52 ARRIVE AT REDSCAR BAY. 



before one of them had it safely (as it thought) 

 stowed away in its burrow. 



The g'olden plover was plentiful on the island 

 during' our visit, and one afternoon I killed fifteen 

 in about an hour. Two days after the tern's eg'g-s 

 had been broken we found a small colon^^ of laying" 

 birds, and picked up some dozens of eg"g"s ; and had 

 we remained a few days long'er, doubtless a very 

 g'reat number mig-ht have been procured. The 

 weed which in the Fly we used to call spinach (a 

 species of Boerhailviay apparently B. diffusa^ being* 

 abundant here, was at my sug-g'estion collected in 

 large quantity for the use of the ship's company as 

 a vegetable, but it did not seem to be generally 

 liked. 



Dec. 21st. — Two days ago we left Bramble Cay 

 for Cape Possession in New Guinea, with a fine 

 breeze from the N.W., and next morning at day- 

 light saw the land about the Cape on the weather- 

 beam. The wind, however, died away in the 

 afternoon, but this morning a light north-westerly 

 breeze sprang up, before which we bore up and 

 were brought in the afternoon to an anchorage in 

 11 fathoms, mud, half a mile to leeward of the 

 Pariwara Islands. Meanwhile Lieut. Yule, upon 

 our destination being changed, was ordered by 

 signal to proceed to Cape Direction and survey the 

 intermediate space between that and Pedscar Bay, 

 in order to connect his former continuation of the 



