an 46, and seldom higher than 54, at the same time of
the day, since we left New Zealand.

This day was remarkable by our not seeing a single bird. Not one had passed
since we left the land, without seeing some of the following birds, viz.
albatrosses, sheerwaters, pintadoes, blue peterels, and Port Egmont hens.
But these frequent every part of the Southern Ocean in the higher
latitudes: Not a bird, nor any other thing, was seen that could induce us
to think that we had ever been in the neighbourhood of any land.

The wind kept veering round from the S. by the W. to N.N.W., with which we
stretched north till noon the next day, when, being in the latitude of 29 deg.
22', we tacked and stretched to the westward. The wind soon increased to a
very hard gale, attended with rain, and blew in such heavy squalls as to
split the most of our sails. This weather continued till the morning of the
25th, when the wind became more moderate, and veered to N.W. and W.N.W.,
with which we steered and stretched to N.E., being at that time in the
latitude of 29 deg. 51', longitude 130 deg. 28' W. In the afternoon the sky cleared
up, and the weather became fair and settled. We now met the first tropic
bird we had seen in this sea.

On the 26th, in the afternoon, being in the latitude of 28 deg. 44', we had
several observations of the sun and moon, which gave the longitude 135 deg. 30'
W. My reckoning at the same time was 135 deg. 27', and I had no occasion to
correct it since I left the land. We continued to stretch to the north,
with light breezes from the westward, till noon, the next day, when we were
stopped by a calm; our latitude at this time being 27 deg. 53', longitude 135 deg.
17' W. In the evening, the calm was succeeded by a breeze from the N. and
N.W., with which we plied to the N.

On the 29th I sent on board the Adventure to enquire into the state of her
crew, having heard that they were sickly; and this I now found was but too
true. Her cook was dead, and about twenty of her best men were down in the
scurvy and flux. At this time _we_ had only three men on the sick list, and
only one of them attacked with the scurvy. Several more, however, began to
shew symptoms of it, and were accordingly put upon the wort, marmalade of
carrots, rob of lemons and oranges.

I know not how to account for the scurvy raging more in the one ship than
the other, unless it was owing to the crew of the Adventure being more
scorbutic when they arri