S22 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



to be strong in flavour and unpalatable, goats also thrive well on the Tussock Grass. 

 There are at present no goats on any islands of the group. It certainly would be an 

 advantage if some were landed on each island, for although it is decidedly dangerous 

 to navigate in their neighbourhood, and vessels running down their easting would do well 

 to avoid them, it appears highly probable that so long as seal-skins fetch a high price 

 in the market, and vessels bound to Australia go south at all risks in order to shorten 

 the time in making the passage, so long will this group be the occasional scene 

 of dire shipwrecks, which may be even more disastrous than that of the " Strathmore," 

 more especially now that fast steamers run to Australia via the Cape of Good Hope. 

 Charles Goodridge, in his account already referred to, describes the discovery by his 

 party, at the distance of more than a mile above the reach of the tides, of several trunks 

 of trees about 14 feet long, and from 14 to 18 inches in diameter, lying on the 

 ground as if thrown up by the sea. The wood was close, heavy, and hard, but 

 being split up with wedges made very good clubs ; hence it was not fossil wood. 

 Goodridge concluded that it was drift wood thrown up so far during some volcanic 

 convulsion. 



The weather in the vicinity of the Crozet Islands may be described generally as 

 bleak, boisterous, and foggy. No regular meteorological observations have been kept by 

 the parties who have temporarily resided on these islands whilst collecting seal-skins ; in 

 fact, the subject of meteorology has been hitherto much neglected by whaling vessels 

 generally, although there are some notable instances to the contrary. The prevalent 

 wind is westerly, but easterly winds occasionally blow for a short time, and although, 

 generally, they do not last long or acquire much force, they have been known, as before 

 mentioned, to be strong enough to wreck vessels that have taken shelter in Navire 

 Cove. The great obstacle to navigation in the vicinity of this group is, however, 

 the almost constant state of fog and overcast sky which, besides concealing the islands 

 from view, prevents the position of the vessel being ascertained, and as icebergs have 

 been seen near these islands by M. Marion du Fresne in January, by Eoss in May, and 

 by H.M.S. "Wolverene" in November, this is another feature of danger to be con- 

 sidered by the seamen who take the route to Australia recommended by Maury. 



The climate of the islands, though rigorous, appears to be equable, owing probably 

 to the temperature of the sea, which has been found here to be pretty constant at 

 40° to 42°. When first seen by Marion in January the mountains were covered with 

 snow, and Captain Cecille also speaks of them as snow clad. Sir James Ross does not 

 mention whether they were clear or not when he saw them, but when the Challenger 

 was in their vicinity little or no snow could be seen during the short time the higher 

 parts of the islands were visible. This would seem to indicate that the snow can 

 never attain any considerable thickness at this group ; at any rate, the icebergs seen in 

 their vicinity cannot be formed by glaciers descending from their summits. 



