/ z. 



2 BULLETIN : MUSEUM OF COMPAKATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



varying dimensions, — areas which might be of considerable extent, like 

 the Exploring Isles, the Argo Reefs, or smaller areas, like Yangasa, 

 Oneata, Ongea, Fulanga, and the like, or smaller peaks forming atolls of 

 very limited circumference, like Wailangilala, Xuku Mbasanga, or iso- 

 lated limestone rocks of still smaller dimensions, like Yekai, Tavunasithi, 

 and others. 



Of course numerous soundings among the islands of the Eastern Archi- 

 pelago of Fiji are needed to ascertain the existence of a more or less 

 continuous plateau of coralliferous tertiary limestone dejDosited either by 

 accretions upon its surface or formed during subsidence. 



I brought to Suva a complete diamond-drill boring apparatus and a 

 competent man to superintend the work, Mr. William Eyers, recom- 

 mended to us by the Sullivau Machine Company of Chicago, from whom 

 the apparatus was obtained. A comparatively small hand machine T>-as 

 sent, capable of drilling to a depth of from four to five hundred feet ; 

 an oil motor was also provided to expedite the work with increasing 

 depth. ^ This machinery had been shipped when information reached 

 the United States that Professor David of the Univei'sity of Sydney 

 had left for Funafuti in charge of an expedition to take up the work 

 Avhere it was left by Professor Sollas, the bead of the expedition, assisted 

 by the council of the Poyal Society of London.^ The day before leaving 

 Cambridge for the Pacific, we heard that Professor David's party had 

 succeeded in reaching a depth of nearly 600 feet, the bottom being still 

 in coral. This information seemed to settle the coral question, and all 

 I hoped to accomplish was merely to confirm the work of Professor 

 David by boring in some other district. Subsequent information re- 

 ceived from him leads me to think that the matter is not so simple 

 as represented by the newspapers, and from what I have seen thus far 

 in the Fiji Island reefs I can only conclude that the boring at Funafuti 

 has settled nothing, and that we are still as far as ever from, having a 

 general theory- of the formation of coral reefs. In fact, with the present 

 information obtained in Fiji, I should never have thought of boring in 

 the atolls of that group, for reasons which will be given presently. 



This evidence shows that any result ootaiued would merely indicate 

 the thickness of the former elevated limestones at any particular point ; 

 information wliich could have no bearing ou the main question, if I am 



1 I have to thank the Trustees of the Bache Fund of the National Academy of 

 Science at Washington for an appropriation of SI, 200 towards defraying a part of 

 the expenses of the boring. 



- Proceedings of the Eoyal Society of London, March, 1897, p. 502. 



