162 THE PLANT WOELD 



throughout a great part of its extent. It is without protection from the 

 northward and westward. On looking at the map it appears that the 

 island is of irregular shape, only about four miles wide in the middle 

 and seven to nine miles across the northern and southern portions. Its 

 length from NNE. to SSW. is about 29 miles. The greater part of the 

 island is covered with trees interrupted in places by patches of cultiva- 

 tion ; along the west coast are stretches of sandy beach fringed with 

 coconuts, and with our glasses we can make out grassy patches on the 

 higher hills, called sabanas by the natives. 



Two bumboats from Sumay have come alongside our ship bringing 

 bananas, coconuts, bread fruit, sweet potatoes, pineapples, lemons, 

 limes, chickens and eggs. Pineapples are good, but not plentiful ; 

 mangos are rare, but of excellent quality, and are esteemed above all 

 other fruits by the natives ; bread fmit is in season for nearly half the 

 year, beginning the latter part of July ; oranges in October, November, 

 December ; lemons and limes all the year round. Most of the fruit 

 brought to the ships is grown near the village of Agat. The oranges of 

 this part of the island are not of good quality, but those grown in the 

 vicinity of Santa Rosa, near the northern end of the island, and in the 

 district called Yigo, are fine. Of the several varieties of sweet potatoes 

 none are so good as those grown in the United States. The natives 

 cultivate yams and taro, maize, rice, coffee and cacao, all of fine quality. 

 Their only article of export is copra, or the dried meat of the coconut. 



The bumboat man told us that deer and wild hogs are abundant on 

 the island, and that there are wild ducks, curlew, and other water fowl. 

 Noticed a number of noddies and gannets flying about Orote, one or two 

 tropic birds, a frigate bird, and some white terns, but not a single gull. 



Monday, August 14. — At 8:30 to the Yosemite and thence ashore, a 

 distance of nearly two miles. To the edge of the reef in the Yosemite' s 

 steam launch, then through the long crooked channel in a skiff rowed by 

 two marines. Several passing showers on our way ashore ; channel and 

 coral hummocks indicated by stakes ; several times the boat scraped on 

 lumps of coral ; water perfectly clear and smooth ; growing coral beauti- 

 ful ; fishes of bright colors and strange shapes swimming about ; dark 

 colored holothurians, like great slugs, creeping on bottom ; long trans- 

 lucent synaptas, cobalt-blue, five-armed star-fish ; Padina pavonia, and 

 other tropical algae. Passed close to the shore of Apapa Island. Near 

 the water's edge " goat's-foot " convolvulus {Ipomoea pes-cajjrae), with 

 lavender flowers and bilobed leaves ; svmmetrical trees with horizontal 

 whorls of branches, glossy coriaceous leaves, and almond-shape nuts 

 ( Terminalia catappa), and a bush with white flowers bearing tufts of 

 stamens and oblong capsular fruit, which proved to be Capparis mari- 

 anna, one of the handsomest representatives of its genus. 



