THE AUSTRALIAN GREAT BARRIER REEE. irg 



a very fair building stone, but it got softer below, till it passed downwards into a coarser coral 

 sand, unconsolidated and falling to pieces on being touched. In the quarries that were opened next 

 year for the beacon, many recent shells, more or less perfect, were found compacted in the 

 stone, and one or two nests of turtle eggs were discovered, of which in some cases only the 

 internal cast had been preserved, but in others the shell remained in the form of white 

 carbonate of lime. Some dusty cavities also were found in the stone, containing crystals of 

 gypsum, or sulphate of lime. The presence of this mineral seems very odd, as I do not see 

 whence the sulphuric acid could proceed. It is evident from the fossil turtle eggs that the 

 consolidation of the stone had taken place after it was raised above the sea. It was due, 

 probably, to the infiltration of the rain water percolating through the calcareous sand, that 

 had been gradually piled above high-water mark by the combined action of the wind and 

 waves. The thickness of the vegetable soil in its centre shows that it has been above water 

 for a great length of time. 



"The whole surface of the island was covered with old and young birds. These consisted 

 of frigate-birds, boobies, gannets, noddies, and black and white terns, the only land birds being 

 landrails. The frigate-birds had a small colon}- for themselves ; their nests consisted of a 

 platform about a foot high, in each of which was one young bird. There were young of all 

 ages — some able to fly, others just hatched, and covered with yellowish-white down. Those 

 which could not fly assumed a fierce aspect as we approached, and snapped their beaks at us. 

 The boobies and gannets each formed separate flocks, but few of them had either eggs or 

 young ones. All the rest of the island was covered with the eggs and young ones of the terns 

 and noddies. The terns' eggs lay scattered about the ground without any nest, and how each bird 

 found its own again among so many was a marvel to us. The young terns were also of all 

 ages, some fluttering up into the air from under our feet, others just hatched. Each one seemed 

 unalterably attached to the spot where it had been hatched, and immediately returned to it on 

 being driven off. We had picked a clean spot on the sand, just on the top of the beach, for 

 our bivouac ; but there was one young tern there, a few days old, that we could not keep away 

 from among our things, and the old one kept hovering and sailing and screaming, just above our 

 heads, to look after it. The whole island stank like a foul hen-roost, and we were covered 

 with bird-lice and ticks after sleeping in the sand. We dined upon young boobies and frigate- 

 birds and terns' eggs — the latter were excellent, and the former very good, especially when 

 cooked with a little curry powder. As night closed in, it was curious to see the long lines 

 and flocks of birds streaming from all quarters of the horizon towards the island. The noise 

 was incessant and tiresome. On walking rapidly into the centre of the island, countless 

 myriads of birds rose shrieking on every side, so that the clangour was absolutely deafening, 

 like the roar of some great cataract." 



Raine Island has within recent years been turned to profitable commercial account. The 



