Page:Castaway on the Auckland Isles (IA castawayonauckla01musg).pdf/172

156 the above-mentioned cause, the stems are seldom straight enough to afford timber of any magnitude. For knees, or such purposes, it may be very valuable. Abundance of fuel from this source, then, may be relied on. The peat, too, which covers the greater portion of the land, might be made available for this purpose, but not perfectly so, by the usual mode adopted in Ireland.

as an article of consumption, is very abundant. The stream which falls into the head of Laurie Harbour had sufficient water to form a noble cataract after a month's dry weather, and, indeed, abundance of streams are to be met with in all parts. The nature of the soil is such that, whatever quantity of rain falls, it very quickly sinks below the surface, and then, probably, percolates away on the volcanic and impervious rock beneath. From the moisture of the climate, and the igneous character of the rock, this peaty formation arises. This vegetable formation is found to be several feet in thickness, and consists of a mass of decomposed black vegetable fibre, which, if properly compressed, makes good fuel. Great difficulty was experienced in forming a foundation for the observatory, at the time of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror's' visit; they had to dig twelve feet through the peat to gain the solid rock on which to erect the instruments. The magnetic observations made here were found to be singularly affected by the nature of the island. Some of the magnets were found entirely to depend for their direction of the north and south poles on the fragments of rocks around them. The compasses in the 'Terror' were so much affected by Shoe Island as to mask the local attraction of the iron in the ship. These phenomena led to the opinion that the island may be taken as one great magnet itself.