14 REMARKS ON THE BAROMETER 



the longitude of 80*^ and 85°, after which there will 

 be little difficulty in proceeding, although there 

 must always be considerable discomfort in passing 

 between 55° and 50° south, where the north- westers 

 prevail, with a high sea. 



I am at a loss what to think of the utility of the 

 barometer on this passage. Off Cape Horn, on the 

 26th of November, in latitude 56i^ south, it stood at 

 29,55 ; on reaching 60° south, it had fallen to 29,13 ; 

 the wind to the westward, and a thick fog ; but no 

 bad weather followed. From the 1 st to the 2d, when 

 we were in the latitude 6l° south, it ranged between 

 29j50 and 29,30, with light winds from the north- 

 westward, and drizzling rain. During the next 

 day, when we were running nearly on the parallel of 

 6l° south, the mercury fell from 29,30 to 28,84, 

 with a thick fog, and a moderately fresh breeze 

 from the north-west. On the wind coming from 

 the south-westward, it rose slowly to 29,95 ; the 

 weather moderate, with slight hail squalls and clear 

 weather. It again fell, as the wind shifted to the 

 northward, N. E. and E. N. E., and stood at length 

 at 28,60, which is the lowest point it reached. This 

 was in the evening of the 4th, in latitude 59° south, 

 and longitude nearly 80° west, the wind at E. N. E« 



