T H E P A C I F I C O C E A N. ig 



lafte, is as much fuperior to that of the former, as ftrong 

 beer is to fmall. To compenfate for this, the difFerence of 

 prices is confiderabic ; for the befl TenerifFe wine was now 

 fold for twelve pounds a pipe ; whereas a pipe of the belt 

 Madeira would have coll confiderably more than double 

 that fum *. 



The Chevalier de Borda, Commander of the French fri- 

 gate now lying in Santa Cruz road, was employed, in con- 

 jundtion with Mr. Varila, a Spanifli Gentleman, in making 

 aftronomical obfervations for afcertaining the going of two 

 time-keepers which they had on board their fhip. For this 

 purpofe, they had a tent pitched on the pier head, where 

 they made their obfervations, and compared their watches, 

 every day at noon, with the clock on fiiore, by fignals. 

 Thefe lignals the Chevalier very obligingly communicated 

 to us; fo that we could compare our watch at the fame 

 time. But our ftay was too ll^orr, to profit much by his 

 kindnefs. 



The three days comparifons which we made, aflured us 

 that the watch had not materially, if at all, altered her rate 

 of going ; and gave us the fame longitude, within a very 

 few feconds, that was obtained by finding the time from 

 obfervations of the fun's altitude from the horizon of the 

 fea. The watch, from a mean of thefe obfervations, on 

 the I ft, ad, and 3d of Auguft, made the longitude 16° 31' 



* Formerly, there was made at TenerifFe a grent quantity of Canary fack, which 

 theFrench c2l\\ Tin de Alalvt^e ; and we, corruptly after them, name Mt'.lmfey (trom 

 Malvefia, a town in the Morea, famous for fuch lufcious wine). In the lail century, 

 and lliil later, much of this was imported into England; but little v/ine is now made 

 there, but of the fort defcribed by C:iptain Cook, Not more than fifty pipes of the 

 rich Canary was annually made in Gl.is's time ; and he lays, they now gather the 

 grapes when green, and make a dry hard wine of them, fit for hot climates, p. 262. , 



D 2 Weft; 



