40 
Geological support for this theory is quoted by Wallace (7, 443) in 
‘Island Life,’ who points out that the “1000 fathom line, which indicates 
the land area which would be produced if the sea-bottom were elevated 6000’, 
extends in a broad mass westwards, then sending out two great arms, one 
reaching to beyond Lord Howe’s Island, while the other stretches over 
Norfolk Island to the great barrier reef, thus forming a connection between 
Tropical Australia and New Guinea.” 
Sieberg ! explains the same configuration in greater detail as follows :-— 
“ Neuguinea und der Bismarckarchipel gehiren nach E. Suess dem inner- 
sten unter den Bégen junger Faltengebirge an, die vom Osten her sich 
gegen die alte starre Festlandstafel Australien anlegen und die in Neu- 
seeland zusammentreffen. Dieser innerste australishe Bogen setzt sich aus 
zwei annithernd parallelen Teilstiicken zusammen, die beide in die Nord- 
nordwesthalbinsel Neuseelands miinden. Die Nordwestlich streichenden 
Ketten hoher Faltengebirge, die das innere Neuguineas der Liinge nach 
durehziehen (Bismarck und Kritkegebirge, Viktor-Emanuel, Charles-Louis 
Gebirge) reichen untermeerisch noch weithin und ragen in ihren hdchsten 
Spitzen als die Inselgruppe der Louisiaden und Neukaledonien empor ; der 
dstliche parallelbogen setzt sich zusammen aus Neumecklenburg, den 
Salomonen und Neuen Hebriden.” 
Of the preponderating influence of the New Guinea Flora, when suffi- 
ciently well-known, we have an instance in the Orchidacez, a family which 
in the N.E. has received the expert attention of Schlechter (23), the 
well-known authority and collector. Dr. J. J. Smith, of Buitenzorg, an 
equally keen expert in this family, has not only described nearly all the 
orchids of the N.W. and S.W. so far known, but has also consistently 
enjoined on collectors in the Dutch possessions to devote particular atten- 
tion to these plants, so that from both these sources we can form some idea 
of the general incidence and distribution of this one order throughout the 
country. 
Such is the wealth of material in a single instance in this little-explored 
island that Schlechter, whose unrivalled experience in N.E. New Guinea 
has spread over a number of years, summarizes his results in orchids alone 
as 116 genera with 1450 species, of which 1102 are new (23, i. 14, xiii), 
He considers that nowhere in the world is the Ore 
2600 species as being known from there. Orchids known from Australia 
and common to New Guinea he (28, i. 14, xix) looks upon as branches of 
the Malayan-Papuan flora in Australia, the Orchid flora of tropical Australia 
having developed under strong Malayan-Papuan influence, but it has had 
little influence on the Papuan flora. This remark, to those who have 
hid flora so rich, quoting 
' Sieberg, A., “ Die Erdbebentiatigkeit in Deutsch-Neuguinea (Kaiser-Wilhelms-land und 
Bismarckarchipel),” Peterm. Mitth, lvi. pt. 2 (1919) 118, 
