208 MISS Г. $. GIBBS: A CONTRIBUTION TO 
being fast overgrown with reeds, amongst which were one or two plants of 
Mussaenda frondosa. Towards the top, at about 3000 feet, on the exposed 
agglomerate, Plectranthes Forsteri, Cheilanthes hirta, and Pellwa geraniæfolia 
were associated. 
In this case the ridge was still forest-clad, as were also its north-westerly 
slopes, but the next peak, much higher, with all exposed agglomerate, was 
swathed in reeds, trees being limited to the stream areas on both slopes. From 
the top, a most magnificent view of the north-west country revealed range 
upon range of sun-baked hills, deep red in colour and shorn of all forest- 
growth. 
In the vicinity of Nadarivatu the forest originally ran up to the edge of 
the escarpment, and does so still in one small patch, left as a very necessary 
wind screen. The rest shows secondary serub- and fern-covered areas, 
according to the depth of soil. Оп the extreme edge most of the shrubs and 
trees widely spread in Fiji seemed to occur, viz., Alphitonia excelsa, G'uioa 
rhoifolia, Weinmannia affinis, Coprosma  Inthurniana, the fœtid Geniostoma 
rupestre, the profuse flowering Deraspermum fruticosum, Spirwanthemum 
vitiensis, Wikstræmia viridiflora, Acalypha insulana and A. repanda, Melastoma 
denticulatum, with Psychotria Gibbsiw, Croton Verreauri, and Alstonia plumosa. 
Where the shrubby growth eased off on thinner soil and a more exposed 
surface, Scevola floribunda and Metrosideros villosa, clipped hard and distorted 
in a northerly direction, proved the force of the wind. Here Dianella intermedia 
and clumps of D. nemorosa would push up through the thick growth of 
Lomaria capensis, Pteris aquilina var. esculenta, Balantium stramineum, 
and Gleichenia linearis, with the ubiquitous pink heads of Spathoglottis 
pacifica on peduncles from 2 dm. to over a metre in height, the leaves varying 
accordingly. Tn the steepest and most exposed places, a thick reed-growth 
reached down to the valley 2000 feet below. Further along, on the more 
sheltered shoulder, down which the road winds in zigzags to the village of 
Waikubakuba at the base, there is some cultivation of yams and kumara 
(sweet potato) where the reeds have been cleared. Homalanthus nutans, 
Mussaenda frondosa, and Piper Gibbsie were here at home, and the South 
American Cestrum nocturnum abounded. 
In the woods fringing the streams, Bæhmeria platyphylla, Amaroria 
soulameoides, Croton Verreaurii, and Cyrtandra involucrata were found. 
Further down, in some sheltered spots still forest-clad, fine trees of Leea 
sambucina and Guioa rhoifolia were in flower. АП these slopes are annually 
fired by the natives, for the purpose of collecting the wild yams. Coconut, 
papaw and banana are cultivated down these slopes—none of which can be 
grown at Nadarivatu, on account of the exposure to wind. 
Around Waikubakuba, nestling at the bottom, there is a certain amount of 
cultivation, which one passes through going over the plain to the base 
of Koro Levu, a mountain 3000 feet high, bare and barren, which forms 
