Page:Scott's Last Expedition, Volume 2.djvu/25

The object of this expedition to the Emperor penguin rookery in the darkness and cold of an Antarctic winter was set forth years before in Dr. Wilson's Report of the Zoology of the Discovery Voyage. It was to secure eggs at such a stage as could furnish a series of early embryos by which alone the particular points of interest in the development of the bird could be worked out; for it seemed probable 'that we have in the Emperor penguin the nearest approach to a primitive form not only of a penguin, but of a bird.' These points could not be investigated in the deserted eggs and chicks which had been obtained in Discovery days. Such a journey 'entailed the risks of sledge travelling in midwinter with an almost total absence of light,' for the Emperor is singular in nesting at the coldest season of the year, and 'the party would have to be on the scene at any