I30 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [February 



attracted attention, especially from the early navigators, and ^vllile 

 attention in the Atlantic Ocean has been directed particularly to the 

 species of Sargassum or gulfweed, in the Pacific several of the larger 

 members of both Fucaceae and Laminariaceae were early used as 

 indications of the approach toward land. Of all of these, perhaps 

 no one was of such usefulness in this connection as the so-called 

 Porra of the Spanish navigators approaching the coast of Lower 

 California on their voyages from the Philippine Islands. Ruprecht 

 (/. c, 22-24) has given a fairly full discussion of this and other 

 names applied by the Spaniards to these floating algae, but he did 

 not have access to all the books, nor is the case different -with myself. 

 I have one point, however, to add to the account of Ruprecht, which 

 I think will clear up the more important part of the subject. 



One of the earlier references is that of Anson, whose voyage round 

 the world in the years 1740 to 1744 was written from his papers and 



materials 



many 



P * 



editions. On p. 335 of the 



fourth abridged edition (London, 1748), and in the same language in 

 the larger or so-called Admiralty editions (p. 243 in ist, 1748; same 

 page in 12th, 1767, and m 15th, 1776), occurs the following, 



regarding the "Manila ship": 



and when she has run into the longitude of 96° from Cape Espiritu Santo, 

 die generally meets with a plant floating on the sea, which being called "Porra 

 by the Spaniards, is, I presume, a species of sea-leek. On the sight of this plant 

 they esteem themselves sufficiently near the Califomian shore, and immediately 

 stand to the southward; and so much do they rely on this circumstance that on 

 the first discovery of the plant the whole ship's company chaunt a solemn Te 

 Deum, esteeming the difficulties and hazards of their passage to be now at an end; 

 and they constantly correct their longitude thereby, without ever coming withm 

 m^ of land. 



Akson's account gives us no further details concerning the nature 

 of the plant. LeGexxil, however, goes more into detail in his Voyage 

 dans les mers de Vlnde^ published at Paris in 1781. The expedition 

 was made in the years 1768 and 1769, to observe the transit of Venus, 

 and made many obs€r\'ations of a scientific nature in other lines than 

 astronomy. On p. 215, he quotes Axsox in regard to Porra ^ trans- 

 lating into French the passage quoted above. LeGentil, however, 

 goes on to give a figure of the Porta (cf . Vol. II, pi. j) from a drawing 



