been generally forgotten is that the safety of the _Fram_ was secured
at the expense of her sea-worthiness and powers of ice-penetration.

Since the _Fram_ was built there have been two distinct types of
Polar vessels, the one founded on the idea of passive security in
the ice, the other the old English whaler type designed to sail
the high seas and push her way through the looser ice-packs. And
a brief consideration of southern conditions will show which of
these types is more serviceable for Antarctic exploration, because
it is obvious that the exploring ship must first of all be prepared
to navigate the most stormy seas in the world, and then be ready
to force her way through the ice-floes to the mysteries beyond.

By the general consent of those who witnessed her performances, the
old _Discovery_ (the fifth of her name) of 1875 was the best ship
that had ever been employed on Arctic service, and the Ship Committee
eventually decided that the new vessel should be built on more
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or less the same lines. The new _Discovery_ had the honour to be
the first vessel ever built for scientific exploration, and the
decision to adopt well-tried English lines for her was more than
justified by her excellent qualities.

The greatest strength lay in her bows, and when ice-floes had to
be rammed the knowledge that the keel at the fore-end of the ship
gradually grew thicker, until it rose in the enormous mass of solid
wood which constituted the stem, was most comforting. No single
tree could provide the wood for such a stem, but the several trees
used were cunningly scarfed to provide the equivalent of a solid
block. In further preparation for the battle with ice-floes, the