long as it could be preserved in a wholesome
condition. Whilst at the Bay of Success the guns were lowered into the
hold so as to allow more room on deck for working the ship in the bad
weather they expected to encounter when rounding the Horn.

THE BALANCE OF THE GLOBE.

On 27th January Cape Horn was passed, but owing to fog and contrary wind
they did not approach very closely, so they were unable to fix its exact
position, but the description they were able to give of its appearance
(there is a sketch of it by Mr. Pickersgill, Master's mate, in the
Records Office), and twenty-four observations taken in the immediate
neighbourhood, settled any doubts they may have had, and Cook puts it at
55 degrees 53 minutes South, 68 degrees 13 minutes West, and Wharton
gives the corrected position as 55 degrees 58 minutes South, 67 degrees
16 minutes West. Three days after they reached their furthest south,
according to Cook 60 degrees 4 minutes South, 74 degrees 10 West, and the
course was then altered to West by North. The continuous and careful
observations of the state of the sea, and the absence of currents during
the following month, caused Cook to come to the conclusion that the vast
southern continent so long supposed to exist somewhere in that part of
the globe, and by some people esteemed necessary to preserve its balance,
was non-existent. Banks expresses his pleasure in having upset this
theory, and observes: "Until we know how the globe is fixed in its
position, we need not be anxious about its balance."

The weeks following the change of the course to the north were
uneventful, only marked by an occasional success of the naturalists in
obtaining a fresh specimen, some of which were experimented on by the
cook; an albatross, skinned, soaked all night in salt water, was stewed,
served with savoury sauce, and was preferred to salt pork; a cuttle-fish
of large size, freshly killed by the birds, and too much damaged for
classification, was made into soup, of which Banks says: "Only this I
know that, of it was made one of the best soups I ever ate." The water
obtained at Tierra del Fuego turned out very good: a great boon, as one
of their great troubles and a source of great anxiety to Cook was the bad
quality of the water so often obtained.

Towards the end of March a change was noticed in the kinds of birds
flying round the ship, some being recognised as ones that were known to
stay near land, and consequently a sharp