CHAPTER VII. 



PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDS. THE CROZET ISLANDS. 



Appearance and Formation of Marion Island. Vegetation of the Island. 

 Azorclla selago. Limit of Vegetation in Altitude. Relations of the 

 Flora. Former Extension of Land in this Region. Nesting of the 

 Great Albatross. Mode of Courtship. Skuas. "Johnny" Pen- 

 guins. Rock Hoppers. Rookeries of King Penguins. Absurd 

 appearance of the Young Birds. Singular Mode of Incubation. 

 Habits of Sheath-bills. Appearance of the Crozet Islands. Tree- 

 trunks found in the Island by former Voyagers. 



Marion Island, December 26th, 1873. — Marion Island, which 

 with the smaller island of Prince Edward makes up the Prince 

 Edward Group, was sighted on the evening of December 25th. 

 The centre of Marion Island is in lat. 46° 52' S., long. 37° 45' E., 

 that of Prince Edward Island in lat. 46° 36' S., long. 37° 57' E., 

 the City of Lyons being in a nearly corresponding latitude in 

 the northern hemisphere. 



The islands are distant from the Crozets (which lie a little 

 to the north or west of them, and are the nearest land) 450 

 miles. The African continent is distant from them about 960 

 miles, the nearest point being about Cape Recife at Algoa 

 Bay. From Kerguelen's Land the Marion Islands are distant 

 about 1,200 miles, from Lindsay and Bouvet Islands about 

 1,400 miles, from Tristan da Cunha and Gough Islands about 

 2,150 miles ; and, lastly, from the Falkland Islands and Fuegia 

 (to which, in common with all the other Antarctic islands 

 hitherto examined, except the Campbell and Auckland group, 

 they are in their flora most nearly related) they are distant 

 about 4,500 geographical miles. 



The islands lie, as do the Crozets and Kerguelen's Land, 

 well within the course of the Antarctic drift, which, fusing with 

 the Cape Horn current, sweeps in an easterly direction across 

 the Antarctic sea and further within the broad belt of prevalent 

 westerly winds. The combined action of the winds and the 

 current have, no doubt, brought about in greater part the dif- 

 fusion of the Fuegian and Falkland Island plants to the islands 

 lying eastward of them ; but it is possible that the multitude 



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