8 FOYE. 



Returning to Mba, the entire western side of Viti Levu was trav- 

 ersed by railroad, while the southwestern coast was traversed on foot. 

 A journey of 45 miles inland along the course of the Singatoka River, 

 a river which flows across west central Viti Levu and drains more than 

 a third of the island, led the writer to the plutonic rocks forming a 

 conspicuous part of its central portion. IMuch of the success of this 

 trip was due to the assistance of the District Commissioner of the 

 Singatoka district, Mr. James Stewart. 



From the Singatoka district, Suva and then Kandavu were reached 

 by cutter. Owing to the kindness of ]\Ir. Alcock, the District Com- 

 missioner of Kandavu, an extended tour was made possible along the 

 eastern coast of the island, north of Vunisea. Several of the smaller 

 islands, within the Kandavu Reef and north of the main island, were 

 also visited. Among these were Ono and Xdravuni. The small 

 island of Solo, within its own reef, lying north of the Kandavu reef, 

 wa's the goal of one voyage, whence Vunisea was reached, travelling 

 along the western side of Kandavu. 



The writer then returned to Suva, in the middle of February, 1916, 

 and, after a few traverses up the rivers about Suva Bay, sailed for 

 the United States. 



PREVIOUS WORK. 



Many of the students of the coral reef problem ha^■e visited Fiji. 

 Darwin sailed through the group while on his voyage in the "Beagle" 

 but did not land. Dana spent three months among the islands and 

 his results are published as a volume of the report of the United 

 States Exploring Expedition under Commodore Charles Wilkes 

 (1844, pp. 337-352). Professor Dana (1853. p. 135) concluded that 

 while an uplift of 5 to 6 feet characterized the western portion of the 

 group, subsidence had taken place to the east. 



About the year 189G, .J. Stanley Gardiner (1898, pp. 495^90) of 

 Cambridge University, England, visited a large number of the islands. 

 He concluded that his observations atVorded, "strong reasons against 

 Darwin's and Dana's theories of the structure and formation of coral 

 reefs in general and those of Fiji in particular." From a study of the 

 island of Fulanga, one of the eastern group, he was led to believe with 

 Murray that lagoons may be formed "by the wearing and dissolving 

 action of sea water. " 



In 1897-98, Alexander Agassiz (1899, p. 43) visited the islands in 

 the steam yacht, " Yaralla." He saw evidence of uplift, rather than 



