VI.] 
ZIVOLKA AND MOISSEJEV, 1838. 
283 
the conservator.^ They visited Matotschkin Schar, penetrated 
by boat to its eastern end and found the Kara Sea open, landing 
afterwards at Besimannaja Bay, JSTechvatova, and on an island 
in Kostin Schar. The expedition thus nowhere penetrated so 
far as its predecessors, but it is of importance as the first 
examination of the natural history of the Polar Sea surrounding 
Novaya Zemlya carried out by actual men of science. With all 
the respect we must entertain for von Baer’s great name as a 
scientific man, it cannot be denied that, through his papers on 
the natural history of the island, grounded on a cursory inspec¬ 
tion, a number of erroneous ideas regarding the natural 
conditions of the eastern Polar Sea obtained a footing in scien¬ 
tific literature. 
In order to complete the survey of the island the Russian 
Government sent out in 1838 a new expedition under Lieu¬ 
tenants Zivolka and Moissejev. They wintered in 1838-39 in 
Melkaja Guba on the west coast of Novaya Zemlya in 73° 57' 
N.L.; but on this occasion Pachtussov s judgment and insight 
were wanting, and the wintering was very unfortunate. Of the 
twenty-five men belonging to the expedition most were attacked 
during winter by scurvy; nine died, among them Zivolka him¬ 
self. During spring, excursions for the purpose of surveying the 
neighbouring coasts had to be broken off because they had not 
brought snow-glasses with them—a thing that Pachtussov 
did not neglect, being accustomed besides to blacken the under 
eyelid as a protection against the blinding brightness of the 
snow. By the expedition, however, considerable stretches of 
the west coast of Novaya Zemlya were surveyed, and valuable 
contributions to a knowledge of the climatic conditions of this 
region obtained. These turned out to be less severe than had 
been expected. During winter the thermometer never sank 
below — 33°; in July there were only two nights of frost, and on 
^ Bulletin scientijique puhlie par VAcademie Imp. de St. Petersburg^ t. ii. 
(1837), p. 315 ; iii. (1838), p. 96, and other places. 
