THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
19 
beer is to fmall. To compenfate for this, the difference of 
prices is confiderable; for the belt Teneriffe wine was now 
fold for twelve pounds a pipe; whereas a pipe of the beft 
Madeira would have coft conliderably more than double 
that fum *. 
The Chevalier de Borda, commander of the French fri¬ 
gate now lying in Santa Cruz road, was employed, in con¬ 
junction with Mr. Varila, a Spanifh Gentleman, in making 
affronomical obfervations for afcertaining the going of two 
time-keepers which they had on board their fhip. For this 
purpofe, they had a tent pitched on the pier head, where 
they made their obfervations, and compared their watches, 
every day at noon, with the clock on fhore, by fignals. 
Thefe fignals the Chevalier very obligingly communicated 
to us; fo that we could compare our watch at the fame 
time. But our ftay was too fhort, to profit much by his 
kindnefs. 
The three days companions which we made, affured us 
that the watch had not materially, if at all, altered her rate 
of going ; and gave us the fame longitude, within a very 
few feconds, that was obtained by finding the time from 
obfervations of the fun’s altitude from the horizon of the 
fea. The watch, from a mean of thefe obfervations, on 
the iff, 2d, and 3d of Auguft, made the longitude 16 0 3T 
* Formerly, there was made at Teneriffe a great quantity of Canary fade, which the 
French call Fin de Malvefie ; and we, corruptly after them, name Malmfey (from Mal- 
vefia, a town in the Morea, famous for fuch lufcious wine). In the laft; century, and 
ftill later, much of this was imported into England ; but little wine is now made there, 
but of the fort defcribed by Captain Cook. Not more than fifty pipes of the rich Canary 
were annually made in Glas’s time; and he fays, they now gather the grapes when 
green, and make a dry hard wine of them, fit for hot climates, p. 262. 
E> 2 Well; 
1776. 
Auguft. 
—-- 
