* 
xii BOTANY OF THE VITIAN ISLANDS. 
between the leeward and windward islands, and the lee side and the weather side of the 
larger islands, is too great.* 
There are, at present, no active volcanoes; but several of the highest mountains, 
for instance, Buke Levu, in Kadavu, and the summit of Taviuni, must, in times gone 
by, have been formidable craters. Hot springs are met with in different parts, earth- 
quakes are occasionally experienced, and between Fiji and Tonga a whole island has 
of late years been lifted above the level of the ocean, whilst masses of pumice-stone 
are drifted on the southern shores of Kadavu and Viti Levu; all showing that Fiji, 
though not the focus of volcanic action, is not secure against plutonic disturbances 
and their effects. The deltas and alluvial deposits of the great rivers excepted, there is 
little level land. Most of the ground is undulated ; all the larger islands are hilly, and the 
largest have peaks 4000 feet high ; Voma in Viti Levu, and Buke Levu in Kadavu (both 
of which were ascended by me), being the most elevated. ‘The soil consists in many parts 
of a dark red or yellowish clay, or decomposed volcanic rock, which soon becomes dry, but 
being plentifully supplied with water proves very productive. There is hardly a rod of land 
that might not be converted into pasture, or be cultivated. Almost at every step one 
discovers that most of the land has at one time or other produced some crop. ‘Though on 
the weather side dense and extensive woods exist, few of them can be regarded as virgin 
forests, most having established themselves after the plantations once occupying their 
site had been abandoned. Kadavu does not appear to have an acre of virgin forest beyond 
what is clustered around the very summit of Buke Levu. The re-establishment of the 
woods on ground at one time under cultivation can scarcely be adduced as a proof that the 
population has seriously diminished, but rather that the Fijians have for ages followed the 
same system of agriculture as they do at present, that of constantly selecting new spots for 
their crops when the old ones, which their ignorance prevents them from fertilizing by the 
introduction of manure, become exhausted. 
The aspect of the weather side of the islands is essentially different from that of the lee 
side. "The former teems with a dense mass of vegetation, huge trees, innumerable creepers, 
and epiphytical plants. Hardly ever a break occurs in the green mantle spread over hill 
and dale, except where effected by artificial means. Rain and moisture are plentiful, adding 
ever fresh vigour to, and keeping up the exuberant growth of, trees, shrubs, and herbs. 
Far different is the aspect of the lee side. Instead of the dense jungle, interlaced with 
creepers and loaded with epiphytes, a fine grassy country, here and there dotted with 
Screw-pines, presents itself. The northern shores of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu bear this 
character in an eminent degree, and their very aspect is proof that rain falls in only limited 
: * “A gauge, kept by the Rev. Mr. Whitby [probably at Levuka, B. 8.], showed that ninety inches of 
rain had fallen in six months, and four in the night of February 12th, 1860." This statement I find in 
‘an obscure publication, ‘The Primitive Methodist J uvenile Magazine,’ London, 1862, vol. xi. p.90. Not 
having seen it confirmed, it may possibly be incorrect, like several others in the article from which it 
is taken. 
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