d for this purpose; some Norwegian ash is useful, and some not.
Our own sledges with ash runners varied enormously. The runners of a
sledge should curve slightly, the centre being nearest to the snow. The
runners of ski should curve also slightly, in this case upwards in the
centre, i.e. from the snow. This is done by the way the wood is cut.
Wood always dries with the curve from the heart towards the outside of
the tree.

During our last year we had six new Norwegian sledges twelve feet long,
brought down by the ship, with tapered runners of hickory which were 33/4
inches broad in the fore part and 21/4 inches only at the stern. I believe
that this was an idea of Scott, who considered that the broad runner in
front would press down a path for the tapered part which followed, the
total area of friction being much less. We took one of them into South
Bay one morning and tried it against an ordinary sledge, putting 490 lbs.
on each of them. The surface included fairly soft as well as harder and
more rubbly going. There was no difference of opinion that the sledge
with the tapered runners pulled easier, and later we used these sledges
on the Barrier with great success.

If some instrument could be devised to test sledges in this way it would
be of very great service. No team of men can make an exact estimate of
the run of their own sledge, let alone the sledge which your pony or your
dogs are pulling. Yet sledges vary enormously, and it would be an
excellent thing for a leader to be able to test his sledges before buying
them, and also to be able to pick out the best for his more important
sledge journeys. I believe it can be done by attaching some kind of
balance between the sledge and the men pulling it.

Other points mentioned by Nansen are as follows:

Tarred ski are good: the snow does not stick so much. [This probably
refers to the Norwegian compound known as Fahrt.] But he does not
recommend tarred runners for sledges. Having had experience of a tent of
Chinese silk which would go into his pocket but was very cold, he
recommends a double tent, the inner lining being detached so that ice
could be shaken from both coverings. He suggests the possibility of a
woollen lining being warmer than cotton or silk or linen. I am, however,
of opinion that wool would collect more moisture from the cooker, and it
certainly would be far more difficult to shake off the ice. For four men
he would have two two-men sleeping-bags and