100 APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 



having' been deluded at home by hig-hly-coloured 

 reports of the productiveness of a country where 

 g'rain will not ripen^ and wliich has not yet been 

 found capable of producing- a tolerable potato. Of 

 the remainder of the place little can be said. There 

 are two g'ood stores where we procured nearly ever}'- 

 thing- we wanted at very moderate prices : — beef 

 of very fair quality is sold at 2d. per pound^ wild 

 g"eese at Is. Sd. each^ and rabbits at four shilling's 

 a dozen. The only veg-etables^ however^ were some 

 small Swedish turnips^ which we g*ot by favour. 

 Lastly^ a ship may obtain water here with g-reat 

 facility from a small reservoir from which a pipe 

 leads it down to the boat. 



We had to remain at Port Stanley for thirteen 

 days before the necessary observations for deter- 

 minino- the rates of the chronometers could be 

 obtained. During* this period a thaw occurred^ 

 followed by hard fi'ost and another fall of snow, 

 making' the country as bleak and desolate as before. 

 By all accounts the winter has been unusually 

 fsevere. The g-round had been covered with snow 

 for four weeks previous to our arrival, and many 

 cattle and horses had perished 5 I also observed at 

 the head of the harbour some beds of mussels, most 

 of which were dead, having- doubtless been frozen 

 when uncovered at low water. The averag-e mean 

 temperature on board ship dm'ing- our stay was 

 33°, the maximum and minimum being- respectively 

 37° and 25°. 



