14 LEAVE MADEIRA. 



Althoug-h it is now the middle of winter, to-day's 

 excursion aiforded many subjects of interest to a 

 naturalist. Some beautiful ferns, of which even 

 the commonest one (Adiantum Capillus- Veneris) 

 would have been much prized by an Eng'lish 

 botanist as a very rare British species, ocdu-red on 

 the dripping" rocks by the roadside, and many wild 

 plants were in flower on the lower g-rounds. 

 Even butterflies of three kinds, two of which 

 (Colias Edusa, and Cynthia Cardui) are also 

 found in Britain, occurred, althoug-h in small num- 

 bers, and at the Pass of the Curral coleoptera of 

 the g-enera Pimelea and Scarites, were met ^vath 

 under stones along' with minute landshells, Bulimus 

 lubricus, Clausilia deltostoma, and a Pupa. 



After a stay of eig-ht days, we left Madeira for 

 Eio de Janeiro, and on January 2nd picked up 

 the S. E. trade wind, and passed throug'h the Cape 

 de Verde Islands to the southward between Mayo 

 and St. Jag^o. Two days afterwards, in lat. 9° 

 30' N., and long. 22° 40' W., a shght momentary 

 shock, supposed to be the effect of an earthquake, 

 was felt throug'hout the ship. On the 11th an 

 attempt was made to strike deep sea sounding-s, 

 but failed from the drawing' of a sphce used to 

 connect two portions of the spun-yarn employed. 

 On the following day the attempt was repeated 

 by Captain Stanley, unsuccessfully, however, no 

 bottom having been obtained at a depth of 2400 

 fathoms. StUl a record of the experiment may 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



