CAPTAIN TUCKEY'S NARRATIVE, 53 



and sea : here the land is very lo'.v, and entirely overgrown 

 with Avood, 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 that of the sea; 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°. ; at 9 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 echmi, some small cuncri, 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 o and D 9° 51'. The 

 bank of soundings stretches off about 10 leagues from the 

 land, deepening regularly as follows. 



