We had to remain at Port Stanley for thirteen days before the necessary observations for determining the rates of the chronometers could be obtained.  During this period a thaw occurred, followed by hard frost and another fall of snow, making the country as bleak and desolate as before.  By all accounts the winter has been unusually severe.  The ground had been covered with snow for four weeks previous to our arrival, and many cattle the horses had perished; I also observed at the head of the harbour some beds of mussels, most of which were dead, having doubtless been frozen when uncovered at low water.  The average mean temperature on board ship during our stay was 33 degrees, the maximum and minimum being respectively 37 and 25 degrees.

I was obliged to content myself with short excursions, for the inclemency of the weather would not permit of camping out at night.  The appearance of the surrounding country may briefly be described:  ridges and peaks of grey quartz rock of moderate elevation form boundaries to shallow valleys, or become the summits of slopes extending with gentle declivity towards the shore.  The ground almost everywhere, even on the hills, is boggy, with numerous swamps, rivulets and pools.  The peat in some places is as much as six feet in thickness; it forms the only fuel on the island, for not a single tree occurs to diversify the landscape, and few of the bushes exceed a foot in height.  The general tint of the grass and other herbage at this season is a dull brownish-green.  Bays and long winding arms of the sea intersect the country in a singular manner, and the shores are everywhere margined by a wide belt of long wavy seaweed or kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) which on the exposed coasts often forms immense beds of various species, some of which attain to gigantic dimensions.

On my first walk I was surprised at the extraordinary tameness of the smaller landbirds:  a thrush (Turdus magellanicus) almost allowed me to knock it down with my cap, and some other birds were quite as familiar as our robin in winter—­a pair of loggerhead ducks (Brachypterus micropterus) were quietly pluming themselves on the jetty at government house, and others were swimming along shore within pistol shot of a public road; at first I thought they were domesticated, and refrained from firing.  The loggerhead is a large and heavy bird for a duck:  one which I shot weighed eighteen pounds, and it has been recorded as sometimes weighing as much as twenty-nine pounds.  From the disproportionate smallness of its wings it is incapable of flight, but employs these members as paddles in hurrying along the surface of the water when alarmed, using its feet at the same time with much splashing and apparent awkwardness, leaving a broad wake behind it on the water—­hence the not inappropriate name of steamer which is sometimes applied to it.  Not being fit to eat, and moreover from its strength and the closeness of its plumage difficult to kill, it is not much molested by sportsmen.  Another bird very likely to attract attention is the kelp goose (Bernicla antarctica) generally seen in pairs along the rocky coasts:  the plumage of the male is of a beautiful white, that of the female is dark and glossy, variously speckled and barred.