CAPTAIN TUCKEY’S NARRATIVE, 53 
and sea: here the land is very low, and entirely overgrown 
with wood, which causes the atmosphere over it to preserve 
nearly an equal temperature day and night; this temperature 
by reason of the great evaporation from the wood (which, 
as I before observed, saturates the atmosphere with moisture), 
seems even for the greater part of the 24 hours somewhat less 
than thatof thesea; and hence thelight breezes that blow from 
the land, or between south and S. E. for 18 hours of the 24, or 
from six o'clock in the morning until midnight, when the 
evaporation having ceased for some hours over the land, the 
temperature becomes a little higher than that of the sea, and 
produces a short and weak breeze from the latter. 
The general range of the thermometer while in with the 
land was at 6 A. M. 71°.; at 2 P. M. 73°.; at9 P.M. 70°.; 
the temperature of the sea at 2 P. M. 72°. The hygrometer 
varied during the day from 5° to 15°. 
The dredge was put over board, and brought up two or 
three species of echini, some small cancri, bits of coral, &c. 
While in soundings no fish were seen, nor any birds except 
an occasional solitary tropic bird or pair of boobies. 
The longitude of the coast in the latitude of 2° 10’ S. our 
chronometers make 9° 40’, and by © and yp 9° 51’. The 
bank of soundings stretches off about 10 leagues from the 
land, deepening regularly as follows. 
