294 A NATURALIST ON THE "CHALLENGER." 



open, covered only with grass and Pandanus trees. I was 

 uncertain whether this condition was due to clearing by the 

 natives or to the greater access of moisture from the trade wind 

 on the windward side. Seemann describes such a condition 

 produced by aspect, as common to all the Fiji Islands. There 

 are however dense patches of wood here and there on the lee- 

 ward side also of the crater in Matuku, and it may be that all 

 the grass-covered area has been cleared at some time for culti- 

 vation, the island being too small and low to vary much in 

 atmospheric conditions. . 



At all events the most prominent feature in the appearance 

 of the vegetation of Matuku, is the contrast of the light green 

 open grass slopes with the dark patches of wood. The grass is 

 high and reedy, and very tiring to force one's way through, as 

 are also the wooded tracts. Through these latter a road had to 

 be cleared with the knife. In some places the grass had been 

 fired by the natives, as a preliminary to cultivation. 



The view from the summit of the island was most interesting 

 as well as beautiful. We stood on what is now the highest 

 point of the edge of the weathered crater. Beneath, on the one 

 side, a steep slope led down to a narrow tract of flat land border- 

 ing the sea. This was partly open and swampy, covered with 

 sedges and ferns, and with Pandanus trees dotted about over it, 

 and partly covered with groves of cocoanut trees. On the other 

 side, a vertical precipice, terminating in a similar steep slope, led 

 down into the crater itself. 



The cliff and internal slope of the crater were covered with 

 thick and tangled wood, amongst which grew, even close to the 

 summit, a few cocoanut palms, and one or two trees of the palm 

 called " Niu Sawa " by the natives (Kentia exorliiza). 



All round the island, except for a very short interval at the 

 entrance to the harbour, was a circling zone of white breakers, 

 marking the position of the barrier reef. The zone was separated 

 from the shore of the island by a band of water, which had a 

 slightly yellowish tinge, caused by its shallowness and the colour 

 of the coral-built bottom. 



The vegetation of Matuku is very different from that of 

 Tonga-tabu, though no doubt much like that of Eua. Ferns 



