EOTJNB CAPE HORN. 95 



5th having" passed to the eastward of Cape Horn 

 we bore up for the Falkland Islands, having taken 

 forty-three days to traverse a direct distance of a 

 little more than 6000 miles. During this period 

 the wind was usually strong from the south-west, 

 but on various occasions we experienced calms and 

 easterly winds, the latter varying between N.E. and 

 S.S.E. and at times blowing ^'ery hard with snow 

 squalls. The lowest temperature experienced by us 

 off Cape Horn was on the day when we doubled 

 the Cape in latitude 57° S. when the minimum 

 temperature of the day was 21° and the maximum 

 26°. This reminded some of us that we had now 

 passed through not less than 75 degrees of tempe- 

 rature in the ship, the thermometer in the shade 

 having indicated 96° during a hot wind in Sydney 

 harbour. 



A passage such as ours, during which at one 

 time we were further from land than if placed in 

 any other portion on the globe, must almost of 

 necessity be a monotonous one. We saw no land, 

 not even an iceberg, and very few vessels. For 

 five or six successive evenings when in the parallels 

 of 40° and 41° S. between the meridians of 133° and 

 113° W. we enjoyed the fine sight of thousands 

 of large Pyrosomce in the water, each producing 

 a greater body of light than I ever saw given out 

 by any other of the pelagic-luciferous mollusca 

 or medusae. The towing net was put over on 

 several occasions but produced little or nothing to 



