SEA-WRACK 11 



thoughtless idiot at table who hopes for a storm ; 

 such things soon draw forth casual inquiries 

 on his side, and when a Captain begins to ask 

 questions, the freedom of the chart-room is 

 yours, and your unheard-of requests which only 

 a naturalist could invent or desire, will not fail 

 of fulfilment. 



I am off on a voyage of two weeks to British 

 Guiana and I begin to ponder the solution of 

 my first problem. The vessel plows along at a 

 ten-knot rate, through waters teeming with in- 

 teresting life and stopping at islands where 

 every moment ashore is of thrilling scientific 

 possibility. By what means can I achieve the 

 impossible and study the life of this great ocean 

 as we slip rapidly through it — an ocean so all- 

 encompassing, yet to a passenger, so inaccessible. 



Day after day I scan the surface for mo- 

 mentary glimpses of cetaceans, and the air for 

 passing sea birds. Even the rigging, at cer- 

 tain seasons, is worth watching as a resting 

 place for migrating birds. The extreme bow is 

 one of the best points of vantage, but the spot 

 of all spots for an observer is the appropriately 

 named crow's nest, high up on the foremast. 

 You have indeed won the Captain over to your 



