284 Mifcellanea, Curiofa. Vol. IIL 



In the Sea I faw many little things which 

 the Seamen call Carvels j they are like a 

 Jelly or Starch that is made with a caft: ' 

 of Blue in it ^ they Swim like a fmall Sheeps 

 Bladder above the Water, downwards there 

 are long Fibrous Strings, fbme whereof I 

 have found near half a yard long- This 

 I take to be a fort of Sea-Plant, and the 

 ftrings its Roots growing in the Sea, as 

 Duck-weed does in Ponds. It may be reck- 

 on'd among the Potential Cauteries; for 

 when we were one day becalm'd, getting 

 fome to make Obfervations thereof, the 

 fportful People rub'd it on one anothers 

 Hands and Faces, and where it touch'd it 

 would make it look very Red, and make 

 it fmart worfe than a Nettle. In my re- 

 turn for England we (truck a Hauksbill Tur- 

 tle, in whofe Guts I found many of thefe 

 Carvels ^ fo that it's manifeft they feed 

 thereon, 'Tis commonly aflerted by the Sea- 

 men, that they can fmell the Pines at f^ir- 

 ginia feveral Leagues at Sea before they 

 fee Land, but I could receive no Satisfadi- 

 on as to this Point ; I could not difcern 

 any fuch thing when at a moderate dift- 

 ance, I fear much of this may be attribu- 

 ted to Fancy ^ for oneDay there came three 

 or four full fcent to tell me they were cer- 

 tain they fmelt the Pines ; but it afterwards 

 prov'd that we were at that time 200 

 Leagues from the Shoar, fo that I was fa- 

 tisfied that was therefore meer Fancy. In- 

 deed we thought, by the general Accounts 

 of the Ship, that we had been juft on the 

 Coaft, but all were deceived by a Current 



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