e upstanding rock. Other points to recommend
it were, proximity to the boat harbour and to a good sledging surface;
the ice of the glacier extending to the "front door" on the western
side. Several large rocks had to be shifted, and difficulty was
anticipated in the firm setting of the stumps. The latter were blocks
of wood, three feet in length, embedded in the ground, forming the
foundation of the structure. Unfortunately, no such thing as earth or
gravel existed in which to sink these posts, and the rock being of the
variety known as gneiss, was more than ordinarily tough.

Since two parties had combined, there were two huts available, and these
were to be erected so that the smaller adjoined and was in the lee of
the larger. The latter was to be the living-room; the former serving
as a vestibule, a workshop and an engine-room for the wireless plant.
Slight modifications were made in the construction of both huts,
but these did not affect the framework. After the completion of the
living-hut, regular scientific observations were to commence, and the
smaller hut was then to be built as opportunity offered.

Nothing has so far been said about the type of hut adopted by our
Antarctic stations. As the subject is important, and we had expended
much thought thereon before coming to a final decision, a few remarks
will not be out of place.

Strength to resist hurricanes, simplicity of construction, portability
and resistance to external cold were fundamental. My first idea was
to have the huts in the form of pyramids on a square base, to ensure
stability in heavy winds and with a large floor-area to reduce the
amount of timber used. The final type was designed at the expense of
floor-space, which would have been of little use because of the low
roof in the parts thus eliminated. In this form, the pyramid extended
to within five feet of the ground on the three windward sides so as to
include an outside veranda. That veranda, like the motor-launch, was a
wonderful convenience, and another of the many things of which we made
full use. It lent stability to the structure, assisted to keep the hut
warm, served as a store-house, physical laboratory and a dogshelter.

Round the outside of the three veranda walls boxes of stores were
stacked, so as to continue the roof-slope to the ground. Thus, the wind
striking the hut met no vertical face, but was partly deflected; the
other force-component tending to pin the building to the g