During an excursion on land, Cook, Banks, and Solander found traces of various animals. The birds were plentiful, and remarkably beautiful. The great number of plants discovered by the naturalists in this part, induced Cook to give it the name of Botany Bay. "This bay is," he says, "large, safe, and convenient; it is situated in 34 degrees S. Lat., and 208 degrees 37 minutes W. Long." Wood and water were easily procurable there.
"The trees," according to Cook, "were at least as large as the oaks of England, and I saw one which somewhat resembled them. It is that one which distils a red gum like 'Dragon's blood.'"
No doubt this was a species of Eucalyptus. Among the various kinds of fishes which abound in these latitudes is the thorn-back skate, one of which, even after cleaning, weighed
