confirmed to a great- 
er or less extent by Barentz, Hudson, 
Baffin, the two Rosses, and others, in- 
cluding the whalers constantly visiting 
these climes, it was reserved for Sir 
Edward Parry to bring the matter in 
such prominent light before the public as 
to provoke the most bitter discussion, 
and revive all previous experience on the 
subject, with the above result. Return- 
ing from his first voyage, he says, ‘** Our 
experience, I think, has clearly shown, that 
the navigation of the polar seas can never be 
performed with any degree of certainty, without 
a continuity of land. It was only by watch- 
ing the occasional openings between the ice 
and the shore, that our late progress to the 
westward was effected ; and, had the land con- 
tinued in the desired direction, there can be 
no question that we should have continued to 
advance, however slowly, toward the comple- 
tion of our enterprise.’’ In his second voyage 
he reiterates substantially the same opinion. 
So necessary was the continuity of land con- 
sidered by the British admiralty, after Parry’s 
deduction, that several expeditions were by 
them fitted out to explore the arctic coast-line 
of the American continent, in order to more 
intelligently direct a vessel through the north- 
west passage in conformity with this idea. 
One of the greatest advantages of coast-water 
navigation over that more remote, even when 
the latter is possible, is the ussurance of a 
winter harbor, should the young ice form so rap- 
idly as to prevent farther navigation, — a not 
unusual circumstance in these regions, where 
the change of season is short and decisive. 
