204 VOYAGES OF A NATURALIST 



in the morning, and set off in the direction of the 

 crater. After a long walk I eventually reached 

 the lip of this volcano, but, owing to lack of time, 

 I was unable to get to the marsh at the bottom of 

 it. I scrambled about half-way down to pick 

 up a tern which I had shot, but at this point it was 

 extremely difficult to descend, owing to the nature 

 of the ground, which was covered with loose stones 

 and debris. I obtained a glimpse of the geese, and 

 had a good view of the marsh about a thousand 

 feet below me. 



Easter Island is now almost entirely covered 

 with grass, and, from the sea, presents an unbroken 

 view of rolling grass-covered country. A closer 

 inspection shows that amongst the grass lie in- 

 numerable rocks of lava of various sizes, and were 

 it not for the number of sheep- tracks in all 

 directions, it would be a tedious matter to walk 

 any distance in many parts of the island. 



A few low trees have been planted amongst 

 the houses at the settlement, and at the bottom 

 of the crater I noticed some small trees and bushes. 

 In former times there were many trees, but all 

 appear to have been felled, and the land cleared 

 to make grazing ground for sheep and cattle. 



At the time of our visit there were 40,000 sheep. 

 They were very small, and their wool was of a 

 yellowish colour, doubtless discoloured by the 

 earth. All the wool is shipped to Valparaiso, 

 whence it goes to Bradford, in Yorkshire. 



