484 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
a sufficiently great rdle, among others as a carrier of cold to 
the most northerly forest regions, to receive the attention of 
meteorologists. 
The humidity of the air was observed both by August's 
psychroiheter and Saussure’s hygrometer. But I do not 
believe that these instruments give trustworthy results a,t a 
temperature considerably under the freezing-point. Moreover 
the degree of humidity at the place where there can be a 
question of setting up a psychrometer and hygrometer during 
a wintering in the high north, has not the meteorological 
importance which has often been ascribed to it. For the instru¬ 
ments are as a rule set up in an isolated louvre case, standing at 
a height above the surface convenient for reading. While the 
snow is drifting almost uninterruptedly it is impossible to keep 
this case clear of snow. Even the air, which was originally 
quite dry, must here be saturated with moisture through evapor¬ 
ation from the surrounding layers of snow and from the snow 
dust which whirls about next the surface of the earth. In order 
to determine the true degree of humidity in the air, I would 
accordingly advise future travellers to these regions to weigh 
directly the water which a given measure of air contains by 
absorbing it in tubes with chloride of calcium, calcined sulphate 
of copper, or sulphuric acid. It would be easy to arrange an 
instrument for this purpose so that the whole work could be 
done under deck, the air from any stratum under the mast-top 
being examined at will. If I had had the means to make such 
an examination at the Vegas winter quarters, it would certainly 
have appeared that the relative humidity of the air at a height 
of some few metres above the surface of the earth was for the 
most part exceedingly small. 
• The sandy neck of land which on the side next the vessel 
divided the lagoons from the sea, was bestrewn with colossal 
bones of the whale, and with the refuse of the Chukches, who 
liad lived and wandered about there for centuries, and besides 
