Than that which carries the observer; thus they may
escape observation for a day or two, or perhaps longer, and when
noticed, are supposed to be met with at sea. However, great storms
are sometimes known to have driven single birds, nay, vast flocks, out
to sea, which are obliged to seek for rest on board of ships at
considerable distances from any land. Captain Cook very obligingly
communicated to me a fact which confirms the above assertion. "Being
on board of a ship between Norway and England, he met with a violent
storm, during which a flight of several hundred birds covered the
whole rigging of the ship. Among numbers of small birds he observed
several hawks, which lived very luxuriously by preying on those poor
defenceless creatures." - G.F.
To record incidents such as these, will not seem unimportant or
injudicious to any one who knows the philosophical value of facts in
the formation of just theories. - E.
[7] "This morning, 5th September, I let down a thermometer, suspended
in the middle of a strong wooden case, of such a construction as to
let the water pass freely through it in its descent, but which shut
close the instant it began to be drawn up. By this means the
thermometer was brought up in a body of water of the same heat with
that it had been let down to. The results were as above." - W.
This opportunity may be used for introducing the following table and
remarks, which are certainly deserving attention. "To ascertain the
degree of warmth of the sea-water, at a certain depth, several
experiments were made by us. The thermometer made use of, was of
Fahrenheit's construction, made by Mr Ramsden, and furnished with an
ivory scale; it was, on these occasions, always put into a cylindrical
tin case, which had at each end a valve, admitting the water as long
as the instrument was going down, and shutting while it was hauling up
again. The annexed table will at once shew the result of the
experiments.
| Degrees of Fahrenheit's | |Stay of |Time in|
| Thermometer. | |the |hauling|
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - | |Thermo- |the |
| |On the | |Depth |meter |Thermo-|
| In the |Surface |At a |in |in the |meter |
| Air. |of the |certain |Fathoms. |Deep. |up. |
Date |Latitude | |Sea. |Depth. | | | |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1772
Sept. 5 00 deg.52'N. 75 deg. 74 deg. 66 deg. 85 F. 30' 27-1/2'
Sept.27. 24 deg.44'S. 72-1/2 70 deg. 68 deg. 80 F. 15' 7'
Oct. 12. 34 deg.48'S. 60 deg. 59 deg. 58 deg. 100 F. 2O' 6'
Dec. 15. 55 deg.00'S. 30-1/2 deg. 30 deg. 34 deg. 100 F. 17' 5-1/2'
Dec. 23. 55 deg.26'S 33 deg. 32 deg. 34-1/2 deg.
