after mid-clay she rounded Cape Virgins, and a long
uneasy swell gave ns somewhat unjileasant evidence
of tlie most Aveicome fact th a t a v c Avere once more
yielding to the pulses of the hroad Atlantic.
Eor tlie previous three Aveeks Ave had heen creeping
doAvii inside the islands from the Gulf of Penas,
through tlie Messier and the Sarmieiito Channels and
the Magellan Strait, sounding and trawling nearly
every day ; and Ave had amassed a splendid series of
cliaracteristic Patagonian forms from depths of 60
to 400 fathoms. On the afternoon of tlie 20th Ave
sounded in 55 fathoms, ahout 20 miles due east of
Cape A^irgins, Avith a hottom of hlackish sand and a
bottom temperature of 8°'8 C.
The traAvl brought up a large number of a wonderfully
handsome Euryale, the disk in some of the
sjDecimens betAveen three and four inches across. AVe
put a number of these great disks into absolute
alcohol to liarden the tissues at once and preserve
them in the best condition for dissection. There Avere
also some A'ery large simple Ascidians {Cynthia gigas)
from 30 to 40 centims. long, and Avith the ganglion—
usually a minute hody not at once detected, lying
betAveen the tAvo orifices—a Avell-defined grey mass
nearly as large as a pea. A viviparous ophiurid
occurred in considerahle numbers, Avhich we had
already found in shallow Avater off Kerguelen Island.
I shall give an account of its singular mode of repro-
daction Avhen describing the slialloAV Avater dredgiugs
at the Palklaud Islands, in which it occurred plentifully.
On the folloAving day Ave traAvled in 70
fathoms ahout midway hetAveen Cape Virgins and
the Jason Islands. Animals AA'ere still abundant.
b u t most of tlieni of known forms. A pretty little
Chirodota which adhered in numbers to the meshes
of the traAvl Avas perhaps tbe most interesting on
account of its unusually large and numerous Avbeels.
The bottom Avas a black sand, and the bottom
temperature 7°. 8 C.
The 22nd was a wretched day, Avitli cold rain and
fog and a disagreeable sw ell; Ave sounded in the
morning in 110 fathoms and put over the traAvl, but
it came up em p ty ; OAving to a strong current setting
northAvard it bad probably never reached tbe bottom.
AVe had hoped to have reached Stanley Harbour
hefore night, but during most of the day the fog Avas
so thick th a t it was unsafe to run toAvards the land.
In the afternoon we sighted the Jason Islands, and in
the evening it cleared up and we had a good view of
the little group,—Jason AVest, Jason East, Grand
Jason, Steeple Jason, and Elephant Jason, rocky islets
rising abruptly from the sea. AYe had a fine run
during the night along the north coast of the Ealk-
lan d s; at half-past live next morning Cape Bougainville
was seen due south of us. The Aveather Avas
showery and squally, Avith a strong southerly breeze,
but the land became more distinct during the forenoon
as we passed the entrance of Berkeley Sound,
and some rather high hills could be seen at intervals
between the show'ers. At two o’clock Ave passed
Pembroke lighthouse, and slipped quietly hetAveen
the headlands into the little land-locked bay Avhich
forms the harbour of Stanley, the present seat of
government of the Ealkland Islands.
At a first glance these islands are not attractive,
and I doubt if they improve greatly on acquaintance.