Correspondence t^z'^ 



remained at Monte Video for a couple of days, after our return from Buenos 

 Ayres, and on one of these I called on Mr Lettson, our Consul-General, who 

 is an accomplished mineralogist, and possesses an extensive knowledge of 

 general science. He shewed me some veiy fine examples of the minerals of the 

 country, and gave me a good specimen of amethyst-coloured quartz. The 

 ' Narcissus,' which was at Rio along with us, left a week before us, and spent 

 a few days at Maldonado, meeting us again at Monte Video. One of the 

 Lieutenants gave me a few Maldonado plants, which he had kindly collected 

 for me. Among them is a fem, which is very like Osmunda regalis. I got a 

 single frond of the same plant at Tijuca. We left the outer roads of Monte 

 Video early on the morning of the 1st of this moiith, with a favourable wind, 

 which, however, did not last long, being succeeded by a dead calm, and tjiat 

 being followed by the severest gale we have experienced since we left England. 

 You will be able to judge of the extent of the rolling of our craft when I tell 

 you that the indicator of the instrument which we have for registering the 

 amount she rolls, was jammed hard up frequently, and several yards of 

 the upper part of our starboard bulwarks were driven in. I forget whether 

 I told you that my cabin is on deck, attached to the chart-room, and during 

 one night I was frequently roused by seas crashing against the door, and on 

 the roof of it. On the evening of the 5th, when it was nearly dead calm, 

 we put over a towing net, and by this means I procured a minute Velella, and 

 some small Amphipodous Crustacea. The calm continued during the night, 

 and next morning some small lanthince, and various exquisite Acalephee, 

 for the most part Ctenophora, and among them several Beroes, were procured. 

 The motion of the ciliated plates in the water was most beautiful. Some of the 

 Beroes were colourless, while in others the plate-bearing ribs were of a beautiful 

 rosy tint. A beautiful Acaleph also occurred, which seemed to be a Physsophora, 

 and later in the day a few Isopods were met with. On the 7th, when we were 

 150 miles off the land, a land bird about the size of a thrush (I believe a species 

 of starling or Icterus) flew round about the ship for a while. On the 8th, when 

 we were still 150 miles off the land, numerous moths and sphinges made their 

 appearance on board, and a little gi"ey and brown warbler visited us and fed 

 upon them. On the morning of the loth the towing net yielded a few cirripeds 

 of the genus Lepas, attached to air vessels of Macrocystis,a few minute Pteropoda, 

 and three Coleoptera, two of them land and one a fresh-water species. On the 

 evening of the iitb, a Cetacean, about twelve feet long (probably a species of 

 Delphinus), appeared close astern, and followed the ship for some time, diving 

 about in the neighbourhood of the towing net. We had a succession of fine 

 bright days, with but little wind, so that as we sailed most of the way we made 

 slow progress. We got under steam on the evening of the 1 6th, and on the 

 afternoon of the next day Cape Virgins was sighted, which caused a good deal 

 of interest. A little outside the entrance of the Strait we recognised old friends 

 in a cormorant and a penguin ; and on approaching Dungeness Spit we witnessed 

 a most extraordinary sight. On the shelving beach, close to the water, were 

 about a dozen sea lions (Otaria jubata), and further up upon it not less than be- 

 tween fifty and sixty were congregated together. It was most curious to watch 

 the movements of these huge unwieldy monsters, as they reared up their heads, 

 displaying their manes to full advantage, and floundered rapidly down the steep 

 beach into the water, and there splashed about. A great flock of cormorants 

 were also sitting packed close together on the Spit, and several specimens of the 

 Sheath-bill (Chionis alba), a bird we did not see last year, flew near the ship. 

 A party of us intended to have landed next morning, with the intention of making 

 the acquaintance of the sea lions, but the weather unfortunately proving unpro- 

 pitious, we were obliged to abandon the idea. We weighed between eight and 

 nine, and proceeded on our way into the Strait, the Patagonian shore, as of old, 

 exhibiting beautiful lights and shadows. It blew very fresh during the greatei; 

 part of the day, and we anchored in Gregory Bay in the e\'ening. We weighed 

 again early next morning, and reached Sandy Point soon after eight o'clock, and 

 here we have been Mnce. The weather has been very fine on the whole, and I 

 had a busy time of it last week, being on shore in general from half-past nine 

 till between five and six, and putting away specimens in the evening. As we 



