it commeth to passe that the night named extreame darke possesseth those
regions no longer then one moneth, neither that continually, or all at one
time, but this also diuided into two sorts of shorter nights, of the which
either of them indureth for the space of 15 dayes, and are illuminate of
the Moone accordingly. [Sidenote: Winter nights vnder the pole tolerable to
liuing creatures.] And this reason is gathered out of the sphere, whereby
we may testifie that the Summers are warme and fruitfull, and the Winters
nights vnder the pole are tolerable to liuing creatures. And if it be so
that the Winter and time of darknesse there be very colde, yet hath not
nature left them vnprouided therefore: for there the beastes are couered
with haire so much the thicker in how much the vehemency of colde is
greater; by reason whereof the best and richest furres are brought out of
the coldest regions. Also the fowles of these colde countreys haue thicker
skinnes, thicker feathers; and more stored of downe then in other hot
places. Our English men that trauell to S. Nicholas, and go a fishing to
Wardhouse, enter farre within the circle Artike, and so are in the frozen
Zone, and yet there, aswell as in Island and all along those Northern Seas,
they finde the greatest store of the greatest fishes that are; as Whales,
&c. and also abundance of meane fishes; as Herrings, Cods, Haddocks, Brets,
&c. which argueth that the sea as well as the land may be and is well
frequented and inhabited in the colde countreys.

[Sidenote: An obiection of Meta incognita.] But some perhaps will maruell
there should be such temperate places in the regions about the poles, when
at vnder 62 degrees in latitude our captaine Frobisher and his company were
troubled with so many and so great mountaines of fleeting ice, with so
great stormes of colde, with such continuall snow on tops of mountaines,
and with such barren soile, there being neither wood nor trees, but low
shrubs, and such like. To all which obiections may be answered thus: First,
those infinite Islands of ice were ingendred and congealed in time of