186 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



tlie land being almost hidden by heavy snow-clouds, with the 

 exception of a steep cliff which stood out hard and black, 

 while a thick white mist brooded over the water, on the 

 surface of which brown masses of " kelp " were indistinctly 

 visible. Before noon, however, the snow ceased, and early in 

 the afternoon, as it was fair and bright, a party of us landed 

 and spent some hours on shore. Parting soon from my com- 

 panions, who were bent on sport, I at first directed my 

 steps along the beach, afterwards ascending to the high land 

 above it, walking along the top of some steep cliffs outside 

 the harbour, and pausing now and then to admire the serene 

 beauty of the sunlit points of land stretching out into the 

 calm blue water. In the distance north-eastward, the remark- 

 ably furrowed Gregory range of hills had a very fine appear- 

 ance, the base being of a deep purple tint, while the upper 

 part was covered with a dazzling mantle of snow. 



As I pursued my way I was not unaccompanied, as two 

 carranchas {Polylorus tharus) followed me for some time, 

 circling about in the air above me, and slowly turning their 

 heads, first to one side, and then to another, in an eager look- 

 out for prey. The Magellanic currant (Bites Magellanicu7n) 

 and the Lepidopliyllum cupressiforme were growing plenti- 

 fully at the summit of the cliffs ; and I was interested by 

 finding, on a patch of sandy soil, two specimens of a common 

 little British fern, BotrycJiinm lunaria. This widely-distributed 

 species was obtained, towards the close of last century, by 

 Banks and Solander in Good Success Bay, in the south of 

 Fuegia, but, I believe, had not been found by any botanist on 

 the coasts of the Strait of Magellan. The following year 

 one of the officers brought me specimens of it from Cape 

 Possession. 



As heavy snow-clouds began slowly to accumulate, I 



