LOW ISLES. 101 



veins of quartz. The strata^ which are often 

 flexuous^ or shg-htly contorted^ have a westerly 

 dip of 60", and the strike is N .N.W. and S.S.E. 

 On the windward side there is a long' g-radual slope, 

 covered wdth tall coarse g'rass, among* which many 

 quail were found. The shore is fring'ed with the 

 usual maritime trees and bushes, and an extensive 

 mang-rove bed runs out upon the reef in one place. 

 This reef is of gTeat extent, stretching- out to w ind- 

 ward upwards of a mile, as far as a small rocky 

 isle like a hay-cock. 



On July 7th w^e anchored to leew^ard of the Low 

 Isles, in the northern part of Trinity Bay, in eig*ht 

 fathoms, mud, half a mile from the shore, and 

 remained there for the four succeeding- days. This 

 small g-roup ma}^ be said to consist of three islets. 

 One is low, sand}^, and well wooded, about 300 

 yards in diameter, and is situated at the north- Avest 

 extremit}^ of a horse-shoe reef, with its concavity to 

 leeward ; the other two may be looked upon as 

 merely g-roves of mangToves on the reef, the roots 

 of which are w^ashed at hig-h water, except in a few 

 places, w^here narrow ridg'es of dead coral have 

 afforded footing- for the g-rowth of a samphire- 

 looking- plant {Salicornia Indica). The sandy islet 

 presents no remarkable feature. The remains of 

 burnt turtle bones indicate the occasional visits of 

 natives from the mainland. A solitary meg-apodius 

 was shot, but the only other land-birds are a little 

 yellow Zosterops, and the larg-er g*round-dove 

 {Geopclia kumeralis). 



