524 Foreign Notices : — Germany. 



and several species of polypus, the latter of which has a great resemblance to 

 thei^iicus ; which, although it abounded here and also further south, we could 

 not discover whole meadows of it, as two or three feet in breadth, and no con- 

 siderable length, could not merit such a title. Perhaps, however, these strips 

 of i^iicus may approach nearer each other, and present somewhat the cha- 

 racter of a large surface ; but we never found this to be the case, and must, 

 therefore, leave the assertion as it has been stated by many others. We found 

 Sargussum vulgare Ag. (i'^iicus natans Turn.) on the coast of Africa, and 

 always this one species only ; but as we approached the West Indian Islands, 

 in 19'^ Si' N. L. and 69° 25' w. l , we met with another, or probably a variety, 

 or a sport of nature. One form had broad leaves, furnished with fine notches? 

 (Zahnen) which on some specimens were curly, and on others were quite 

 smooth ; others had their berries (vesiculse) as if winged, of a round or angular 

 shape ; and there were also an immense number of monstrosities belonging to 

 both these, which, no doubt, can easily be distinguished on dried specimens ; 

 Sargdssuvi bacciferum Ag. (jPiicus natans L.) is probably among them, which 

 a closer investigation may hereafter prove. The form of the i^ucus natans 

 which we found on the African coast was but seldom to be met with in the 

 \^est Indian waters; and when any came in our way, it had much longer and 

 more slender leaves, with a number of small living creatures attached, even 

 when the specimen was partly in a state of decay, which we carefully col- 

 lected and preserved. In 19° 7' n.l. and 75° 58' w. l. (the south-east point 

 of Cuba) the 2^iicus is scarcely any longer seen ; and our fishing now generally 

 consisted of sugarcane-haulm and pieces of wood, which, on account of the 

 shell-fish attached to them, was scarcely worth the trouble. As has been 

 supposed, this part is extremely rich in i^ucus ; but, at the time we were there, 

 perhaps the wind and motion of the sea had floated it away to other places. 

 We found, on the contrary, in the Gulfs of Mexico and Florida a great deal of 

 JPucus, and quite the same species as we found on the coast of Africa. 



To return again to the voyage, we arrived on the 4th of December, at 

 noon, in 33° 15' n.l. and 22° 21' av.l. ; and, on the 9th, in 24° 54' n.l. 

 and 33° 9' w. l. ; where the easterly trade winds begin, and which enabled us 

 to calculate more exactly on the success of the voyage. The starry firmament 

 now began to assume a very different appearance, the Great Bear now went 

 underneath, and other constellations seemed to arise out of the sea in the 

 south, and all shone in this region with a very different splendour from what 

 they do in ours. During the voyage, also, the appearance was very striking ; 

 although we approached the winter solstice, we found the days increasing, 

 and the sun went down at half-past six, and rose again at half-past five. We 

 were far from the European winter, as we never had less than 17° Reaum. 

 (7° Fahr.) in the shade ; the sea was of the same temperature, and the water 

 we had for drinking could only be enjoyed with a little brandy or wine. On 

 the 12th of December we passed the tropic of Capricorn, and now saw the 

 tropical bird, the inhabitant of the tropics, and numerous flying fishes, which, 

 on the 10th of December, in 24° 31' n.l. and 34° 31' w.l., we had also 

 observed. If it had been possible to have steered through the old Baha- 

 ma Channel, the sea between the Lucayo Islands and Domingo and Cuba, 

 we should have saved five days' journey. The navigable channel is only 

 about three miles wide, and but little deeper than our ship ; and, although 

 the moon shone in all her splendour, the captain was afraid to venture 

 through this narrow way; as, on account of the innumerable coral reefs, 

 the vessel would have been exposed to the greatest danger, the wind then 

 blowing from the north and north-cast. It was, therefore, agreed upon, to pass 

 the channel between Domingo and Cuba, so as to gain the southern coast of 

 that island, and then to turn eastward to Havanna. We, therefore, sailed 

 more to the south till we arrived at 19° n.l., which we only attained 

 with difficulty, because there was hardly a breath of wind, and we had 

 22° lleaum. (18° F"ahr.), and consequently suffered greatly from the heat. 



