204 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



(i) the collection of terrestrial pulmonate gasteropods of the genus 

 Partula from as wide an area of the island as possible, for the 

 acquisition of data relating to the geographical distribution of the 

 Tahitian species, and relating to the effect of geographical isola- 

 tion as a factor in specific evolution ; (2) the determination of data 

 relating to the inheritance of various specific characters, such as 

 the color and form of the shell, the direction of the shell's twist, 

 etc. ; the viviparous habits of these snails render material 

 collected for the first purpose available also for the second ; and 

 (3) the study of the habits of these forms so that living speci- 

 mens could be brought back to New York and established for 

 extended experiments upon the course of inheritance in pure and 

 mixed breeds. 



Leaving San Francisco on February 3, Papeete, the main 

 town of the island of Tahiti, was reached on February 15. It was 

 foimd on arrival that a terrific cyclone and tidal wave had 

 occurred in that region of the South Seas on February 7 and 8, 

 causing great damage everywhere and great loss of life in the low 

 outlying coral atolls. In Tahiti, the coast roads had been badly 

 washed, making travel uncertain, while in the interior damage 

 to the forests had made many regions quite difficult to explore. 

 These conditions naturally interfered somewhat with the collec- 

 tion of material. 



Headquarters were established at Papeete, on the north- 

 western coast of the island, and during the greater part of the 

 stay of six weeks collecting trips were made from that town as a 

 base. Ten days were spent at Papara, on the south side of 

 Tahiti, the seat of ancient tribal government ; and here our hosts, 

 Chief Tati Salmon and his family, offered every facility for the 

 furtherance of the purposes of the expedition. 



Geologically the Society Islands consist of a series of volcanic 

 peaks, each surrounded by a more or less complete coral-reef, 

 trending from southeast to northwest. Tahiti and its near 

 neighbor Moorea form the extreme southeastern elements of this 

 range. The island of Tahiti is double, consisting of a main peak 

 twenty miles across, rising to a height of 8,000 feet, and a lesser 

 element about eight miles in diameter, these two being joined 

 by an isthmus of low lands. Each of these elements is cut 



