252 Mr. \Y. Eagle Clarke on the 



the island seemed by its green appearance to be clothed 

 with mosses and lichens." 



To this description may be added a few items culled from 

 Mr. Comer's notes, to which reference will be made more 

 particularly anon. He tells us that there are two kinds 

 of trees on the island, one of which is quite plentiful, 

 but the other is scarce. These, though stunted, are dense 

 in some places, and retain their leaves all the year round. 

 The thick bushes, he says, extend up to an elevation of 

 about 2000 feet, while the grass and brakes grow very rankly 

 and make walking extremely difficult. 



According to the f Report on the Fisheries and Fishing 

 Industries of the United States/ vol. ii. p. 415 (1887), Gough 

 " island at one time abounded in fur-seals and sea-elephants, 

 but is now almost deserted by those animals. About 1825 

 a party of American sealers lived there, but met with such 

 indifferent success that the station was abandoned." 



The few accounts agree that, owing to the weather- 

 conditions usually prevailing, landing on Gough Island is a 

 matter of great difficulty. In the case of the ' Scotia/ three 

 days were spent off the island, during which her staff, 

 after landing under the most trying conditions, were only 

 able to remain ashore about four hours. This was on the 

 22nd of April, 1904. 



Previous to this visit only twelve species of birds had been 

 identified as forming the avifauna of the island. The natu- 

 ralists of the ' Scotia ' observed or secured examples of 

 nineteen species, and added no less than twelve to the ornis of 

 the island, of which two, or possibly three, are new to science. 

 The total avifauna now stands at twenty -three species. 



Only three terrestrial forms are known, all of which are 

 peculiar species — namely, two Buntings of the genus Neso- 

 spiza and a flightless Gallinule, Porphyriornis comeri. 



The two species of Nesospisa are the most interesting, 

 not, however, because they are novelties, nor because we 

 owe our knowledge of them to the researches of the Scottish 

 Expedition, but because they differ very considerably from 

 their single congener, N. acunha, peculiar to Tristan da 



