GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN FIJI. 99 



INTRODUCTION 



Tlir main ohjcft of the expedition to Fiji was tlie study of the geol- 

 Ofiy of coral reefs. It was not possible therefore, in the allotted time, 

 to colUnt a series of iuneous rocks representative of the nature and 

 distril)ntion of the various types in the islands. Specimens were 

 collected, for the most part, from localities near the seashore where 

 they were associated with coral limestones. 



it will be evident in the discussion of the petrology of the islands, 

 that the solution of many important problems must await further 

 investigation. 



PREVIOUS WORK. 



Many travellers have collected rocks in Fiji from time to time, but 

 as few of these men were petrographers little has been written on the 

 petrology of the islands. One of the most important contributions 

 has been made by E. W. Skeats (1903). He added materially to the 

 knowledge of dolomitization throughout the group, by publishing a 

 long list of analyses of elevated limestones. 



Dana, Kleinschmidt, Graffe, Macdonald, Seeman, Home, and 

 Agassiz, all brought back extensive collections of rocks, but these 

 rocks were described by other investigators. Woolnough, Andrews, 

 Guppy, and Cochrane, alone have described their own specimens. 



The first detailed petrographic work on rocks from Fiji was done 

 by Arthur Wichmann, (18.S2). Wichmann described a series of rocks 

 collected by Th. Kleinschmidt (1879) during an expedition to the 

 islands in 1870-78. He also included in his paper, the description of 

 a smaller collection, made by Graffe (18()9) in the years 1862 and 18G5. 

 The rock types determined were as follows : — 



Members of the Challenger Expedition, wdiile anchored at the 

 port of Kandavu, collected a few rocks. These were described by 



