28 
they took many limpets and large chitons.— 
On their return home they brought them to 
me, and, though I gave them the price they 
demanded, I thought it not only right, but po- 
litic, also to make them a handsome present, in 
order to stimulate them to keep a sharp look 
out for shells, on another voyage. Here, Iam 
sorry to state, that officers seldom trouble 
themselves with collecting. Itis to be lament- 
ed, that the beautiful productions of nature are 
not more noticed: the boys, or inferior officers, 
are generally the only persons who save what 
they may pick up, and thus add a few pounds 
to their wages. 
THE numerous islands in these seas abound 
with fine shells; but from New Caledonia, the 
New Hebrides, and the Carolinas, none have 
yet been received. And strange as it may 
appear, the author of the Narrative on the Pel- 
