To the references given by Peron may be added, Humboldt's "Personal Narrative" volume 6 page 804; Flinder's "Voyage" volume 1 page 92; Labillardiere, volume 1 page 287; Ulloa's "Voyage"; "Voyage of the Astrolabe and of the Coquille"; Captain King's "Survey of Australia" etc.) In the sea around Tierra del Fuego, and at no great distance from the land, I have seen narrow lines of water of a bright red colour, from the number of crustacea, which somewhat resemble in form large prawns.

The sealers call them whale-food.

Whether whales feed on them I do not know; but terns, cormorants, and immense herds of great unwieldy seals derive, on some parts of the coast, their chief sustenance from these swimming crabs.

Seamen invariably attribute the discoloration of the water to spawn; but I found this to be the case only on one occasion.

At the distance of several leagues from the Archipelago of the Galapagos, the ship sailed through three strips of a dark yellowish, or mud-like water; these strips were some miles long, but only a few yards wide, and they were separated from the surrounding water by a sinuous yet distinct margin.