236 NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



presence of the actual scenes and conditions, my 

 impressions assumed a vividness that they had never 

 acquired when " hving- at home at ease." 



In the eveninj^ I observed that the barometer had 

 fallen considerably from the usually high point at 

 which it stood up to the 6th, and throughout the night 

 and the following day (June 8) it varied little from 

 29"9 inches. When we came on deck on the morning 

 of the 8th, the uniform remark of the passengers was, 

 " What a warm day ! " We had become used to a 

 temperature of about 40°, and a rise of 5° Fahr. gave 

 the impression of a complete change of climate. It 

 is curious how completely relative are the impressions 

 of heat and cold on the human body, and how difficult 

 it is, even for persons accustomed to compare their 

 sensations with the instrument, to form a moderately 

 good estimate of the actual temperature. We paid 

 dearly, however, for any bodily comfort gained from 

 the comparative warmth in the thick weather that 

 prevailed during most of the day. We had some 

 momentary views of grand scenery, but, as on the 

 preceding day, these were fleeting, and I failed to 

 carry away any definite pictures. It would appear 

 that in such weather the navigation amid such a 

 complete maze of islands and channels must be nearly 

 impossible, but the various surveying-expeditions have 

 placed landmarks, in the shape of wooden posts and 

 crosses, that suffice to the practised eyes^of seamen. 



About ten a.m. we reached the end of the Sarmiento 

 Channel, opposite to which the comparatively broad 

 opening of Lord Nelson Strait, between Hanover 

 Island and Queen Adelaide Island, leads westward to 



