14 



THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



prey only upon certain plants, in the absence of which their seeds perish. Should the 

 extinction be due to the cause assigned, then the process would be a gradual one, and not 

 consummated in a single season. Of course, the soundness of the foregoing argument 

 depends upon the odoriferous wood of Juan Fernandez being a true Santahim, or a tree of 

 the same nature. Whether the specimen of the wood preserved at Santiago be sufficient 

 to decide this point is uncertain. 



Since writing the foregoing, we have accidentally come upon a note by Philippi, in 

 which he states that he is informed by Commander Simpson, of the Chilian navy, that the 

 tree-fellers of Juan Fernandez had lately felled a living tree of the sandalwood, the trunk of 

 which was eighteen inches in diameter. 1 



An Analysis of the Phanerogamic and Fern Vegetation of Juan Fernandez 



and masafoera. 

 The foregoing paragraphs contain the substance of the botanical results separately of 

 the various travellers who have visited the islands, and we are now in a position to deal 

 with these results collectively, and give a general review of the flora. 



Table showing the Geographical Distribution of the Vascular Plants of Juan Fernandez and Masafuera, 

 including a few probably naturalised Species, which are indicated below. 



1 Botanische Zeitung, 1S70, p. 502. 



