78 ZOOLOGICAL LOG OF THE SCOTIA 



"No. 12" and " 14 (lough Island" petrels, and black petrels like the one shot on the 

 29th ult., some yellow-billed sooty albatroses, one blue-billed sooty, many D-inmedra 

 <'.i->tliiiix. both young and adult, and a Wilson's petrel were seen. Sea very phosphor- 

 escent to-night : more marked to-night on account of the moon not rising till later. 



Some fish about the size of a porpoise were seen swimming in the water at night, 

 their trail showing very plainly owing to the phosphorescence of the sea in their wake. 



May 5th, Arrived at dipt- Town. Several birds were seen to-day. Diomedea 

 t'.i-nfcms, yellow-billed and blue-billed sooties, Diomedea melanophrys, skuas, gaimets> 

 "No. 12 (iough Island" petrels, black petrels and Wilson's petrels. The captain and 

 others heard sounds like penguins' cries, and Pirie and others saw something in the 

 water which was either a penguin or a seal. Numerous porpoises were seen. 



Sea very phosphorescent at night. 



May 18th. Left Cape Town last night, steaming slowly for Dassen Island, which we 

 made soon after daybreak. A party went off in the boat to land, which, however, was 

 impossible or too risky on account of a heavy surf beating on the shore. We could see 

 numerous penguins on shore amongst the rocks and also on the water. Shags, gannets, 

 black-backed gulls, Cape hens (Majaqueus aequinoctialis), also a grey gull with pink 

 feet were seen. 



The otter trawl was let down in the afternoon in 30 to 40 fathoms, dynomometer 

 registering two to three tons ; 100 fathoms of wire-rope were paid out. The trawl was 

 down for half-an-hour and a fairly good catch was secured, including eleven dog-fish 

 and several other species of fish, three species of cuttle-fish, a nudibranch, two species 

 of crabs, one species of crayfish, two species of pycnogons, one species of chaetopod, two 

 species of asteroids, one species of alcyonariau, a sponge and some bryozoa. 



In the evening we anchored in Houtjes Bay, Saldanha Bay, and dropped a vertical 

 net over the stern in five fathoms. On hauling it up we found a coffer-fish, three buckies 

 and a small crab. The live monkey, which we took from Cape Town Museum yesterday 

 afternoon, had to be killed this morning as he bit one of the staff very badly on the leg. 



Mai/ I'JtJi, Houtjes Bay, Saldanha Bay. In the morning Brown, Pirie, Johnnie 

 Smith and I went along the shore towards the other end of the bay, where the ship was 

 to anchor for the night. The shore was covered with shells of various kinds, lamelli- 

 branch, gasteropods and cuttle-fish. We struck inland for some time, where Pirie 

 shot some small birds (about six), and we collected some millipedes, some beetles and 

 two or three lizards. Along the shore a (?) sanderling, a grey-backed gull 1 similar to 

 the South Orkney gull and having the red ring round the eye, and a black bird with a 

 bright crimson bill and darker crimson legs were shot. 



A rich haul was secured by means of the vertical net, consisting of many fishes, 

 cuttle-fish, buckies, crabs, etc. 



A trawl (double-headed deep-sea) was let down in eight fathoms and brought up 



1 Identical with the southern species Larus dominicanus. 



