DUBLIN T7NIVEBSITY ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL ASSOCIATION. 5 



tions, with the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna ; the Imperial 

 Geological Institute ; the Zoological and Botanical Association of Yienna; 

 the Lotos, Natural History Society of Prague ; the Koyal Belgian Aca- 

 demy of Science ; the Scientific Society of Liege ; the Society of Sciences 

 and Arts of Lille; the Natural History Societies of Wirtemberg, of 

 Nassau, of Dresden, of Dantzig, of Westphalia, and the Bhenish pro- 

 vinces ; the German Ornithological Society ; the Entomological Associa- 

 tion of Stettin ; the Entomological Society of Silesia ; the Zoological and 

 Mineralogical Association of Ratisbon ; the Natural History Association 

 of Christiania ; the Editors of the Archives of Science in Russia ; and the 

 Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moskau. The desire expressed in a 

 recent letter of the Director of this last, Dr. Renard, Imperial Councillor 

 of State, for a very active literary intercourse between that Society and 

 your Association, will, doubtless, be received with gratification, and 

 readily reciprocated on our part. 



I would further mention, that we contemplate having some meetings 

 specially for microscopical purposes ; these will, as we expect, not only 

 prove very interesting, but much will be gained in instruction, in the 

 example of microscopic manipulation, in comparison of instruments, 

 and other advantages so obvious, that I do not feel it necessary to dwell 

 on them, or to detain you further from Dr. Harvey's communication. 



Pbofessob Habvey, Yice -President, then read some notes on the — 



EEJEE ISLANDS AND THEIB INHABITANTS. 



The vegetation is, of course, quite tropical in its type : the cocoa- 

 nut palm, the banana, and the breadfruit tree, with abundance of tree 

 ferns, giving a character to the landscape. Ground ferns are also abun- 

 dant, and the forest trees are frequently covered with Epiphytes, both 

 orchids and ferns. A climbing species of Pothos (one of the Arum 

 family), is also a very conspicuous ornament to the trees. Except on 

 the very small islands, the forest is not continuous ; but the plains and 

 hills are either covered with grass or small bushes, or dotted with scat- 

 tered trees. Here and there patches of dense wood are seen ; and gene- 

 rally the sides of the mountains are clothed with trees. Almost every 

 gulley has its stream, along the banks of which the tree ferns abound. 

 They are so common that the natives usually build their houses with 

 the trunks, as being more easily obtained than those of hardwood trees. 

 Some of the smaller islands are covered with forest, and uninhabited, 

 but resorted to by the natives for the purpose of cutting timber for their 

 canoes, which (like those of all the Pacific Islands) are made from the 

 hollowed trunks. The native timbers are of many kinds, some extremely 

 hard and heavy, — as in those of which the clubs are made. A species 

 of Casuarina furnishes the best club wood. There are two native pine 

 trees (a Dammara and an Araucaria), but neither appears to be much in 

 use. 



The yam is grown in dry ground, generally on hill sides. It 

 requires a good deep soil, which must be well dug, and kept free of 



