130 A BOTANICAL TOUR AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 
islands that there is a traditional story among the Tanese to the effect that a 
number of natives, among whom were several great chiefs, were once looking 
down, when the mountain, displeased with the acts of the latter, caused the 
side upon which they were standing to give way, and all were precipitated into 
aee be seen a huge burn rnin g mass, m raced only a few feet below this 
and the explosion forces into the air, several hundred feet higher than the tup 
of the crater, tons of burning lava, in pieces varying from the size of a marble 
to several hundredweight. Sometimes the lava comes down vertically, but 
various forms by reason of its soft doughy nature. I should have remained at 
least an hour, gazing in wonder and admiration at this most sublime spectacle, 
but, unfortunately, a strong south-westerly affected the regions below, and the 
air was at once filled with a dense sulphurous smoke which was almost unbear- 
wandered over the vegetation. Strange to say, the Commodore at the time of 
his visit discovered a small Fern near to the mouth of the erater, which was 
the only serap of vegetation, living or dead, within at least a € and a half of 
it. This Fern, although not yet in seed, I believe to be a new Nephrolepis ; 
but whatever generic name for it we may be able to deine it shall bear 
the specific one Lamberti, in honour of its discoverer. 
During my gor to hn Talasa ; found several new amd interesting 
E y toil 
two of Jranthemum - 
n 8, 
some ramble in the forenoon, some eight or ten miles into the interior, E found, 
what, without doubt, for beauty and magnificence is unequalled in the flora of 
Polynesia, and perhaps not surpassed for eleganee and splendour in any part of 
the wor It wasa single tree of a species of Inocarpus, growing to about Ie 
feet, protubly its full height, its leaves were long and graceful, and of so in 
"— e heat sns scarcely less so, as to almost charm me as I i 
iie it in silent admiration But, alas! there were neither seeds, seedlings, 
nor suckers. In vain did I look for them and for other specimens of the tree, 
where they could be found? The natives indicated by signs and a few words 
of broken English that there were other trees of it upon the other side of the 
mountain, but were we to venture further the natives would kill me. I had, 
therefore, to content myself with euttings, whieh I helped myself to pretty 
freely, but which, I regret to say, in spite of all my care, died a week or two 
after we left Tana. Myg uides and myself rested for half an hour beneath 
that most barres and indescribable object (with reluctance I left it), whose 
foliage in the bright sun cast over us a shade of golden yellow. Ihad heard of 
