THE MONTANE FLORA OF FIJI. 137 
The trees, according to Mr. Cheeseman's description, are not comparable to 
those of Fiji, and the predominance of a Composite like Fitchia speciosa, 
Cheesm., points to a poorer and shallower soil. 
Some emphasis has been laid on the agency of birds in the distribution of 
plants to the Pacific Islands. Warming*, however, has effectively dealt 
with that question in relation to the Faeroes, and his pertinent remarks are 
equally applicable in the present case. He quotes the interesting result 
arrived at by Danish investigators, viz., that migratory birds travel on empty 
stomachs (p. 676). For a series of years thousands of birds picked up dead 
at the Danish lighthouses have been sent to the Zoological Museum at 
Copenhagen, and notes on these birds have been published annually by 
H. Winge, who only found slight traces of food in the stomachs, in the 
shape of small pieces of the testa of seeds &c., and in some cases a little 
sand or small stones, nor were any seeds found adhering to the feathers, 
beaks, or feet. In the face of this evidence, the power of birds to carry 
seeds appears to be limited to those shot near their native haunts. 
Warming, after citing evidence to prove the immense distance seeds can 
be earried by other agencies, concludes that winds are the chief agency 
in distributing seeds to Island groups. Their influence is shown in the 
present case by the spread of Æcidium Balanse to Agathis vitiensis. First 
discovered in New Caledonia on Agathis ovata, it has now reached Fiji, 
where it is probably of recent occurrence, as the previous able collectors in 
the islands could hardly have overlooked its very conspicuous presence on the 
leaves of even the youngest plants. It will be interesting to note the arrest 
of this fungus pest in Fiji, or its possible progress to New Zealand. 
If we consider the large population in former times, very much greater 
than at present, and the relatively small areas of most of these Pacific islands, 
it is surprising that the agency of man in the distribution of their species 
should have been rather consistently overlooked. Seemann (3) is the one 
author who insists that owing to this preponderating influence there are 
practically very few tenable deductions to be drawn from the relative disiri- 
bution of plants in the different islands. From time immemorial, as he 
points out, there has been a constant intercourse between the Samoan, 
Tongan, and Fijian Islanders. Аз Samoa and Tonga did not grow timber 
large enough for the great war-canoes which these islanders were renowned in 
building, this timber was obtained in Fiji, and the сапоез were built where it 
was felled. Sandalwood, much valued for scenting coconut-oil, was also 
only obtainable in Fiji, and both these most valuable articles of trade had to 
be obtained by barter in the products of the other islands. 
* Warming, ‘ History of the Flora of the Færoes: Botany of the Færoes; ii. Copenhagen, 
1903. 
LINN. JOURN., BOTANY.—VOL, XXXIX. L 
