January 1854 Coral Sea Island and Shoal, but can find nothing of them 14th S.Lat 26° 41' E. Lon 139° 39' Wind E. No. 5 k. looking out for reefs. We caught a large Chascharias (4½ ft.) of which I made a drawing by measurements. A small turtle, about 8 inches in length was seen floating, apparently prevented from diving, (to effect which it made violent efforts) by the crowds of Anatisæ which adhered to it. 15th S.Lat 26° 26' E. Lon 139° 01 Sunday Wind NE No. 6 k. In the evening the first boobay was seen which had occurred on the voyage. At midnight we were suddenly found to be in shallow water. The ship was immediately got round, but the sounding line gave as low up 15 fathoms before we got clear of the shoal. 16th S.Lat 24° 01' E. Lon 139° 27' Wind E. No. 4 k. We found today the shoal met with last night, and passed over it in 50 fathoms at noon. I tried the dredge, but could not make it reach bottom – the ship going too fast. On examining the specimens brought up by the lead last night I find them 82 January 1854 Coral Sea to consist chiefly of broken encrusting Mul-lipores; worn fragments of broken shells, and a trace of coral. 17th S.Lat. S.Lat 23° 43' E. Lon 139° 53 Wind E No.8 k A few Phatons were seen today. 18th S.Lat 21° 59' E. Lon 160° 27 Wind E. No. 6 k. The air is now 88° the water 80° 19th S.Lat: 21° 03' E. Lon 160° 11 Wind E No. 4 k. Today the long fin of some fish was seen projecting some two feet out of the water. The sailors think it the dorsal fin of a Sun-fish. It was perhaps that of some such cetacean as that mentioned somewhere in the An. & Mag. Nat. Hist accompanied by a figure of the fin as seen on the water. 20th S.Lat. 20° 07' E. Lon. 160° 31 Wind C. No 2 k Today we passed over a shoal. At one time in the morning, we were hove to at a spot where the depth was about 15 fathoms. The water was so clear that the bottom was distinctly seen, in dark and light patches. We caught a number of a large species of spardid fish, called Propper by the sailors, in consequence of which the shoal was called the "Propper Shoal" I had sever 83