ralis from the head of the Gulph of Carpentaria, the
Investigator's Road is particularly well adapted for a ship during the
absence of the travellers: the season most favourable to their operations
would be in May, June, and July; but not so for the vessel, as the crew
would probably be unable to procure turtle at that time. For a similar
expedition from the opposite part of the South Coast, September, October,
and November would seem to be most proper.

From the time of first arriving, to that of quitting Sweers' Island, the
range of the thermometer on board the ship was between 81 deg. and 90 deg., and
on shore it might be 5 deg. to 10 deg. higher in the day time; the weather was
consequently warm; but being alleviated by almost constant breezes either
from sea or land, it was seldom oppressive; and the insects were not very
troublesome. The mercury in the barometer ranged between 30.06 and 29.70
It stood highest with the winds from the sea, between north-east and
north-west; and lowest when they blew gently off the land, between
south-east and south-west, but most so from the latter direction. On the
South Coast the winds from these points had produced a contrary effect:
the mercury there stood lowest when the northern winds blew, and highest
when they came from the southward; they coincided, however, so far, in
that the sea winds raised, and the land winds depressed the mercury, the
same as was observed at Port Jackson on the East Coast.

The _latitude_ of Inspection Hill, from several single and two double
observations, was 17 deg. 8' 15" S.

_Longitude_ from forty-two sets of lunar distances taken by lieutenant
Flinders, the particulars of which are given in Table III. of the
Appendix No. I. to this volume, 139 deg. 44' 52" E.

The rates of the time keepers were deduced from morning's altitudes,
taken with a sextant and artificial horizon at the shore under Inspection
Hill, from Nov. 16 to 29; and the mean rates during this period, with the
errors from mean Greenwich time at noon there on the 30th, were as under:

Earnshaw's No. 543, slow 2h 16' 29.51" and losing 14.74" per day.
Earnshaw's No. 520, slow 3h 52' 19.70" and losing 20.01" per day.

The longitude given by the time keepers, with the rates from Upper Head
in Broad Sound, on our arrival Nov. 16, was by

No. 543, 140 deg. 6' 35.2" east.
No. 520, 139 deg. 47' 42.2" east.

No. 520 therefore differed very little to the east of the lunar
obser