[37] Numerous
observations were also made on the radium content of the atmosphere over
the ocean, to be compared afterwards with observations in the Antarctic
air. The variations in radium content were not large. Results were also
obtained on the voyage of the Terra Nova to New Zealand upon the subject
of natural ionization in closed vessels.
In addition to the work of the ship and the physical work above
mentioned, work in vertebrate zoology, marine biology and magnetism,
together with four-hourly observations of the salinity and temperature of
the sea, was carried out during the whole voyage.
In vertebrate zoology Wilson kept an accurate record of birds, and he and
Lillie another record of whales and dolphins. All the birds which could
be caught, both at sea and on South Trinidad Island, were skinned and
made up into museum specimens. They were also examined for external and
internal parasites by Wilson, Atkinson and myself, as were also such fish
and other animals as could be caught, including flying fish, a shark, and
last but not least, whales in New Zealand.
The method of catching these birds may be worth describing. A bent nail
was tied to a line, the other end of which was made fast to the halyards
over the stern. Sufficient length of line was allowed either to cause the
nail to just trail in the sea in the wake of the ship or for the line to
just clear the sea.
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