PROCEED FOR ENGLAND. 137 



bitants, that they have caused a greater quan- 

 tity of rain to fall upon the land. Mr. Pritchard, 

 an English resident here, has published a de- 

 tailed catalogue of the wild and cultivated plants 

 of the island, distinguishing the truly indigenous 

 from the naturalized exotic : an example worthy 

 of imitation in all, and especially in our more 

 extensive colonies. 



After a stay of ten days in this port, two of 

 which were spent in a futile attempt to recover 

 a lost anchor by sweeping, we sailed for England 

 with a moderate trade-wind ; * sighted Ascen- 

 sion ; and on the 14th of October entered the 

 N. Atlantic Ocean crossing our outward-bound 

 track of 1833. 



On the equator, the sea was covered with vast 

 quantities of Velella mutica ; nor did the number 

 of these mollusks materially diminish until we 

 reached the latitude of 3 N. ; a space in which 

 we suspected the existence of a N. W. current. 



* A few pintado-petrels, or Cape-pigeons, had accom- 

 panied the Tuscan from the Cape of Good Hope to St. 

 Helena roads ; and as we left the latter anchorage, several 

 of these birds were visible in the offing. They are seduced 

 by ships thus far beyond their natural climate, but do not 

 remain long in so low a latitude. We lost every appear- 

 ance of the albatross after passing the twenty-first degree 

 of S. latitude, west of the Cape. 



