BY THEEEV. J. E. TENISOX-'WOODS, F.G.S., F.L.S., ETC. 189 



of a raised beach, wliich has hitherto been recorded on the whole 

 of the north-east coast of Australia. I cannot give any idea of 

 the extent of the beds. They had been partly covered over at 

 the time of my visit. The coral had been found so useful as road 

 metal and for lime-burning purposes, that the material was 

 removed in large quantities, This was causing considerable 

 injury to the roads and wharves, so the government ordered the 

 quarries to be filled in. The beds are of course recent, but from 

 the thickness of the aUuvium which covered them they must be 

 of considerable antiquity. We have reasonable ground for 

 supposing that some changes have taken place even since Captain 

 Cook's time. He relates having found an abundance of turtle on 

 an island reef which is known now as the turtle reef. A portion 

 of it used to be always uncovered, but now it is only at low water 

 springs that any of the reef is laid bare, and it is consequently 

 quite abandoned by turtles. They only frequented the locality 

 for the purpose of laying their eggs, for which they choose dry 

 sandy places. 



Another circumstance worthy of mention is that immense 

 patches of floating pumice, are met with at times inside the Barrier 

 Eeef . They are with marine animals and exuviae of aU kinds, 

 but especially the internal skeleton of a species of Sejna. This 

 pumice from its appearance must have been a long time in the 

 water. It need hardly be added that it could not have come 

 from any part of Australia. It may be connected with some of 

 more recent volcanic outbreaks of the Pacific Islands. Fragments 

 of the same stone are frequently found in the shingle and sands 

 on the beaches of the whole of north-east Australia. I looked 

 very carefully among the coral debris of the formation here 

 described, but could not find any traces of pumice or volcanic 

 stone. 



