ROUND CAPE HORN. 95 



5th having* passed to the eastward of Cape Horn 

 we bore up for the Falkland Islands^ havmg- taken 

 forty-three days to traverse a dn^ect distance of a 

 little more than 5000 miles. Dm-in^ this period 

 the wind was usually strong- from the south-west, 

 but on various occasions we experienced calms and 

 easterly winds, the latter varying- between N.E. and 

 S.S.E. and at times blowing* very hard with snow 

 squalls. The lowest temperature experienced by us 

 off Cape Horn was on the day when we doubled 

 the Cape in latitude 67" S. when the minimum 

 temperature of the day was 21° and the maximum 

 26°. This reminded some of us that we had now 

 passed throug-h not less than 75 degrees of tempe- 

 rature in the ship, the thermometer in the shade 

 having- indicated 96° during* a hot wind in Sydney 

 harbour. 



A passage such as ours, during* which at one 

 time we were further fi'om land than if placed in 

 any other portion on the g-lobe, must almost of 

 necessity be a monotonous one. We saw no land, 

 not even an iceberg*, and very few vessels. For 

 five or six successive evening's when in the parallels 

 of 40° and 41° S. between the meridians of 183° and 

 113° W. we enjoyed the fine sight of thousands 

 of large Pyrosomce in the water, each producing 

 a greater body of light than I ever saw given out 

 by any other of the pelagic-luciferous mollusca 

 or medusae. The towing net was put over on 

 several occasions but produced little or nothing to 



