A BOTANICAL TOUR AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 133 
harbour, where I again had an opportunity of going ashore, and afterwards 
across to Pango Bay, in the neighbourhood of which I was very successful in 
my botanical discoveries. Mr. Kosh, a missionary, who resides there—the 
took me some six or seven miles inland. During my walk I found several 
splendid varieties of Hibiscus, two of which for their immense gorgeous flowers 
and compact habit are, I venture to say, the most beautiful of the. genus ever 
yet discovered. The larger flowering variety is of a glowing scarlet colour, 
the flowers averaging seven inches in diameter, and from the manner in which 
group of Casuarina éuieaitifblin. The bright scarlet of its ‘animate flowers 
Hill, Paramatta River, to whom I feel indebted for w discovery, he having 
visited Pango Bay, where he saw it some three or four years ago. I regretted 
much that my native guides would not venture further than a few miles inland 
from the Pango Bay side. One of them, a Rarotongan native teacher, who 
1 = e E 
co ood English, told me that to go further wou to never 
saeia as the natives were great cannibals, and exceedingly savage towards 
turning by a different track, we pas ri some ts of 
Celia and through some extensive plantations of the Cassava root of 
Western America (Jatropha Maniho t), and Tacca pinnatifida, of which the 
rts make arrowroot. Passing through a thicket, consisting principally of 
cardiaceous, Myrtaceous, and Araliaceous plants, we suddenly came u 
a ene village, in which an S prettily variegated, an Aralia and 
an Evodia, were growing in quantity around the houses. All are used medi- 
einally, particularly the Mer whieh is remarkable for its strong perfume 
This plant is to be found almost in every village throughout Polynesia. It has, 
I think, been introduced into the other islands from the rpm and e Fijis. 
Along the coast the vegetation principally consists of se s of 
Tanghinia, Pandanus, Excecaria, Hernandia, Cocos, rA , atopy, 
and others. The sends scrub was not s b donee 5 ear the coas und 
it at Havannah harbour. It consisted of giae genera of EES of which 
the more conspicuous were a Wollastonia, ie oon yellow flowers, and a 
Cineraria. Many varieties of Dracena (of which genus I must here remark I 
have seen upwards of a hundred varieties risum the eruise, and of which more 
than fifty were green-leafed), a Grewia, and a Jasmine, while a Portulaca 
and a Tatinum, together uem n verita. and several others carpeted 
the sandy beach in 
Port de France es No Caledonia, was the last port we visited pre- 
