VARIOUS OBSERVATIONS. 
185 
seas which should not he overlooked. During six 
months of the year the sun is above the horizon ; and 
although the rays may be oblique, still the waters may 
acquire a higher temperature than under similar con¬ 
ditions farther south, owing to there being little or no 
cooling from nocturnal radiation, and probably to the 
constant dryness of the air allowing the sun to strike 
with full power. During the winter these causes would 
intensify the cold. 
The occurrence of warm water is by no means con¬ 
fined to the sea around Spitzbergen ; but, before re¬ 
ferring to other regions, we may mention that a set of 
instruments for taking soundings and deep-sea tempera¬ 
tures was supplied this year by Mr. Smith to Captain 
David Grey, of the whaler Eclipse , whose father, in the 
year 1855, supplied the valuable information and sur¬ 
vey of the extension of Pond’s Bay, now called Eclipse 
Sound. His observations were made in the middle of 
the sea, between Greenland and Norway, and along a 
line running north-easterly from Iceland. They coin¬ 
cide with Dr. Carpenter’s observations, proving the ter¬ 
mination of the Gulf Stream. In June, 1854, Morton 
advanced beyond Kennedy Channel, and saw open 
water as far as the horizon, visible from a hill 500 feet 
high. The wind was from the north-west, and a rain 
cloud was seen in the distance above the open sea. 
The water was setting in a strong current south, and 
