332 TRANSACTIONS AND PKOCEEDIXGS OF THE [Sess. lix. 



and there is very little soil, composed of limestone debris, 

 with a scanty clothing of vegetation. There is no fresh 

 water on the islets. 



The west coast of the Black Pdver district, to which Les 

 Benitiers belong, has a much drier climate than that of 

 other parts of Mauritius, on account of its being situated 

 on the leeward side of the island, and, therefore, sheltered 

 from the prevailing moisture-laden south-east trade wind, 

 which blows during the greater part of the year. The 

 mean annual temperature in the shade is about 75° Fahr. ; 

 and the mean annual rainfall at AVolmar, in this district, is 

 only 2 8 '3 4 inches, whereas at Cluny, in the district of 

 Grand Port, on the windward side of Mauritius, it is 

 144*24 inches. 



In company witli Mr. William Scott, Assistant-Director 

 of Woods and Forests in Mauritius, I visited Les Benitiers, 

 on 20th January 1890, and botanised on both islets. 



FLORA OF NORTH ISLET. 



On the north islet I found 1 3 species of plants. The 

 following table shows the number of species in each of the 

 three divisions of the vegetable kingdoms : — 



Of the 10 native species of plants, the Dicotyledons 

 include 6 species, or three - fifths of the total number. 

 There is only one species of Monocotyledons, so that these 

 are only in the proportion of one to six of the Dicotyledons, 

 whereas in the flora of Mauritius, they are in the pro- 

 portion of one to two of the Dicotyledons. The 10 native 

 species belong to 8 natural orders. Solanaceae and Filices 

 include 2 species each, and the remaining 6 natural orders 

 1 species each. 



