494 DIRECTIONS FOR THE WESTERN 



cutter. We found the management of the Van 

 Diemen's Land Agricultural Company in the 



this note, the tidal influence has not been noticed ; but I have 

 noticed the direction of the streams in a former page, and the 

 allowance to be made will of course depend on what stream the 

 ship enters or leaves the Strait with. 



Again, from the same position, an east course, 136 miles, will 

 place a ship four miles to the south of the Curtis Isles. The 

 soundings will be found to decrease to 40 fathoms thirty miles 

 to the eastward of King Island, and will continue within a fathom 

 or two of that depth for the remainder of the distance. 



Two hundred and four miles from the above position, on a 

 N. E. ^ E. course, will take a ship to abreast of Cape Howe, distant 

 twenty miles; passing midway between Hogan and Kent Groups, 

 distant nearly nine miles from each, at which time twenty-eight 

 mUes will have been run on the above course. In passing the latter 

 group, attention should be paid to the set of the tides ; as with the 

 flood stream and a northerly wind vessels may be obliged to pass 

 on the south side of it. Cape Howe bears from Kent Group, 

 N. 36" E.,170 miles. When a ship gets into 30 fathoms she will 

 be within 8 miles of the N. E. side of these islands ; and on the 

 opposite she will have that depth half the distance off^. 



It only now remains to notice the tides in the passage north 

 of King Island. It is high water on the full and change days at 

 1 o'clock; the stream begins to set to the S. W. three hours and 

 a half before high water, running with a velocity of from 1 to 2 

 knots; past the Harbinger Rocks, however, it sweeps round to 

 the S. S.W., sometimes at the I'ate of nearly two knots and a half. 



Having alluded to the entrance south of King Island in an 

 earlier part of the work, and as it is a passage I do not recom- 

 mend, I shall not here enter into many details respecting it, 

 further than to say that if a ship is obliged to enter Bass Strait by 

 that entrance, she should keep to the southward of Reid's Rocks, 

 passing close to the Black Pyramid, a dark rocky lump, 240 feet 

 high, in lat. 40° 28' S., long. 144" 18f E. Tliis should be 



