THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



partly in order to ensure freshness and partly in order 

 to ascertain how many eggs the penguins would lay. 

 The other portion of the rookery was left untouched in 

 order that the development and education of the young 

 penguins might be studied. 



The scientific work in its various branches was 

 carried on by the men at the winter quarters, and they 

 made a series of small expeditions to points of interest 

 in the surrounding country. " To-day we motored to 

 Tent Island via Inaccessible Island," wrote Priestley 

 on November 14. " The main object of the expedition 

 was to enable Joyce to kill and skin some young seals, 

 but we did geological work as well. Day, Joyce, 

 Murray and myself were the party, and when the motor 

 was pulled up opposite Inaccessible Island three of us 

 stroUed over to look at its western slopes. We did 

 not have time to climb, but the island from that side 

 consists entirely of a flow of massive basalt, with 

 small porphyritic felspars, which show out best in the 

 weathered specimens. The sheet of basalt appeared 

 to be dipping to the south. Day endeavoured to join 

 us, but he chose a bad place, and got so deep in the 

 drift that his axle was aground, so he was obliged to 

 reverse engines and back out. From there we pro- 

 ceeded to Tent Island, and after Joyce had picked out 

 a young seal and started operations, Murray, Day and I 

 climbed up a water-worn gully on the island and had a 

 cursory look at the rocks, which are an agglomerate 

 with very coarse fragments; capping the agglomerate 

 there is a massive flow of kenyte. . . . Day photographed 

 the lower slopes of the gully while Murray and I climbed 

 the rock-slopes till they ended, and then cut steps up 

 a snow slope, at the top of which I came across a snow 

 cornice and nearly got into trouble getting through it. 

 On reaching the top we walked along the ridge, and 



24 



