cally sealed, so to speak, for the snow crept in wherever there
was an aperture. The trousers were of double thickness, as they were
exposed to the greatest wear. Attached by large buttons, toggles or
lampwick braces, they reached as high as the lower part of the chest.
Below, they had lamp-wick lashings which were securely bound round the
uppers of boots or finnesko. In walking, the trousers would often work
off the leather boots, especially if they were cut to a tailor's
length, and snow would then pour up the leg and down into the boots in
a remarkably short time. To counteract this, Ninnis initiated the very
satisfactory plan of sewing a short length of canvas on to the boots to
increase the length of the upper.

The burberry helmet and blouse were either in one piece or separate. For
use round the Hut, in thick drifts, the combination of helmet and blouse
was handy and time-saving. For sledging, when low temperatures and
strong winds might be expected all the time, it met the conditions well;
there being no necessity to worry about keeping the neck drift-tight.
Under ordinary circumstances it was very convenient to have a blouse
and helmet detached, as one so often could wear the former with a
well-padded woollen helmet and be reduced only as a last resource to
wearing the burberry helmet.

The blouse was roomy, giving great freedom of movement. Around the neck
was a draw-string, which bunched in the jacket tightly over the lower
part of the helmet. There was also a draw-string round the waist. It
was here that we had the greatest difficulty in making the garment fit
snow-tight. If simply tied, the blouse would soon slip up from below,
especially if one were working with pick and shovel, carrying cases or
blocks of ice. To obviate this, some of the men sewed loops or tags of
lamp-wick on to the sides of the trousers, to connect with corresponding
attachments on the blouse. As an additional security, others wore an
outside belt which was, even if the blouse slipped up for some distance,
a line of defence against the drift-snow.

The burberry helmet completely enclosed the head except for the face,
which remained uncovered at the bottom of a funnel stiffened by several
rings of copper-wire. Lampwick, the universal polar "cord," was sewn
in short strips in front of the ears and tied at the back of the
head, firmly securing the helmet. Since the voyage of the 'Discovery'
(1901-1904) lamp-wick had been used widely in