1894 
Feb. 22
At sea on Str. "Madrana"
Noon observation lat.19"28; long. 65"17; run 287 miles
11am     
Practically the same conditions as yesterday 
but more clouds and an even bluer sea. Miss Francis 
identifies the color of the general surface as "dilute 
ultra-marine", that of the water churned by our screw 
as "robin's-egg blue".
  When I first came on deck we were running through 
great fields of Sargossa weed, not continuous or unbroken 
fields but rafts of varying sizes floating so thickly 
that in many places the rich, tawny orange nearly 
equalled the immaculate blue interspaces- a painted 
ocean so remarkable as to be positively unreal. The 
Sargossa was not here disposed in wind-rows but was 
evenly dispersed. It came to an end rather abruptly 
and now there is not so much as the smallest 
fragment in sight.
  Flying fish are abundant but not so generally distributed
as yesterday, occurring now at comparatively infrequent
intervals but in large shoals which rise like flocks
of silvery birds and skim off over the bright blue sea.
  One came aboard during the night and I have just
examined it with some care. It is a broad-backed, solid
fish of about a quarter of a pound in weight and
measures as follows: Length, 9.25; stretch of "wings", 10.75;
length of "wing" (in lateral pectoral fin) 4.75; greatest breadth
of wing (at its extremity); 3.25 inches. The "wings" resemble,
in many aspects, those of butterflies especially in the
veining. The veins or rather spines fork twice or thrice.
The eye is very large, the iris hazel, the back dark slaty,
the upper sides bluish, the lower sides and entire underparts
silvery white. The mouth is directed upward.