THE SUB-ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 288, 3 December 1907, Page 3

THE SUB-ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

SCIENTIST'S AT WORK. UTTERESTING AND VALUABLE. DISCOVERIES. , (B7 DR. L. COCKAYSE). TSLLJFF, Saturday. Tne §nrt phase of the New Zealand Sub-antarctic Expedition is concluded by the arrival at the Bluff, this evening, of the twenty-two scientists, together witli their assistants, ali in the best of health and as full of enthusiasm as when they set forth on their self-appointed task. The second phase will be the publication of the results, which are undoubtedly of the highest scientific value. Leaving the Bluff at 8.30 on November 15th. a pleasant sail over a calm sea. brought the party to Point Pegasus, in Stewart lsl-and where the various members of the expedition enjoyed a preliminary canter, the geologists climbing to the summit of Mount ttemarkable. the ichthyologists dredging in the inlet, Dr. Karr and Mr. Skey taking a magnetic observation, and the botanists making the acquaintance of the low-land bogs and rata forest. Five a.m. next day saw the scientists at work in real earnest on the main island of the Snares Group, of which very little was previously known scientifically. The weather was moderately fine, and ail made the most of the nine hours allotted them by Captain Bollons. Here the firet acquaintance was made with the sea-lions, whose aspect and greeting did not encourage or induce familiarity. The penguin rookeries were a source of admiration and amazement. Excellent photographs were taken of these strange birds, and many speeimenfi were secured of the lower animal and plant life, 90 that the ship began to assume the character of a travelling museum.

The ear v morning of N« vember IGth saw the Hinemoa steaming round Enderby 2a , - yd. the most nooraa&'lr of the Auckland tfro-up, in rather uuck and rainy weather, aud entering the tine harbour of Port Ross. The vision of the promised land had brought raanv of the party early on deck, and l.hry were startled by seeing a Hag flying half-mast from the depot. The morning was truly a sub-antarctic one; Uje high hiils were veiled in mist, and a keen wind pierced tbe warmest clothing. Before one was aware that a boat had been lowered, Captain Bollons a.nd n picked crew were on the way to the relief of the shipwrecked men, and a roar of British cheera reached the ship, and brought the welcome news that cheers so hearty must have come from lusty men. Soon the boat returned, and we were grasping the hands and warmly welcoming the heroic sailors vvhcee tale is told in another column.

Charles Eyre, an A.ii. of the ill-fated vessel, remained on board the llincmoa, in order to go with the Campbell Island party as cook. Carniey Harbour was reached in an hour or two. a piece of raia forest in the neighbourhood of Camp Cove, being selected an the camping ground for the Auckland Island party of investigators. The fourteen scientists set to work with a will, under the direction of Capt. Dorrien Smith, to put ,ip five boll tents and the large, marquee, and to make everything safe for the night. A rough shed, which had been built by the castaways from the French .ship Anjou. served as a kitchen, where for ten days Mr. North cooked vast quantities of food for the party, whose appetites became as keen as the Sub-Antarctic blasts. Close at hand also were the two huts provided for castaways, and these proved of great value as storehouses for food and material. Besides the scientists proper was Mr. Field, from Wanganui, who made frequent excursions with the botanists, and rendered them much valuable assistance. Also there was brought a strong whaleboat, manned by a picked crew of Maoris from the Bluff, with Jack Tauke as head man. Without such a craft worK would have been impossible, and by its means, notwithstanding the almost constant galea and frequent showers, no day was wasted. Access was gained to the most promising spots for scientific investigation. The especially active members of the party were the geologists and botanists, and various peaks of the mainland and Adams Islands were scaled. Such excursions required great endurance, since the country is most difficult, owing to the dense shrubby growths which occur above the forest line, the boggy nature of the ground, and its great irregularity. So dense is the shrub called Suttonia, that progress can be made oaly by rolling right over it 3 or occasionally crawling underneath. Mr. Collyns, an assistant to Air. Speight, weighted by a forty pound load of stones, and assisted by gravity, was wont to burst through Lhia obstacle. Both the Auckland and Campbell Islands camps were presided over by a council of three, elected at an early stage of the expedition by the members. The Auckland Council consisted of Professor Bcnhn.ni and Drs. Fair and P-oekayno; that of the Campbell Islands of Professor Kirk, l>. Marshall, and Mr. Laing. The Campbell Island scientists pitched their tents nrair the shore of Perseverance Harbour on the seventeenth, under the lee o£ a belt of scrub, but fortunately within two hours the prevailing wind of the Island took a rest. A terrific squall from the opposite quarter turned camp and members virtually inside out for the whole of their stay. No cheerful camp fire could be lighted, as tree.') are wanting, and so the camp was forced to keep early hours for sake of warmth. In addition to an uncomfortable camp and difficult country to travel, and constant storm, the water was so bad that the tea was of a curious mud colour and quite undrinkable, <ocoa being used instead of this chiefly because it gave a more wholesome colour to the concoction. As for the travelling in Campbell Island, Professor Kirk remarked that had he a fiver for every time he fell into a hole on one memorable day, he would at once retire. The Campbell scientists used no flying camps as the distances were never too great to get back on the evening of tbe long days, but the Auckland party was usually split up. On one occasion a party" of botanists and geologists were running short of food, and were planning an attack on the sea-lions, just as a relief boat full of well-fed zoologists and physicists arrived. On the whole the scientific results of the expedition are eminently satisfactory, and a large addition has been made to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of the Subantaretic Islands, while the geology is certainly put on a new basis, and a magnetic surI vey of a thorough character has been made both on the Auckland and the Campbells. Dr. Farr, assisted by Mr. Cook, successfully and in the face of many difficulties, established satisfactory stations, and inter alia, found out with I scientific accuracy for the first time, the ■ position of the islands. Mr. Skey, on Campbell Island, assisted by Mr. Kidsoii and Opie, established three stations, and he was compelled to carry overland through terribly rough country his heavy instruments, a task requiring the assist-

anee of nine strong men. This magnetic work cannot be described in popular language, but it is of the highest value Xα the Dominion and to Australia. One Of the difficulties was to get the sun, and several excursions had to be made for this special purpose. Dr. Marshall and Mr. Speight, assisted by Messrs. Brown and Finlayson respectively, gave the geology of their respective regions a most searching examination, covered vast tracts of difficult country and spared no exertion to attain their ends. The results must be most gratifying to these ardent geologists. To sum up their results, these investigators have proved the existence of great masses of granitelike rocks in all the islands visited. In Campbell Island sedimentary rocks were met with, followed by great outpourings of lava, but in the Aucklands no sedimentary rocks were found. The land was formed, almost wholly by a remarkable succession of lava Hows, poured out from more than one crater. Perhaps the most important discovery was a number of moraines, showing a time when much of the land must have been covered by glaciers, and this fact is of the highest importance from its distinct bearing on zoology and botany. The botanists, Dr. Cockayne. Mr. Pennant, and Captain Dorrien Smith, on Auckland Islands, and Messrs. Laing and Crosby Smith, on Campbell Island, hunted for new plants, studied the biology of the old ones, and noted carefully the features of the vegetation. As a whole, both, parties put on record several species new to the Islands, and perhaps to science, and a number of important biological facts were established. Unfortunately the Campbell Island plants were not in proper bloom, but those of the Aucklands were much more advanced. Of great interest were the additions made to the knowledge of colour variation amongst the snbantarctic plants, and the relation of the plant form to the peculiar climatic conditions. Mr. Aston rendered much assistance to the Auckland Island botanists, and in addition collected on mountain top, in forest and bog, various Bauipics of the soil. In connection with his very important soil survey of New Zealand, the work of the entomologist, Mr. Hudson, was of special value, since before his visit only a dozen flies and beetles had been recorded, and no moths, and butterflies. Mr. Hudson's collection consists of 45 species and 255 specimens, including 17 moths, 13 flies, 10 beetles, and some lchncumen and stone flies. Had it been later in the season, more would have been secured. The find includes some remarkable novelties, and though most are closely related to insects of the mainland, they are in nearly every case specifically distinct. Professor Benham dug assiduously for his pets, the earthworms, the most striking proof of ancient land connection with. South America, and was rewarded by some ten species belonging to six genera. An important discovery was true leeches from the Snares. Dr. Benham also collected generally the more obecure forms of animal life", hitherto neglected on these islands by collectors, such a-s centipedes and planarians, and numerous marine animals were also secured. Mr. Waite conlined his attention to bis friends the fishes, securing all the species recorded hitherto, as well as two unrecorded pipefish, one o- new species. His operations were carried on by means of a seine net, fishing from the rocks, and netting the small fresh water tis.li in the rivers. Here a Galaxias was secured, another link in the chain of evidence for an ancient Antarctic continent. Professor Chilton searched the shores of Campbell Island for various members of the crab family, and secured a remarkable species of fresh water shrimp, also a number of wood lice. These animals are directly important from the point of view of geological distribution, and the proTessor has shown the remarkable fact that one of these is identical with a wood louse inhabiting Kergueleruand, the Falklands, and the bubaJiuuL-tie region as a whole. On the other hand, I'rolVssor Cuiiton states that several of these usually unpopular animals occur both on Campbell Island and the S.Z. mainland. Another interesting fact discovered was the presence of a special plant louse upon the burr peculiar to the Subantarctic Islands. Profuasor Kirk set himself to the heroic task of looking for ncgatrvo results, and proved that many of the lower animaU common in N.Z. arc quite absent from the Subantarctic Island. Lizards also appear to be wanting in Campbell Island. Professor Kirk also collected largely in all branches of zoology, and paid much attention to botany, especially with regard to the insects frequenting certain oi the flowers. In his owm special branch, the professor recorded for the lirst time some sponges from Campbell Island, but most of the specimens were too much damaged for accurate determination. Mr. Page, official photo grapher to tho expedition, was busy during all the long daylight, and took a very large series of photographs botli scientific and generally interesting, lie has for the first time put on record the aspect, as they grow, of many Auckland Island plants. Mr. Crosby Smith and others played the same part on Campbell Island. In fact, nearly all the scientists were armed with cameras. Tuesday, November 2(i, saw tiir expedition once more as a whole in Carnley Hurbour, and next day the beautiful inlets of the East Coast were visited, also iinderby and Kwing Islands. Prof. Kitk secured a skeleton of the hair ooals, and CapL liollons a number of flightless ducks lor Kapiti. Disappointment Island, hover before visited by a scientist, was explored the following day, and was, perhaps, the most important excursion. The island in u-ll probability consists in part of sediaiontary rocks, which, if true, shows it to be a very ancient land — perhaps a part of the supposed Antarctic Lontineut. The geologists and botanists had here one of t-he red-letter days of their lives, 'i he vegetation is most luxuriant, but Dr. Cockayne reports there are only some 30 species of llowering plants and ferns. Mollyhawks on tneir nests were in countless numbers, aud dotted the slopes with white. l'cnguin rookeries we7f in abundance. Tho village of the castaways was visited, and it was wonderful how snug they had managed to make their extraordinary dwellings, from such unpromising .material. All round lay the rejected portions of tho mollyhawks, showing red, owing to a curious fungus. The night was spent in Port Ross, at the spot where the Erebus had anchored, classic ground for scientific men. The morning of the following day was spent at Port and in the evening the vessel sailed for the Bluff, which was reached at 3.'20 p.m. on Saturday. The last lunch off Half-moon Bay, Stewart Island, was the scene of a pleasing ceremony, when an address signed by all the scientists was presenter! by Prof. Benham to Capt. Bollons, whose assistance and help to the expedition j were beyond words, and Prof. Benham also referred to the willing aid that jhad been given on all occasions by the officers of the ship and the stewards. The alJove article appeared In part of oar edition yesterday.