“The closing of heavy ice, encircling a quantity of bay ice, causes it to run together with such force, that it overlaps wherever two sheets meet, until it sometimes attains the thickness of many feet. Drift ice does not often coalesce with such a pressure as to endanger any ship which may happen to be _beset_ in it: when, however, land opposes its drift, or the ship is a great distance immured amongst it, the pressure is sometimes alarming.” No. VI. _On the approximation towards the Poles, and on the possibility of reaching the North Pole. From Mr. Scoresby’s paper in the Wernerian Society’s Transactions._ “We have already remarked, that the 80th degree of north latitude is almost annually accessible to the Greenland whale-fishers, and that this latitude, on particular occasions, has been exceeded. In one of the first attempts which appears to have been made to explore the circumpolar regions, in the year 1607, Henry Hudson penetrated the ice on the north-western coast of Spitzbergen to the latitude of 80° 23´ N. In 1773, Captain Phipps, in “a voyage towards the North Pole,” advanced, on a similar track, to 80° 37´ of north latitude. In the year 1806, the ship Resolution of Whitby, commanded by my father, (whose extraordinary perseverance and nautical ability are well appreciated by those in the Greenland trade, and proved by his never-failing success,) was forced, by astonishing efforts, through a vast body of ice, which commenced in the place of the usual _barrier_, but exceeded its general extent, by at least a hundred miles. We[39] then reached a navigable sea, and advanced without hindrance, to the latitude of 81½ north, a distance of only 170 leagues from the pole; which is, I imagine, one of the most extraordinary approximations yet realized.” [39] “I accompanied my father, on this voyage, in the capacity of chief mate.” * * * * * “The southern hemisphere, towards the pole, was explored by Captain Cook, in various meridians, and with indefatigable perseverance. In his first attempt, in 1772, they met with ice in about 51° south, and longitude 21° east. They saw great fields in 55° south, on the 17th of January, 1773, and, on February the 24th, were stopped by field-ice in 62° south latitude, and 95° east longitude. “Again, on the second attempt, in December of the same year, they first met with ice in about 62° south latitude, and 172-173° west longitude; and on the 15th, saw field-ice in 66°. On the 30th January, 1774, they were stopped by immense ice-fields in latitude 71° 10´ 30´´ and 107° west longitude, which was the most considerable approximation towards the south pole that had ever been effected. “Thus, it appears, that there subsists a remarkable difference between the two hemispheres, with regard to the approach of the ice towards the equator; the ice of the southern being much less pervious, and extending to much lower latitudes than that of the northern hemisphere.