During the whole month of March and part of April their daily full allowance of food was about 1 3/4 pounds of flour, first made into dough and then baked in the form of a flat cake upon a large stone.
This low diet, at the same time that they were compelled to work very hard, naturally rendered some of them extremely weak, and several were, on our return to the coast, in a very reduced state.
I should here state that we were (perhaps fortunately) unable to carry more than one pint of brandy with us, hence no spirits were issued to the men, and the non-appearance of diseases of an inflammatory nature may perhaps in some measure be attributed to this circumstance.
The opinion of Captain Wickham, R.N.commanding H.M.

ship Beagle, is perfectly in accordance with my own.

He was upon the coast at the same time that we were, and in a letter to me writes thus: "Our cruise has been altogether a fortunate one, as we have been enabled to examine the whole coast from Cape Villaret to this place (Port George the Fourth) without any accident, and the climate is so good that we have had no sick." THERMOMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS.

RAIN AND TEMPERATURE.
I have annexed a short statement of the weather and range of the thermometer during some parts of the months of December, January, and February.

It will be seen from this that the heat was on some occasions great, even as high as to 136 degrees of Fahrenheit in the sun; yet, by not exposing ourselves to its influence in the heat of the day more than we could help, we suffered no inconvenience from this circumstance: indeed in other tropical countries where the heat has not been so great I have suffered much more than I did in North-western Australia.
NUMBER OF DAYS IN WHICH RAIN FELL: December: 6 days.
January: 19 days, namely, 12, to January 19th, 4 between 19th and 28th, 3 to end of month.
February: 7 days.
March: 12 days.
To 12th April: 2 days.
In January the greatest quantity of rain fell between the 15th and 30th, accompanied by storms of thunder and lightning.
In February the greatest quantity of rain fell in the commencement of the month.