The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-19

tols. knives, and ammunition to do jus tice to pirate ship. Several thou- sand pounds of alcohol and large quantity of chemicals to preserve ani- maj specimens. There are also cotton for stuffing birds, apparatus for blow ing eggs and cameras of all varieties for photographing the strange antaro- tic life with it's immediate surround ings. The devices for scientific ashihe are as complete as the limited finance would permit. We will be able to fish on the surface, in the middle stratas, and on the bottom of the deep sea. We can even scrape the bed of the ocean with huge dredges for low forms Of life; can drop thermometers down 10 register the degrees of heat of their IT, visible homes. The trowls and drsfges are made after the last American S.cs- bee system, as improved by Profsss Agazic. There are four huge frames, fifteen nets. and 5000 fathoms of gal Vanlzed steel rope, with a tensile strength of five tons to haul the catch by steam. And then there is the tangle bar and much other fishing apparatus all of which would make an oldtime | fisherman stare with envy Scientific | fishing will be an important and inter- esting part of our work. In short, the air and the land will be impossible, but a systematic study of the marine life inhaLitinG the unmeasured depths of
 the southern ocean will be possible.
 The new science of oceanography. or as Lieutenant Maury, it's father, called it, the geography of the sea- has been constantly in mind in the organization and equipment of the Belgica. The out fit for fishing partly belongs to this de- l partment, unique in devices for sound 1 ing the ocean in all depths, with piano. forte wire and steel rope as a line, and l sinkers which detach automatically, and complicated system of special steam machinery is now adjusted ready l for use. We expect to study the sub-
 marine currents temperature, and the l composition of the waters. For all of
 this we have special apparatus. Per
 haps not interesting to the average
 reader is a description, but the results
 are sure to add new and startling chapters to the growing annals of
 ocean science.
 The laboratory is in small, special l ly constructed deckhouse behind the 1 foremast. Its dimensions are small, ] perhaps fifteen feet long and twelve I feet wide, but its capacity for storing apparatus and it's convenience for work l are phenomenal. It is intended as the
 center for all scientific work, sort of
 union den for the working staff, as the motto. painted in large letters over the | window ''L Union Fait PForce," indi- | cates. It will, however, be principally
 used for meteorologic, oceanographic
 and geological investigations.
 When one first steps into the labora-
 tory, there creeps over you a fea. to
 move, for everything seems frail
 meshwork of glass. Straight and spir-
 al tubes, glass cylinders, thermometers,
 barometers, test tubes, bottles and
 glass articles too numerous to mention
 are attached to all the available sur
 face on the walls the shelves, and even
 the ceiling. Any seaman, on first sec
 ing the fraii fixtures, would pronounce
 them short-lived, and it certainly
 seems that if the ship gave single
 sharp toss or a sudden pitch the whole
 glassy splendor would fall in fragments
 to the floor. The vessel rolled for three
 months on the destructive swells of the
 Atlantic, but. thanks to the carefully
 planned attachment, very few instru-
 ments have been broken, and we have
 reason to hope by this experience that
 the ice will not be more injurious.
 A very complete library is on board
 a library, like the men, of various
 tongues and descriptive of a great va
 riety of subjects. Each department
 has it's technical bibliography. The
 commandant and the writer have a
 general collection of all the antarctic
 narratives in all tongues. The captain has a heap of charts and books on nav igation. Lieutenant Dance has every
 thing pertaining to terrestrial magne-
 tism The general scientific library is
 indeed, a cosmopolitan collection. Ii contains books in French, English German, Polish, Norwegian and Rou- manian print. In addition to serious literature, we have other books and
 magazines of a higher character. But these float about from the laboratory tc the cabin, and then to the forecastle
 always in the hands of those whose
 spirits need elevating. Weekles witf .. unusually good pictures such as half
 tones of beautiful women theater ol , opera scenes, are reserved and served
 after dinner, as a kind of post-deser' , relish.
 The quarters for officers and men are 7 fairly good-palatial, as comfort i! measured on a sealer The command , ant has neat little room behind tht
 mizzenmast and opposite the kitchen l It is carpeted, nicely furnished, and tht . walls are artistically bedecked by olt
 Dutch sketches, some paintings, ant : many photos of polar scenes. We art $ so pressed for space that we are tolc , that even this room will be partiall, 1 filled with coal at Punta Arens. Int : cabin is well aft but, like the labora , tory, the commandants room and tht : kitchen, it is on deck. As we enter i 2 to the right of the engines are berths O 2 the captain and the mates, where the, . have the soot, smoke and steam of th , engine-room to impress upon them tn Q importance of their work, while tn Q noise is such that prolonged sleep i $ impossible. The cabin is small, but full e of comfort. It is as if eight men stoot V up around a small table and box wa a built around them. and then the corn Q CTS and walls and ceiling lined witt t books and instruments. It is not yer,
 joyful place in the tropics, but when al ] endless sea of ice surrounds us and tn | wind iE h1pyVir1ey a rlG ho o1yc ro