74 



HYDROGRAPHY. 



of northwest and southwest winds, they prevailed from the eastward, 

 with better weather, although our hardest gales came from the south- 

 east, arising very suddenly ; they were generally preceded by fine 

 weather whilst the wind continued to the northward of east; the 

 barometer falling, while the temperature rose. Easterly winds pre- 

 vail to the southward of latitude 60° south, but to the north of that 

 parallel, westerly winds, accompanied by fog, snow, sleet, but seldom 

 rain. Heavy cumulus clouds in the southwest indicate wind from 

 that quarter, as they do to the south of Cape Horn, but though bois- 

 terous they are not to be classed as storms. The barometer's range 

 is low, the mean being 29'04 inches; its movements are rapid, 

 frequently a great change occurring within an hour. The wind in- 

 creases as it rises, and continues for some hours after it has become 

 stationary. 



In navigating towards the Antarctic, vessels should be well found, 

 not only with good sails and rigging, but protected against cold and 

 wet; the temperature, though not very low, is remarkably searching, 

 and from its being a low equable temperature and damp, there is no 

 opportunity to ventilate or dry the vessel except by artificial means. 

 Icebergs are seldom met with until the latitude of 56° south ; to the 

 westward of New Holland, they have been encountered in as low a 

 latitude as 42° south, by vessels making the passage to New South 

 Wales, in October and November; but this is unusually far to the 

 northward at this time of the year ; later in the year they have been 

 met with off the Cape of Good Hope, where several accidents have 

 happened by vessels coming in contact with them. The prevalence 

 of a current setting to the northeast, is the only way in which these 

 masses of ice can be carried to so low a latitude as a few degrees to the 

 southward of the Cape of Good Hope. 



In this Southern Cruise we passed over the locality of Emerald 

 Isle, assuming its position to be in latitude 57° 15' south, and longi- 

 tude 162° 30' east, but saw nothing which indicated its existence. 

 During the continuance of our cruise of 1500 miles along its coast, 

 we were for a large part of the time surrounded by vast numbers of 

 icebergs, as well as having the icy barrier attached to the land to 

 avoid, consequently it became difficult to ascertain if any current 

 existed. The small movement of the ice to and fro, when we had 

 an opportunity of observing it, indicated that the tides were not of 



