14 Biographical Memoir of the late Henry Kilhl, 



day, that they were overwhehiied by their multiplicity. There 

 occurred in particular a vast multitude of remarkable and 

 partly new niollusca, echinodermata, and entozoa; and there 

 they made many important observations, with regard to the 

 conformation of various fishes, mollusca, and radiaria. 



On the 9th of October they made the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and tarrying there twelve da3^s, explored the mountains or shores 

 from the first dawn to late in the evening. They carried with 

 them the ^ skins of various birds prepared for stufiing, and also 

 presei-ved a great number entire for the purpose of making 

 skeletons. They also prepared skeletons of the Viverra genetta 

 and Chrysochloris capensis. Besides, they collected amphibia, 

 fishes, molhisca, Crustacea, radiaria, and many species of fuci, 

 in Table Bay and Hout Bay. The number of plants which 

 they collected at the Cape, they had not determined at their 

 departure, but they mentioned it as being very great, they 

 having come there in the proper season. They also prepared 

 some bundles of bulbous roots, and the seeds of about 200 spe- 

 cies, for the Botanical Garden at Batavia. But what is par- 

 ticularly worthy of remark is, that they examined with great 

 care the structure and stratification of Table Mountain, and 

 the other hills which surround Table Bay and Hout Bay, con- 

 cerning which very erroneous ideas had been entertained. 



The Great Indian Ocean, not less than the Atlantic, furnish- 

 ed them with ample opportunities of scrutinizing animals hither- 

 to but imperfectly known. They discovered several genera of 

 the family of naked mollusca, annularia, and tunicata of La- 

 marck. Bad weather at length forced them upon the Cocoa 

 Islands, toward the south of Sumatra, — a group, according to 

 their account, entirely composed of madrepores, and perfectly 

 similar to those flat islands of the Pacific Ocean, whose origin 

 has also by Forster been attributed to madrepores. 



On account of the multitude of sharp coral rocks, access can 

 only be had to the bay of these islands in fine weather, and 

 with very small vessels. Their origin from corals shooting up 

 from the bottom of the sea, is plainly demonstrated by their 

 want of mammalia, amphibia, and land-birds, and the scantiness 

 of their flora, which was found to consist of only four species, 

 a new grass, an urtica, the cocoa-nut-tree {Cocos mtcjfera), a 



