18 & VOYAGE OF ‘DISCOVERY 
for soundings, with one hundred and sixty fathoms 
of line, but found no bottom. The object for sound- 
ing, on this occasion, was to ascertain whether a bank 
exists in the place where the sunken land of. Buss 
is laid down on Steel’s chart; but our researches 
here, as on Pickersgill’s bank, have been in vain ; 
so that I think the existence of any remains of Buss’s 
Land (if ever there was such an isle) may now be very 
justly questioned. At all events, hydrographers may, 
with perfect safety, henceforth expunge from their 
charts all traces of it in either of the places hitherto 
assigned ; or, in other words, in those two situ- 
ations where we were induced to look for it. 
Tuesday, June 1st. — Notwithstanding the season 
is advancing, the weather has been for these two days 
past colder and more disagreeable than we have had 
it since we left England ; the cold indeed has not 
been sufficient to put us to any inconvenience, but 
the weather being for the most part of the time 
foggy and rainy, rendered it somewhat uncomfort- 
able. 
Several snow-buntings (Emberiza Nivalis, Lin.) 
were observed in the course of the day flying about 
the ship; we supposed from the direction of the wind 
(about N. W. true) that they have been blown off 
the coast of Greenland, from which we were distant 
at noon three hundred and seventy-six miles. 
Several Arctic gulls (Larus Parasiticus, Lin.) 
were seen to-day for the first time. This bird is 
commonly called by our Greenland seamen the boat- 
Swain, and sometimes dirty Allen, a name somewhat 
analogous to.that by which it is characterized by the 
Danes, viz. Stroudt-jager, or dung-bird. All these 
names have had their origin from a mistaken notion 
