353 



Letter from John Macgillivkay, Esq., Naturalist of H.M. Survey- 

 ing-ship Herald, commanded by Captain Deuliam; dated Sydney, 



March 3rd, 1854. 



[We have already (vol. v. p, 279) reported progress of this voyage, 

 destined to make a scientific survey of certain islands in Ihe South 

 Pacific, in a letter from Mr. Macgillivray, dated Sydney, February 33, 

 1833. We have now the great satisfaction of publisliing extracts from 

 a highly interesting letter from the same gentleman, detailing the par- 

 ticulars of the first cruise among the islands.] 



We sailed from Sydney on September 2, 1853 ; the Torch had been 

 left behind, and most of her officers and men transferred to the Herald. 

 Three days afterwards we anchored at Lord Howe Island, where we 

 remained ten days. This little island, w^hich is distant from the nearest 



ft 



part of Australia about 300 miles, is only six miles in length and a mile 

 and a half in greatest width. At one end are two mountains, respec- 

 tively 2498 and 2834 feet in height. The greater part of the island is 

 thickly wooded. There are three families and two or three other per- 

 sons living on the island, but they will shortly be obliged to quit, as it 

 is intended to form there a penal settlement for the convicts of New 

 South Wales and Victoria. I had a tent on shore during the whole of 

 our stay. Our surgeon (Mr. Eeyner, who is and has long been a zeal- 

 ous collector for llaslar Museum) volunteered to join my party, and of 

 course Milne was one of us. His collection of the plants of the island 

 is probably tolerably complete ; mine of course is very imperfect, as 

 zoology necessarily took up most of my time. There are only (exclud- 



ing a few Mosses and Lichens) thirty-six species in my fasciculus, out 

 of wliich twelve are Ferns. I should think the vegetation assimilates 

 to that of Norfolk Island • there is however no representative of the 

 Coniferce^ and several of the plants appeared to me to be Australian, 

 as Tecoma Andralis, Platycermm alcicorne, etc. But I should feel more 

 at home were I telling you of my three new species of Biplommatina 

 (a remarkable genus of land-shells), and a new Eurycauthns, the "land- 

 lobster" of the settlers, for on looking over my journal I see very few 

 bolanlcal notices. 



A dense forest of Palms occupies nearly the whole space between the 

 two sides of the island at this part. Whether this is an Areca or a 

 Seafortlua, I cannot at present determine, for want of any book contaui- 



VOL. YI. 



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