were given plenty
of biscuit some evenings, and plenty of fresh frozen seal at other times.

Our worst trouble with the dogs came from far away--probably from Asia.
There are references in Scott's diary to four dogs as attacked by a
mysterious disease during our first year in the South: one of these dogs
died within two minutes. We lost many more dogs the last year, and
Atkinson has given me the following memorandum upon the parasite, a
nematode worm, which was discovered later to be the cause of the trouble:

"_Filaria immitis._--A certain proportion of the dogs became infected
with this nematode, and it was the cause of their death, mainly in the
second year. It was present at the time the expedition started (1910) all
down the Pacific side of Asia and Papua, and there was an examination
microscopically of all dogs imported at this time into New Zealand. The
secondary host is the mosquito Culex.

"The symptoms varied. The onset was usually with intense pain, during
which the animal yelled and groaned: this was cardiac in origin and
referable to the presence of the mature form in the beast. There was
marked haematuria, and the animals were anaemic from actual loss of
haemoglobins. In nearly all cases there was paralysis affecting the
hindquarters during the later stages, which tended to spread upwards and
finally ended in death.

"The probable place of infection was Vladivostok before the dogs were put
on board ship and deported to New Zealand. The only method of coping with
the disease is prevention of infection in infected areas. It is probable
that the mosquitoes would not bite after the dog's coat had been rubbed
with paraffin: or mosquito netting might be placed over the kennels,
especially at night time. The larval forms were found microscopically in
the blood, and one mature form in the heart."

We were too careful about killing animals. I have explained how
Campbell's party was landed at Evans Coves. Some of the party wanted to
kill some seals on the off chance of the ship not turning up to relieve
them. This was before they were in any way alarmed. But it was decided
that life might be taken unnecessarily if they did this--and that winter
this party nearly died of starvation. And yet this country has allowed
penguins to be killed by the million every year for Commerce and a
farthing's worth of blubber.

We never killed unless it was necessary, and what we had to kill was used
to the utmost both for food