THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 437 



N"exfc morning, 25tli, we left our anchorage, and proceeded 

 southwards to Port Laguna, considerably to the north of the 

 Darwin Channel, reaching it at about eleven a.m., and remain- 

 ing there for the rest of the day. Several of the officers, with 

 myself, landed at one p.m., and spent the afternoon on shore, 

 where I found that the vegetation exhibited a very gradual 

 transition from that of Chiloe to that of the Channels. The 

 following were the principal plants observed : — Podocarpus 

 nubigenus, also seen at Port Melinka ; Metrosideros stijpularis; 

 a tree first observed in the western part of the Strait, and 

 which appears to be a species of Panax ; Emhothrium coc- 

 cmeum, in flower ; Lomatia ferruginca, in flower ; Escallonia 

 macrantha, ditto ; Drimys Winteri; Pernettya mucronata ; an 

 arbutus-like shrub, first observed at Chiloe ; Desfontainea 

 spinosa; Berberis Darwinii and B. didcis ; Campsidium 

 Chiliense; the Columnea previously obtained at Port Otway ; 

 Philesia huxifolia; Chusquea Quila; the Libertia obtained 

 at Ancud and Port Melinka (probably L. elegans, Poeppig) ; 

 Callixene polyphylla, in fine flower; several shrubs not yet 

 identified ; an Uncinia ; and the usual Hymenophyllous ferns, 

 including H. cruentum, caudiculatum, tortvx)sum, pedinatum. 

 This was the southernmost locality in which I met with 

 Escallonia macrantha, Berheris Darwinii, and Ckusquea Quila, 

 and the last occurred very sparingly. Sarmienta repens, I may 

 here remark, was not observed south of Port Melinka. 



We saw an otter, and picked up some skulls of the Coy- 

 pou (Myopotamus), and several specimens of Chloephaga polio- 

 cephala were shot, as well as a teal and a black oyster-catcher. 

 On the beach I found live specimens of Amyxa niger, a 

 Monoceros, and two species of Patella; and a single specimen 

 of a crab, Trichodactylus granari^is, previously found at 

 Chiloe and in the Messier Channel, was captured by one of 



