Oakes’s” passage of two hundred and fifty-nine days from Hong-Kong to New York. It is a pity that vessels have to stand so far to the westward here when bound north in order to get the northeast Trades, but unless they do they will fall into a great calm region that extends from the Central American coast to the one hundred and twentieth meridian, and which reaches as far north as the thirtieth parallel. This is also a cyclonic zone, which, at certain seasons (particularly in September), renders the voyage from Panama to San Francisco a very dangerous one even for large steamers. The longest voyage that it is possible to make both in time and distance is that from Great Britain or New York to the Japanese and Chinese ports during the northeast monsoon, when vessels sail completely around Australia and the whole length of the Asian coast to 35° north rather than beat up through the Sunda Straits, the total length of the voyage being twenty-one thousand miles. The following recent passages taken from London “Fair-play” serve to show the duration of the voyage in days: “Ladakh,” New York to Hong-Kong 181 “Falls of Dee,” New York to Hong-Kong 182 “John R. Kelley,” New York to Hong-Kong 182 “Torrisdale,” New York to Hong-Kong 190 “Emily F. Whitney,” New York to Shanghai 197 “Musselcrag,” New York to Shanghai 197 “Ancona,” New York to Shanghai 240 “Eureka,” Philadelphia to Nagasaki 186 “George Curtis,” Philadelphia to Nagasaki 197 “Vimeira,” Philadelphia to Hiogo 189 “Englehorn,” Philadelphia to Yokohama 180 The “Whitney,” “Curtis,” “Kelley,” and “Eureka” are American ships, their average being one hundred and ninety days; the rest are English, with an average of one hundred and ninety-four, the miserable passage of the “Ancona” having spoiled the record of the Britishers. It will be seen, however, that not one of the ships went out in less than six months; compare this with the run of the American bark “St. James,” from New York to Shanghai, of ninety-eight days in the southwest monsoon, which was not a very wonderful passage. The weather is as usual, save that there is a great increase in the humidity. Latitude, 1° south; longitude, 114° 40′ west. +August 22+ North latitude! At nine o’clock this morning we crossed the equator in 115° 35′ west, and once more entered the Northern Hemisphere. Our passage of one hundred and three days from New York to this position is an average one, and we have yet twenty-seven days in which to reach San Francisco without breaking what the skipper says is his record of never having been at sea one hundred and thirty days.