35o FROM EDINBURGH TO THE ANTARCTIC 
whalers had an element of interest unusual in such a 
fleet. A scientific and artistic department had been 
attached to them. The Royal Geographical Society 
and the Meteorological Office equipped the fleet with 
instruments, and appointed officers to undertake the 
work of observation and research. Mr. Leigh Smith, 
Dr. H. R. Mill, and Professor Haddon also added hand- 
somely to the scientific outfit of the Balsena. 
The Balsena first saw ice on the afternoon of December 
16th, in about 6o° S., just to the N.E. of the South Shet- 
lands. The same night we sighted our second berg. The 
weather was fine and bright in the earlier part of the 
day, becoming overcast and rainy in the afternoon and 
evening. All day we were surrounded by myriads of 
birds, mostly Cape pigeons {Procellaria capensis) ; among 
them being thousands of blue petrel, and smaller numbers 
of molly mawk {Diomedia culminata). On the surface 
of the water, from near the ship to far on the horizon, 
we could see hundreds of the Finner Whale blowing - 
fountainlike spouts, and filling the air with their charac- 
teristic note of booming resonance. The next day, the 
17th December, the weather was foggy and the temper- 
ature fell from 34 0 F. to 30 0 F. We met with drift ice 
and a few bergs, both great and small. On this day we 
saw and shot our first seal, a sea-leopard {Leptonyx stenor- 
rhyncus)) one of the largest kinds, as it drifted past us 
asleep. 
The same weather continued until the 23rd of December. 
Fog, sleet, rain, squalls, bergs ! We scarcely made any 
headway: it was with difficulty we saw our jibboom : we 
