258 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



in the Strait of Magellan, and proceeded to the western end 

 of the channel of Grand Bay. They then traversed the is- 

 land in a northwesterly direction, and went southward to 

 Useless Bay, embarking at the latter place, on the 18th of 

 January, on the Chilian frigate Abato, for Valparaiso. Ac- 

 cording to Pertuiset, the island, geologically speaking, is of 

 but little interest. He found it, however, well adapted to 

 the cultivation of cattle, on account of the rich grassy veg- 

 etation, there being room for the rearing of hundreds of 

 thousands of these animals. 



Mr. Pertuiset writes also that he found oats and rye grow- 

 ing luxuriantly in various localities. The flora is similar to 

 that of Southern Patagonia ; very few woody plants, how- 

 ever, were met with. 



The natives were very shy, and scarcely to be seen by the 

 travelers, but seemed to be superior to the Patagonians. 

 Their clothing consisted of skins, and their food offish, rats, 

 eggs of wild ducks, etc. 17 C\ vi., 232. 



EXPLORATIONS IN RODRIGUEZ. 



The establishment of a station in the island of Rodriguez 

 for the observation of the transit of Venus is to be utilized 

 by the British expedition for the prosecution of researches 

 into the extinct birds of the island. Nature remarks that, as 

 a general rule, oceanic islands lving at a great distance from 

 the continents are volcanic in their origin, and that the Sey- 

 chelles and Rodriguez are almost the only exceptions to the 

 rule, the latter island being composed, it is said, of granite 

 overlaid with limestone and other recent rocks. A rich field 

 of research for the discovery of extinct animals is therefore 

 expected. Already a complete skeleton of Pezophaps solita- 

 rid, a bird allied to the dodo, has been obtained from a cave 

 in the limestone rocks, and ample material in regard to other 

 species is believed to be extant on the island. 



Kerguelen's Land, also, an island one hundred miles long 

 and fifty broad, although containing very few land plants, is 

 thought likely to yield a rich harvest in animal forms, cer- 

 tainly recent, if not fossil. Very little is known of it, and 

 much is expected as the result of careful examination. 



Nature concludes by expressing the opinion that it will be 

 difficult to find two spots on the earth's surface where biolog- 



