28o FIJI ISLANDS. 



imported labourers, concerning whom so much has been 

 written. 



About Viti there is an abundance of large Fruit-Pigeons, of 

 the pigeons with purple heads, identical with those of Tonga- 

 tabu {Ptilinopus porphyi-aceiis) ; also of the " Kula " {Doniicella 

 so/if aria), and the " Kaka" {Flatycercus splendens). The Kaka 

 attacks the sugar-canes, and does considerable damage. There 

 are some huge fig-trees at Viti, with the typical plank-like roots 

 and compound stems. Here also grow one or two cocoanut- 

 trees, which are rarities so far up the river, for at the inland 

 villages along the river there are no cocoanut-trees, and a 

 regular trade is carried on by the natives in bringing the nuts 

 up the river from the coast, in canoes, to barter them with 

 the inland people. 



The Black Rat and Norway Rat are abundant at Viti, and 

 there is also a native Field Mouse, according to Mr. Storck, 

 but I could not procure one in our short available time. I do 

 not know whether a field-mouse is known from Fiji. A large 

 freshwater Prawn is common, and is caught for eating by the 

 Fijian women, and in their baskets I saw also an Eel {Muncna). 



A red stratified sandstone, with a slight inclination of its 

 strata, is exposed in section opposite Mr. Storck's house. It is 

 said to contain no fossils. An exactly similar rock is exposed 

 at various spots for several miles down the river. 



On the way down the river, the barge constantly grounded 

 on shoals, our pilot, Joe, knowing nothing of the upper part 

 of the river. We had to strip our clothes off constantly and 

 jump overboard to shove the boat over the shallows, but at last 

 it stuck fast, and had to remain in that condition till the tide 

 came up and turned again. Joe, the pilot, cautioned us about 

 jumping over into the water, as he said there were sharks. A 

 shark, about three feet long, is common as far up as Mr. Storck's 

 plantation, and large sharks are believed to be common in the 

 lower parts of the stream, and are mentioned in Jackson's 

 Narrative, in the appendix to Capt. Erskine's " Islands of the 

 Western Pacific," as often taking down natives in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Rewa. At Nadawa, however, Mr. Page had 

 never seen one, and 1 saw women there constantly standing 

 up to their necks in the water, collecting freshwater clams 

 ( Unio), evidently without fear. 



The Shark of the Wai Levu is Carcharias gangeticiis, found 

 also in the Tigris at Bagdad, 350 miles distant in a straight 

 line from the sea, where it attains a length of 2| feet. It is 

 common in large rivers in India. It breeds in fresh water in 

 Viti Levu, inhabiting a lake shut off from the sea by a cataract.* 

 * " Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist.," Ser. 4, Vol. IV., No. 79, July 1874, p. 36. 



