I9II] ICE STRUCTURE 3*3 
to kill it and then get through" its skin is beyond 
comprehension. Hunger drives hard. 
Wednesday, June 14 —Storms are giving us little rest. 
We found a thin stratus over the sky this morning, fore- 
boding ill. The wind came, as usual with a rush, just 
after lunch. At first there was much drift— now the drift 
has gone but the gusts run up to 65 m.p.h. 
Had a comfortless stroll around the hut ; how rapidly 
things change when one thinks of the delights of yesterday ! 
Paid a visit to Wright's ice cave ; the pendulum is installed 
and will soon be ready for observation. Wright anticipates 
the possibility of difficulty with ice crystals on the agate 
planes. 
He tells me that he has seen some remarkably interesting 
examples of the growth of ice crystals on the walls of the 
cave and has observed the same unaccountable confusion 
of the size of grains in the ice, showing how little history 
can be gathered from the structure of ice. 
This evening Nelson gave us his second biological 
lecture, starting with a brief reference to the scientific 
classification of the organism into Kingdom, Phylum, 
Group, Class, Order, Genus, Species ; he stated the 
justification of a biologist in such an expedition, as 
being i To determine the condition under which organic 
substances exist in the sea.' 
He proceeded to draw divisions between the bottom 
organisms without power of motion, benthon, the nekton 
motile life in mid-water, and the plankton or floating life. 
Then he led very prettily on to the importance of the 
tiny vegetable organisms as the basis of all life. 
