THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 431 



The wind gradually fell in the evening, and at four a.m. 

 on the 17th we got under way, and stood out along the coast, 

 proceeding southwards very quietly. The 12th was fine, but 

 the wind unfortunately considerably against us, and a pretty 

 heavy swell on, which elicited the usual amount of heavy 

 rolling, for which our vessel appeared to have a remarkable 

 aptitude. The 13th was of much the same nature, and on the 

 14th, before breakfast, a most dismal morning of heavy 

 drizzling rain, which caused us to realise that we were enter- 

 ing the region of almost perpetual wet, we reached the bay 

 of San Carlos de Ancud, and anchored at our old station off 

 Punta Arenas. The rain, however, gradually cleared off, and 

 by noon the sun was shining brightly. The land appeared 

 rather less green than it did at the time of our first visit, 

 owing in great measure to the young foliage of many of 

 the shrubs, especially those belonging to the order MyrtacecB, 

 possessing a reddish-brown hue. As usual, several of us landed 

 in the afternoon, and remained on shore till between five and 

 six P.M. The Fuchsias and Escallonias were beginning to 

 make a show, and the tall Malvaceous shrub observed in the 

 month of May was covered with its large white and pale 

 purple flowers. Both the white and purple varieties of our 

 native foxglove were also flowering luxuriantly, and the stems 

 of many of the trees were covered with the scarlet flowers of 

 the Sarmienta repens, and the beautiful white blossoms of 

 Callixene jpolyphylla, and of a species of Luzuriaga. On the 

 cliffs near the sea I obtained a splendid Calceolaria, which I 

 had not before observed, as well as a species of Lihertia, with 

 large handsome white flowers ; and at the edge of the woods, 

 Budcllea glohosa, Berberis Darwinii, Codonorchis Lessonii, and 

 many other plants, all in flower. I also found a single speci- 

 men of a frog of the genus Cystignathus {C. tceniatm), described 



