30 Captain Webster on the Natural Productions, S^c. 



cepting the sea-weeds, of which there is a paucity. A small 

 parenchymatous one yielded a very agreeable mucilage like 

 gum-arabic, and with sugar would form no bad jelly for a des- 

 sert in these regions of desolation. Of the red snow and the 

 Aurora Australis, I will leave others to speak, having seen nei- 

 ther the one nor the other, though much interested respecting 

 them. I have sent the bottle with the red snow water, such 

 as it is ; but I think ours is a fallacy. The geological speci- 

 mens are numerous and ample. They are done up in separate 

 bags for their respective places. I have a singular and unique 

 one from Shetland, which I reserve for the honour of present- 

 ing to yourself. No other trace of a similar kind could be 

 found. It is most beautiful, though rare. I have delivered 

 papers on the geological structure and formation of the different 

 places to Captain Foster. It is quite unnecessary to say any- 

 thing more. At Staten Island I observed extensive beds of 

 graphite or black lead. 



The collection of shells is good as far as our opportunities, 

 permitted, though we found but few. The Teredo gigas 

 or gigantea, is very abundant at Staten Land, and makes aw- 

 ful destruction upon the timber. 



It is with considerable pain I have to speak of birds, hav- 

 ing failed completely in that department from want of room 

 and convenience for drying, with a fatality at Shetland of the 

 loss of our collection by a snow storm. In a ten gun brig 

 crammed with ten months' provision and an unusual quantity 

 of stores and instruments, no one can rationally expect much 

 in the way of natural history. There is a total want of ac- 

 commodation ; not a particle of room, especially where the 

 great and sole objects of the voyage are mathematical and 

 philosophical. I have endeavoured to do every thing that was 

 in my power, and have investigated the anatomical structure 

 of seals and penguins, with whom we have been associated for 

 many months. The great peculiarity of structure in this am- 

 phibious bird is its great and excessively distended jugular 

 veins being near two inches in diameter. I merely mention 

 this one point respecting the anatomy of the penguin, to as- 

 sociate it with the prodigious and enormous abdominal ve- 

 nous sinus of the sea leopard or leopardine seal of Jameson, 



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