plants and animals collected whenever they do not form a kind of punctuation: some entries will be silently omitted, but even so I hope that what is included will give a balanced picture of the whole, which, in its two manuscript volumes, runs to about 22,000 words.
May 3 Today a calm fish’d with a landing net out of the Quarter Gallery window. Caught sea weed, Fucus acinarius, with fruit like Currants on slight Footstalks & Common Knotted Fucus, Fucus Nodosus also two species of what the seamen call Blubbers the one roundish and Transparent with his Edges a little Fringed the inside is hollow adornd with 4 little Clusters of Red spots within the Transparent substances Possibly Eggs from the Center Proceeds 4 feelers spotted from their bases with Longish Red Spotts and each Edged on the upper side with 2 thin Membranes the other is Conical and hollow the outer Part Transparent the inner coverd by a thin Coat of Reddish Purple which Runs up beyond the top of the Hollow Part in a line not unlike the footstalk of some Fruit the Bottom Edge seems to be broke by some accident
4 today being also very fine the business of fishing is Continued we now took what we hope will Prove a compleat Specimen of No (1) it has a large Crenated Fringe round the Lower Edges we also took another Fragment much like that taken yesterday within each of the Broken ones was an appearance which we supposed to be of an Insect devouring it
one Part of this morn the sea was Coverd with small Transparent Bubbles which we supposed to be the spawn of some insect or fish as they were full of small Black specks
we also took another insect of a very Peculiar appearance his Case is triangular with a very Sharp Point of a Transparent substance not unlike very thin Glass the insect within is of a Colour not unlike New Copper
6 Yesterday & today hard Gale of wind with Frequent and some heavy Squalls Carried away Main top Mast Myself far too sick to write
7 This Morn Weather much more moderate a number of Birds are about the ship which the seamen call Penguins Gulls Shearwaters one species of them with sharp tails Puffins and Sea Pigeons* we could not get any of them tho we took Pains we Comforted ourselves however being told that we should meet with them all upon the Coast at Present they are a sign that we are upon the Banks
8 Birds Continue today in great abundance especially Puffins and Sea Pigeons at twelve Sound1 & find 75 fathoms Birds Continue at 6 sound again 50 fathoms Let down our fishing Lines but Caught nothing at ten tonight for the first time we see an Island of Ice2 the night is Hazy but the Sky clear no moon the Ice itself appears like a body of whitish light the Waves Dashing against it appear much more Luminous the Whole is not unlike the Gleaming of the Aurora Borealis When first seen it was about half a Mile ahead it drives within ¼ of a mile of us accompanied by several small flat Pieces of Ice which the seamen call field Ice which drives very near us and is Easily seen by its white appearance not unlike the Breaking of a wave into foam.
9 This Morn Seven Islands of Ice in sight one Very Large but not high about a League from us we steer very near a small one which from its Transparency & the Greenish Cast in it makes a very Beautiful appearance two very Large Cracks intersect it Lenghways and Look Very Like mineral Veins in Rocks from its Rough appearance the Seamen Judge that it is old Ice that is what formed the Winter before Last In the course of the Day we steer still nearer to another Island which appears as if Layd Strat: Super Stratum one of White another of Greenish at – Past five this afternoon we made NFLand a quantity of sea weed Part of which I fish’d up 3 or 4 Species with my Landing Net tonight we stand of with too little wind to Carry us in
10 this morn a Mist accompanied with Frost which hung our Rigging Full of Ice Continues till about twelve when we see Land again but so little wind that we cannot make it tonight This Even Fish with Landing net take 9 specimens of a singular Kind of Blubber which abounds here tis transparent with 2 or three Reddish lines in the middle tis octangular Each angle being adornd with an undulated red line which serves for the Basis of a fin Longitudinally Stretched upon it which it moves with a quick undulatory Motion it is so tender I have little hopes of Preserving it as it Floats in the sea at Pleasure puts out two Antennae sometimes to a distance of a foot or more, but upon being taken they constantly draw them up & do not shew the Least appearance of them.
11 this Morn quite Calm took a large Float of Long stalkd sea Belts in the Roots of which were a Small sort of Star fish about 3 got into St Johns on the 20th day of our Voyage
12 this morn went on shore found the Spring very Little advanced but hope its approaches will be quick as it is warmer than I Ever felt it at this time in England the Country is Coverd with wood fir is the only tree which can yet be distinguished of which I observed 3 sorts (1) Black Spruce of which they Make a liquor Calld Spruce Beer (2) white Spruce & (3) weymouth Pine no large trees of any Species Possibly so near the Town3 they are Constantly cut down on the Trees and Rocks were 3 or 4 species of Lichens, Lichen Pascalis, Lanatus, ? Hirtus, & under them the Leaves of many rare northern Plants of the Club Mosses 3 sorts, a small plant whose Blossoms have 5 Stamina Mosses 3 sorts Bryum Hornum, or Purpureum, one of which is quite new to me – too sorts of Bird were taken today one the Black Cap Parus ater, the other an american thrush with a ferrugineous Breast Possibly described by Catesby insects were few Cimex lineatus water Bugs in Abundance one Carabus granulatus
13 Walk out Fishing this Morn Took great plenty of small Trouts, Salmo saw a small Fish in the Brooks Very like English Stiklebacks, Gasterosteus Aculeatus, in the way took a small Bird something Between a yellow hammer & a Linnet
15 Walkd this day to a Small Lake north of the Town found in the way another species of Club moss, Lycopodium complanatum, a Shrub with ten Stamina, Andromeda Calyculata, which grew by the side of the Lake – upon a stoney Soil in great abundance a Kind of Moss, Bryum, with Pendant heads in our way home we Killd a musk Rat, Fiber Moscatus in Kitty Vitty Pond
16 This day wind very high NW went into the Harbour with the Traul Took Lobsters, Cancer gammarus Common crab, Cancer, Spider d°, Cancer araneus, Sculpen, another Sort of D°: Cat fish, a Shell of the Scallop Kind One of the Muscles Sea Urchin, Echinus, another Kind of the Spatagus tribe, Echinus, Starfish, Asterias, a … two sort of Sea weed Soldier crab, Cancer diogenes
19 Set out on foot to get as far into the Countrey as Possible Soon after We set out began to snow Continued all the day but did not Cover the Ground deep Enough to hinder our Observing Several Plants a Kind of Bilberry in full Blossom a kind of Juniper with white Berries, The Larch, Pinus Larix, which is here calld Juniper & which is said to make better timber for shipping especially masts than any tree this Countrey affords & a species of Moss with Bending heads and fine golden footstalks, Bryum N°: 19
20 Continues to Snow all this day Which Confines us within doors at a small Town Calld Petty Harbour4 the Snow so incessant that we have not an opportunity to Stir out to make the Least Observation
21 Snow Lies now four & five feet deep upon the Ground & the Air looks so Hazey that we think it Prudent to Return upon the Rocks & Barrens (for so they Call the Places where Wood does not Grow) we find that the wind had drifted the Snow Very thin we observe Some few Plants Fir Moss, Lycopodium Selago, Rhein Deer Moss, Lichen Rangiferinus, A Kind of Horned Liverwort, Lichen, a Plant that has very much the Appearance of Crow Berries, Empetrum of which I have only got the female which has 10 Stigmata.
25 Snow Very near gone Walk out to day gather the Male Blossoms of a Plant resembling duch myrtle which like it grows in Bogs & watery Places also a sort of Cyperus which grew upon the same flat but not in so wet a situation & a Kind of Black Liverwort growing upon dry tops of the Barrens the weather grows very mild many Plants are in
