308 A NATURALIST ON THE " CHALLENGER." 



in countless numbers, and some splendid Sea-urchins, with 

 huge thick spines (Acrocladia mamillata), were found. A Shark 

 appeared in the shallow water showing its back fin high out of 

 it ; the fish was chased with boarding pikes by the Blue-jackets, 

 but was too wary to allow its pursuers to come within reach. 

 Captain Nares set up his theodolite on the reef, and took angles 

 whilst we collected specimens. 



Whilst at Levuka (in Ovalau Island), I made a trip with 

 Lieut. Suckling, E.N"., over the steep mountain ridge which backs 

 the town, to the native villages of Livoni and Bureta. A cor- 

 poral of the Fijian army and two prisoners, natives of Livoni, 

 were sent by Mr. Thurston with us as guides. 



The track led up the bed of a rocky mountain stream, and 

 at times up nearly perpendicular faces of rock, which were, 

 however, easy to climb because of the nature of the rock already 

 alluded to, the harder embedded masses in the conglomerate 

 weathering out so as to project and form foot-rests and con- 

 venient grasping places for the hands. As we ascended, the 

 soil became moister, the wood denser, and the trees more and 

 more covered with epiphytes. 



Now and again we passed small cascades tumbling into 

 basins amongst the black boulders. The rocks around were 

 overgrown with ferns and mosses in great variety ; wild plan- 

 tains and beautifully variegated Dracwnas grew in abundance, 

 and amongst them the scarlet Hibiscus in full flower. The 

 overhanging tree-stems were green with climbing ferns, or 

 served as supports to climbing Aroids with large fenestrated 

 leaves. The beauty of the various features of this mountain 

 stream are, however, far beyond my powers of description. 



Near the summit of the ridge, the tree stems and branches 

 became covered with orchids, and in places were loaded with 

 dense masses of the bird's-nest fern (Asplcnium nidus), and 

 large Lycopods and mosses. On the summit, a hard chase after 

 a rat ensued, as I offered a shilling reward for the animal, which 

 might have proved at this elevation, I thought, a Native Eat, 

 though the black rat and Norway rat are abundant in Levuka. 

 There was, however, so much cover for the rat under the 

 decayed logs and undergrowth, that it soon escaped. 



