672 VEGETATION OF THE FEEJEE ISLANDS. 
where; but yams, wéi, are raised in large quantities, and are 
particularly fine. Cocoa-nuts, papaus, taro, lemons, and 
citrons are among their chief productions ; shaddocks make 
their appearance for the first time, but the Vi (Spondias dulcis) 
of the Society Islands is not abundant. 
The few specimens from Tanna were collected with a crowd 
of natives hallooing and capering after us, and sometimes with 
evidences of not the most friendly intentions. The New 
Hebrides is a group of much variety of physical character, as 
well as in the habits and language of its population. Hitherto 
these islands have been little visited, and at Tanna we saw 
scarcely any marks of communication with Europeans, and 
the description of Cook is graphic of its condition to the pre- 
sent day. There is here an active volcano, and at night we 
saw flames and smoke issuing from several spots on the high 
lands. The Botanist could be expected to accomplish little 
with a mass of natives crowded around him, inquisitive about 
every part of his dress, pulling at his buttons, thrusting their 
hands into his pockets, and thieving every thing movable. 
In such a state we spent a few hours at Tanna, and truly we 
had enough to do; whilst any attempt to resist their be- 
haviour would have drawn down on us the whole swarm of 
the population, as they were in all respects ripe for a scuffle. 
Tanna is not so closely invested with forest as neighbouring 
` islands, and large patches are bare and denuded of trees, 
which may arise from its volcanic state, and the abundance of 
sulphur in the subsoil. The natives brought us a few 
yams, plantains, molasses, apples, and some small tasteless 
figs ; but they had little to spare. 
Our stay at Carteret’s Harbour, New Ireland, was limited to 
a few days, during which we were visited by heavy and fre- 
quent tropical rains. Here, as elsewhere on this island, the 
land rises in rapid elevation to several hundred feet, even 
close to the shore. The surface is chiefly rocky, with only 
small quantities of soil collected in spots, or in the vallies 
bounding the streams ; and this almost entirely formed from 
decayed vegetation. By the testimony of Carteret, added 
