y inches; and it
not unfrequently rose to the height of twenty or thirty feet, though
generally shorter. The pods were of an oval shape, and about two inches
and a half in length; each pod was in three divisions and full of a silky
cotton, with the seeds not imbedded but held at the extremity of the
fibres. I brought home a specimen and presented it to Sir William Hooker,
of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, with whom I have since had some
correspondence on the subject. He informs me that the plant is one
hitherto undescribed; but that Sir Joseph Banks met with it in Captain
Cook's voyage.

November 17.

We continued our descent of the river: stopping from time to time to
complete the survey. In the end of Long Reach we noticed that the stream
ran up two hours after high-water. After securing some observations for
latitude under Station Peak in the early part of the night, we proceeded
further down the river, delighted to escape from that mosquito-haunted
neighbourhood.

EFFECTS OF DRINKING SALT-WATER.

November 18.

At day-break I was very much distressed and astonished to see one of the
men on a sudden start up under the influence of delirium, and attempt to
throw himself into the water, from which the combined strength of three
or four of the crew with difficulty restrained him. He was one of the
best men I had with me; his sudden and serious illness had doubtless been
produced by the draughts of saltwater which he had swallowed during the
night. He had been accustomed to indulge in very liberal potations while
we were up the river, and now, when from necessity the allowance was
restricted to a gallon per day, he had most foolishly attempted in the
dark to quench his thirst with the salt waters of the advancing tide. In
the afternoon we rejoined the ship, and he was placed under the care of
Mr. Bynoe; but it was some time before he fully recovered from the
effects of his rash experiment. The day was very oppressive, the
thermometer being 105 degrees in the shade, and there was no wind. We
were cordially greeted by our shipmates upon our return, and both Mr.
Forsyth and myself enjoyed the luxury of a night's rest in our hammocks;
a most agreeable change after the hot stones upon which we had generally
been compelled to court repose during our exploration. We had both
suffered much inconvenience from the attacks of flies upon our visual
organs, necessarily exposed and undefended as they had been when we were
o