100 APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 



having- been deluded at home by hig-hly-coloured 

 reports of the productiveness of a country where 

 grain will not ripen^ and which has not yet been 

 found capable of producing a tolerable potato. Of 

 the remainder of the place little can be said. There 

 are two good stores where we procured nearly every- 

 thing we wanted at very moderate prices : — beef 

 of very fair quality is sold at 2d. per pound, wild 

 geese at Is. Qd. each, and rabbits at four shiUings 

 a dozen. The only vegetables, however, were some 

 small Swedish turnips, which we got by favour. 

 Lastly, a ship may obtain water here with great 

 facility from a small reservoir from which a pipe 

 kads it down to the boat. 



We had to remain at Port Stanley for thirteen 

 days before the necessary observations for deter- 

 mining the rates of the chronometers could be 

 obtained. During this period a thaw occuiTed, 

 followed by hard frost and another fall of snow, 

 making the country as bleak and desolate as before. 

 By all accounts the wiuter has been unusually 

 severe. The ground had been covered with snow 

 tor four weeks previous to our arrival, and many 

 cattle and horses had perished j I also observed at 

 the head of the harbour some beds of mussels, most 

 of which were dead, having doubtless been frozen 

 when uncovered at low water. The average mean 

 temperature on board ship during our stay was 

 33°, the maximum and minimum being respectively 

 37" and 25°. 



