THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 13 



about 5 P.M. The same evening we went to sea, to my con- 

 siderable regret, as I should much have liked to obtain a more 

 familiar acquaintance with the zoology and botany of this 

 interesting spot. The advanced state of the season, however, 

 rendered it advisable that as little time as possible should 

 be occupied in the outward-bound voyage, in order not to lose 

 more than could absolutely be avoided of the summer in the 

 southern hemisphere. 



On the 3d nothing specially worthy of record occurred, 

 save that at sunset a most curious effect was produced by 

 heavy rain falling at some distance from the vessel, so as to 

 cause the water in its vicinity to appear of a dull gray colour, 

 while that immediately surrounding us was of a deep purple 

 tint. On the 4th at daylight, Palma, one of the Canaries, 

 noted for its wonderful Caldera, was indistinctly observed 

 looming through the haze. We had a towing-net overboard, 

 and in the course of the afternoon a small Pteropod {Pneumo- 

 dermon) was taken in it. The heat during the day now 

 began to be very oppressive, and the evenings after sunset 

 were decidedly the seasons when most enjoyment of life was 

 experienced by us, many pleasant hours being spent sitting 

 on deck enjoying the moonlight and watching the phospho- 

 rescence of the waves, and the brilliant track cast by the planet 

 Venus on the water. On the 5th, I again tried the towing-net, 

 but with little success, owing to the speed at which the vessel 

 was going, the sole objects captured being a small lanthina 

 (I. violacea), and a minute fragment of the shell of a Spirula. 

 On the 6th, flying-fish were seen in abundance, and I have no 

 hesitation in affirming, from my own observations, then and on 

 many other occasions, that (as has been recently remarked by 

 both Wallace and Collingwood), the power of genuine flight 

 is possessed to a much greater degree by these animals than 



