98 



Transactions. 



Table 2. 



Animals. 



Before the advent of man on Lord Howe Island the only animals that 

 had any effect on the plant formations were two species of burrowing- 

 petrels (Pujjinus carneipes and Pterodroma inelanopus). In talus slopes 

 near the sea these birds make their burrows each year, completely over- 

 turning the soil and replenishing it with a rich manure ; but whether or 

 not this process is essential to bringing forth the edaphic conditions which 

 result in the tussock-sedge and herbaceous-plant formations there found 

 is difficult to say. 



The large herbivorous animals introduced by man have had an im- 

 portant effect on the forest formations. This is dealt with below under 

 the heading " Introduced elements." 



Anatomical Structure. 



An anatomical examination of the leaves of the leading forest-trees 

 of physiognomic importance in Lord Howe Island shows that the main 

 features of their structure are due to systematic affinity. But as the 



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Fig. 1. — a, Acicalyptus FuUagari ; 6, Metrosideros nervulosa ; c, Hemicyclia 



australasica. 



habitat determines the relative proportions in which the species are repre- 

 sented, the result is somewhat the same as though the main peculiarities 

 in the structure were due to the direct adaptation of the species to the 



