hitting an
enormous piece of ice. The masts are all whipped forward, and from the
crow's nest is shot first the officer of the watch, followed by cigarette
ends and empty cocoa mugs, and lastly the hay with which the floor was
covered. Upon the forecastle stands Farmer Hayseed (Oates) chewing a
straw with the greatest composure, and waiting until the hay shall fall
at his feet, at which time he will feed it to his ponies. This crow's
nest, which was a barrel lashed to the top of the mainmast, to which
entrance was gained by a hinged trap-door, shielded the occupant from
most of the wind. I am not sure that the steersman did not have the most
uninviting job, but hot cocoa is a most comforting drink and there was
always plenty to be had.

Rennick was busy sounding. The depths varied from 1804 to at least 3890
fathoms, and the bottom generally showed volcanic deposits. Our line of
soundings showed the transition from the ocean depths to the continental
shelf. A series of temperatures was gained by Nelson by means of
reversible thermometers down to 3891 metres.

The winch upon which the sounding line was wound was worked by hand on
this cruise. It was worked mechanically afterwards, and of course this
ought always to be done if possible. Just now it was a wearisome
business, especially when we lowered a water-sample bottle one day to
1800 metres, spent hours in winding it up and found it still open when it
arrived at the surface! Water samples were also obtained at the various
depths. Lillie and Nelson were both busy tow-netting for plankton with
full-speed, Apstein, Nansen, 24-and 180-mesh nets.

I don't think many at home had a more pleasant Christmas Day than we. It
was beautifully calm with the pack all round. At 10 we had church with
lots of Christmas hymns, and then decorated the ward-room with all our
sledging flags. These flags are carried by officers on Arctic
expeditions, and are formed of the St. George's Cross with a continuation
ending in a swallow-tail in the heraldic colours to which the individual
is entitled, and upon this is embroidered his crest. The men forrard had
their Christmas dinner of fresh mutton at mid-day; there was plenty of
penguin for them, but curiously enough they did not think it good enough
for a Christmas dinner. The ward-room ate penguin in the evening, and
after the toast of 'absent friends' we began to sing, and twice round the
table everybody had to contribute a song. Ponting's ban