236 
A VOYAGE TO 
ISOS. 
February. 
Island, might be made a delightful situation to a college of monks, 
who could bear the heat of the climate, and were impenetrable to the 
stings of musketoes. Here grew the wild nutmeg, in abundance, 
the fig which bears its fruit on the stem, two species of palm, and a 
tree whose bark is in common use in the East for making ropes ; 
besides a variety of others, whose tops were overspread with creeping 
vines, forming a shade to the stream underneath. But this apparently 
delightful retreat afforded any thing rather than coolness and tran- 
quillity: the heat was suffocating, and the musketoes admitted liot 
of a moment’s repose. 
Upon Pobassoo’s Island, near the stream of water at the back 
of the beach, Mr. Good, the gardener, planted four of the cocoa 
nuts procured from the Malays ; and also some remnants of pota- 
toes which were found in the ship. 
The latitude of Malay Road, from two not very 
satisfactory observations, was - 1 1° 53V Si 
Longitude by the survey from Caledon Bay - 136 27 E.. 
From observations made on shore in the artificial horizon, the 
time-keeper N°. 520 was differing from its Caledon-Bay rate, 15, "4* 
of longitude per day, to the east, but N°. 543 only 9", 8 ; and when 
the longitude of this last is corrected by the proportion afterwards 
found necessary, it will agree with the survey to less than half a mile. 
No observations were taken for the variation of the compass, 
but I judge it to have been about T east, when not affected by any 
local attraction. Near the north-east end of Cotton’s Island, and at 
the south-west point, the variation was 2 0 more east than upon the 
south-east head ; as if the south end of the island attracted the north 
point, and the north end the south point of the needle. 1 
On the day of the new moon, a particular observation was 
made upon the tide in Malay Road ; and it was high water at ten 
minutes past eight in the morning, or nearly eight hours and a quarter 
after the moon had passed the lower meridian ; and the rise was ten 
feet two inches. There were two tides in the day ; but from the 
