[1214] Since the discovery of these distant and desolate islands, manyaccounts have been published respecting them. But from what source soever the information has been derived, they all concur in describing them as barren, uninhabited, and in every respect dreary.

It was our good fortune to be possessed of all the leading facts which related to them long before their existence was announced to the public; but at the particular desire of our correspondent, who was in the first vessel that ever touched on these inhospitable shores, we omitted giving it publicity until several weeks had elapsed; and it was not until some reports had found their way into the world, that our embargo was taken off. This circumstance enabled the conductor of a weekly journal to announce the existence of these distant lands to the public, just before the day of publication with us arrived. Of this incident he has readily availed himself; [1215] and in a recent number, has claimed the exclusive honour of having furnished the first public notice of this discovery.

One of the main problems faced by the settlements in Spitsbergen during seven months of winter isolation is that of storing food. During the last thirty years much experiencehas been gained, and food standards have steadily improved. At one time the population had to subsist on salted, tinned and dried food for much of the winter, but fresh meat, fish, vegetables and even fruit are now available throughout the year. Although vegetables become withered by the end of the winter, they meet ordinary household requirements. The vitamin content is presumably retained, as no sign of scurvy has been reported among the miners for many years.

In 1944 Vice-Admiral Sir John Edgell, K.B.E., C.B., F.R.S., then Hydrographer of the Navy, advised the British Government that in its contribution to research in oceanography this country had fallen seriously behind other countries, including many which had no comparable traditions of interest in the oceans and their navigation, and that an oceanographical institute should be set up in Great Britain. The subject was referred to the Royal Society, and the Oceanographical Sub-Committee of the National Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics showed itself, in a report which was accepted by the Society, to be strongly in favour of setting up a national oceanographical institute. It urged the primary need for researches of physical character because marine physical investigations had taken a secondary place to marine biology ever since the Challenger Expedition of 1872–76, and because the biological aspects were well looked after by existing authorities such as the Marine Biological Associations of the United Kingdom and Scotland, the Fisheries Laboratories at Lowestoft and Aberdeen, the Discovery Investigations, and marine biological laboratories associated with universities.

Two designs of Nansen-type dog sledge were used by the expedition: a Norwegian design, supplied by A/S Kolbjorn Knutsen and Co. (see Fig. I), and a British design supplied by Airwork General Trading Co. Ltd. After certain modifications and additions, the Norwegian sledge (S.P.R.I. No. 52/11/1) proved much superior to the British sledge.