The following notes are intended not as a rigid set of rules but as a guide for future antarctic travellers: common sense must be used in their application. Systematic breeding, training and driving of dogs are essential in an organization as large as the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, but modifications must naturally be made to suit particular requirements.

An account of surveying in the Falkland Islands Dependencies could be treated as just another description of surveying in one of the outlying parts of the Empire. There is one major difference in comparison with other Colonies, however, which affects the whole outlook and conduct of the survey. This is that in the part of the Dependencies with which we are concerned, namely Graham Land and the Islands to the north, there is no permanent human habitation and no regular means of communication.

I must refer briefly to the historical background of these surveys and the reason for their commission, especially the latter, as without a full understanding of the need and future use of a survey one cannot examine critically the methods used.

Next I shall describe the methods of survey that have been used, which will inevitably entail describing the type of country and various difficulties peculiar to the polar regions.

A summary of the accomplishments up to date will be very brief, as these are shown in the maps that have been published by the Directorate of Colonial Surveys and some of which will be on exhibition.

Finally I shall consider some proposals for future surveys in this territory.

Upon the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 there were three coal mines in full production in Svalbard: the Norwegian Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Aktieselskap at Longyearbyen, and two Russian Arktikugol mines, at Barentsburg and Grumantbyen. In addition the Russians had begun to develop Pyramiden, an old Swedish claim sold to the Russian company Russky-Grumant in 1926 and taken over by Arktikugol when that company was founded in 1931: Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani A/S was investigating and repairing the old Swedish mine at Sveagruva bought from Svenska Stenkols Aktiebolaget in 1934: and another Norwegian company, Norske Kulfelter A/S, was engaged in trial workings at Moskushamn on the east side of Adventfjorden. In all, the population of Svalbard numbered some 2500 miners, and a small number of wireless operators, meteorological observers, and trappers.W. Marlow was Sysselmann.

In 1946 the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey station on Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands was completely destroyed by fire. Stores, valuable equipment and the records of many months' work were lost. In 1948 the station at Hope Bay in Trinity Peninsula was burnt down, with the loss of two lives. In January 1952 the hut of the French Antarctic Expedition at Port-Martin in Terre Adélie was destroyed in the same way. Smaller outbreaks of fire, fortunately detected early and dealt with promptly, have been reported from other stations. Of all the difficulties which can overtake a polar expedition, the loss of its base is perhaps the most disastrous. Nevertheless, the frequency with which such losses seem to occur suggests that there are fundamental errors in the design of the huts, as well as a tendency to underestimate the danger of fire.

The narratives of the explorers who have visited the north-west coast of King William Island, and some of the maps, do not agree concerning the position of Victory Point, where, in the opinion of most writers, Captain F. R. M. Crozier, R.N., landed and left a record in April 1848 after abandoning H.M. ships Erebus and Terror. Since a complete survey of the locality is only a question of time, it may be useful to put on record the present knowledge of the subject.

The philatelic effusion of a desolate region is due to various causes—frequently political, often financial, sometimes philatelic, but rarely postal. It is therefore hardly surprising that the Antarctic should have produced a variety of material for the philatelist. Post offices have been established by governments in support of claims and counter-claims, by expeditions to help finance themselves, and even by individuals eager to obtain souvenirs; postal facilities have also been provided for men engaged in whaling and scientific work; in addition, there are many stamps which depict antarctic motifs suitable for inclusion in an antarctic “subject” collection. Selectively collected, philatelic material in these categories is of great interest and offers abundant variety and range.

The present northern border of Norway and Sweden was fixed by treaty in 1751 between the United Kingdom of Denmark-Norway and the Kingdom of Sweden, then including Finland. Previous attempts to determine the frontier had failed, largely because of intermittent warfare over a long period between Denmark and Sweden. A codicil to the 1751 treaty laid down the rights of the Lapps in the frontier region and it was expressly stated that movement over the frontier would be permitted according to old usage. The usage here referred to was the movement of Swedish Lapps with their reindeer into Norway for pasture during the summer, and a similar movement of Norwegian Lapps with their reindeer into Sweden for pasture during the winter. The majority of the Norwegian Lapps entering Swedish territory went into Finland. In addition, a few Norwegian Lapps further south, in the present Nord Trøndelag Fylke, traditionally moved into Jämtland in Sweden during the summer.

The essential purpose of a lubricant is to reduce friction and to minimize wear. This object is achieved by preventing the physical contact of moving surfaces by maintaining between them a thin layer of a suitable fluid, the lubricant. The lubricant should adhere strongly to the boundary surfaces, so that when they are in relative motion, a film of lubricant is “dragged along” between them, forcing them apart and keeping them out of physical contact with each other.

The maintenance of this layer during actual movement of the surfaces depends on a property common to all fluids, namely, viscosity. Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of liquids to shearing forces; for instance, an oil which pours out of a spout slowly is usually termed a “thick oil”, while one which pours easily is described as “thin”. It is more correct to speak of these oils as having “high” and “low” viscosities respectively. In general, the higher the viscosity of the fluid used, the easier it is to maintain a film during movement of the bearing surfaces. But because a high viscosity means a high resistance to shearing forces on the lubricant itself, more power is needed to maintain the desired relative motion of the surfaces.

South Georgia, one of the Dependencies of the Falkland Islands, lies in the South Atlantic Ocean between lats. 53° 50′ and 55° S. and longs. 35° 50′ and 38°15' W. The island is about 120 miles long from north-west to south-east and its greatest breadth is under thirty miles: it is heavily glacierized with an indented coastline and a backbone of high mountains rising to over 9000 ft.

For many years, in the course of fisheries investigations, large numbers of fish have been marked by means of numbered metal tags. Other marking methods, such as dyeing, branding and clipping of fins, have all been tried but found to be either unsuitable, or difficult of application, or less satisfactory in some way. Since 1924 the Discovery Committee has marked some thousands of whales. For this purpose it has been found convenient to use stainless steel tubes which are fired into the blubber and remain firmly embedded until the whale is captured and dismembered by the whalers. Whale marking is in fact limited to this method, because these immense animals cannot be caught and later released. In the case of seals it is unlikely that marks shot into the blubber would prove successful because their skin and blubber is thinner than that of whales and, as seals haul out on land and ice at intervals, the mark would soon be torn out.

In a recent issue of the Polar Record an account was given of the establishment by the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition of research stations at Heard Island and Macquarie Island. These stations have now been in continuous operation for nearly three years, and the purpose of the following account is to summarize the progress made during this period.

During the last two decades the sledging ration used by British antarctic expedition has gradually been standardized and recent minor variations have had little effect on total calorie value. It may therefore be useful to record both the ration and the rationing system adopted by members of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey at Stonington Island, Graham Land, during the sledging seasons of 1948–50. The ration was in a direct line of descent from that used by the British Graham Land Expedition in 1934–37, and has been evolved for the use of dbg-sledge parties travelling long distances without air support or mechanical vehicles. It provides a balanced diet which has been found to keep a man in good health, as judged by body weight and ability to maintain continuous physical effort for long periods. It may be consumed at varying rates, but the party at Stonington Island always used it at the rate recorded below—27½ oz. per day. Although theration was satisfactory a general feeling of hunger made it necessary to maintain a personal mental discipline in eating neither more nor less than the allotted quantities of each item each day.

On 27 February 1947 P.-É. Victor, head of Expéditions Polaires Francaises obtained the agreement of the French Government for the organization of two scientific expeditions, one to Greenland and one to Terre Adélie. Preparations for the French Antarctic Expedition began at once. One of the greatest difficulties which had to be solved was the fact that France had had no polar vessel since the loss of the Pourquoi Pas? in 1936. Eventually, however, Expéditions Polaires FranÇaises bought at San Francisco the Atiette (ex-Lancewood), a wooden vessel built in 1943 as U.S. Navy net-layer AN-48. This vessel, a sister ship of the John Biscoe and Port of Beaumont, Texas, was brought to France and adapted for polar navigation, the hull being strengthened at the stem and stern. The vessel was then renamed the Commandant Charcot, and the French Navy agreed to commission her and carry the expedition to and from Terre Adélie. Engine trouble delayed the departure originally planned for September 1949, and the vessel did not leave Brest until 26 November that year.

Recently Soviet writers have claimed that Bellingshausen discovered the Antarctic mainland. The weakness of this argument when it is based upon Bellingshausen's own account of the voyage has been made clear in a previous note in this journal. The revival of interest has, however, brought to light several forgotten or hitherto unpublished eyewitness accounts and it is now possible to decide whether the authors held different views from Bellingshausen as to the discoveries made by the expedition.

The Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition was equipped with three amphibious Weasels (Light Cargo Carrier M29C, manufactured by the Studebaker Corporation) supplied by the British Army. Their performance was excellent, and few repairs were necessary. They had a bad start, however., by being immersed in sea water during the outward voyage. For at least a month the hulls and engine compartments were flooded, the water-level being above the oil filler gauge. The resulting corrosion was extensive and serious. The electrical system of each machine was put out of order, and most linkages and levers were rusted together. When this damage had been rectified, most subsequent repairs and replacements became necessary only as a result of fair wear and tear.