126 A NATURALIST ON THE "CHALLENGER." 



Europe, "Caa Quark, Caa Quark, Ca Caa Ca Caa." In the 

 morning we moved to Nightingale Island, taking the Germans 

 with us. 



Nightingale island, Oct. i?th, 1813. — Nightingale Island, the 

 smallest of the Tristan group, lies 20J- miles S.W. of Tristan 

 Island, and about 22 miles N.W. by W. of Inaccessible Island. 

 The island is about l^th miles long, by less than one mile 

 broad ; its area is thus not more than one square mile. We 

 steamed up to the north-west side in the morning. 



In the north-east is a rocky peak, from which an elevated 

 ridge runs down to the sea on the east side, whence the Peak is 

 accessible. On the north side it is impracticable, being too 

 precipitous. A lower ridge stretches N.E. and S.W. on the 

 south side of the island, and a broad valley separates the 

 western termination of this ridge from the high ground and 

 peaks on the N.E. ; the highest peak is 1,100 feet in height, and 

 the highest point of the lower ridge, 960 feet. 



The whole of the lower land, and all but the steepest slopes 

 of the high land and its actual summits, are covered with a 

 dense growth of tussock, which occupies also even the ledges 

 and short slopes between the bare perpendicular rocks of the 

 Peak. The lower ridge is covered with the grass on all except 

 its very summit, where amongst huge irregularly piled boulders 

 of basalt, grow the same ferns as are found in Inaccessible 

 Island, and Phylica arborea trees. The summit of the higher 

 ridge appears to have a similar vegetation, the tussock ceasing 

 there. 



In the sea of tall grass, clothing the wide main valley of the 

 island on its south side, are patches of Phylica trees, growing in 

 many places thickly together, as at Inaccessible Island, with 

 a similar vegetation devoid of tussock, beneath them. The 

 appearance of the tall grass, when seen from a distance, is most 

 deceptive ; as we viewed the island from the deck of the ship, 

 about a quarter of a mile off, we saw a green coating of grass, 

 coming everywhere down to the verge of the wave-wash on the 

 rocks, and stretching up comparatively easy looking slopes 

 towards the summit of the Peak. 



The grass gave no impression of its height and inipenetra- 



