observed on the North Atlantic. 389 



10 A.M., seeing, during the day, numbers of Porpoises, and occa- 

 sionally Whales. In the morning there were large flocks of 

 Shearwaters, P. major. As the ship approached they would rise, 

 not in a mass, but in succession, fly half a mile or so forward, and 

 pitch until we again came near them. Towards evening there 

 were not so many ; but throughout the day I could see flocks or 

 companies of them, from twenty to one hundred, sitting here and 

 there on the sea, which, being calm, was more favourable for ob- 

 serving than on any previous day. Probably for the same reason 

 I saw more Stormy Petrels, but they did not come near the ship; 

 also three Phalaropes sitting on the water. The latter rose as the 

 ship came near them, and flew straight away. No doubt there 

 were many more ; but one cannot readily sight so small a bird 

 at any distance, and not at all if the sea is rough. Long- 

 tailed Skuas, probably Stercorarius buffoni, were also of fre- 

 quent occurrence, but they did not fly near the ship. The 

 next day we ran into a dense fog, which continued almost up 

 to the time of our reaching New York, wh&re we arrived early 

 on the morning of the 26th, and consequently my ornithological 

 observations for this voyage were brought to a close. 



On the 15th July, I left New York in the ' China,^ home- 

 ward bound, in some of the hottest weather I ever experienced. 

 Even after dark, when we were out at sea, where there was a good 

 breeze, the thermometer in the saloon on deck stood at 85"^ ; 

 but this is nothing to what it was while the ship was in the 

 harbour of New York. 



On the 17th, about 6 a.m., being ofi^ the coast of Nova 

 Scotia, the engines were stopped for repairs ; I awoke and went 

 on deck. The atmosphere was clear, and the sea quite calm. The 

 ship was surrounded by numbers of Stormy Petrels — probably 

 Thalassidroma ivilsoni in the greatest abundance, with a light 

 brown bar across the wings and back. They flew or settled on the 

 water within a few feet of the ship, stopping to pick up any- 

 thing floating, or that was thrown to them. When the ship 

 resumed her course they left us. 



On the 18th, we were enveloped in dense fog. Occasionally 

 the ship passed through an oasis of clear atmosphere extending 

 for a few miles, and then again into another thick bank of fog. 



