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jock ; hut no sea-shells are discoverable in the stratum 

 occupied by the roots of trees. Interraixed with the 

 eudo;:;enous stems are others equally hollow, which 

 I think, must have been exogens. for some of the 

 roots ajipear to me to have an exogenous character. 

 In particular I observed one thick root which pe-,- 

 netrated several feet in a perpendicular direction di- 

 vided into two at the lower part ; but that the trees 

 were chieflly endogenous there can be no doubt, 

 The volcanic rocks washed by the sea at each tide, 

 stretching to the Eastern. Most point of the island 

 have scattered over them at various points remains of 

 the same stratum shewing the roots of trees and indi- 

 cating the continuation of the same forest ; and along 

 the beach more or less complete portions of the same 

 stratum with here and there a peifect stump are visi- 

 ble intermixed with numerous masses of loose coral 

 and sea-shells, all apparently of still existing species. 



On the ground above, covered with grass and her- 

 bage, scattered trunks of trees are still visible, some , 

 broken and lying on the surface ; and one of these four j 

 to five feet in length, and presenting the appearance of 

 the trunk of a palm. On the Eastern most point or is- 

 let are several entire stumps of trees and several in 

 the hollow filled with sand which separates this from 

 the island itself and is coyered at high tides by water. 



Passing the south-eastern point of the island towards 

 the west and looking towards Mauritius no further 

 traces of this formation are visible for a considerable 

 distance, the beach consisting of long spurs of volcanic 

 rock projecting into the sea, and washed by the tides, 

 surmounted by a sand bank ; but as we approach the 

 south-west point of the island traces more or less dis- 

 tinct of the same formation are visible forming an in- 

 terrupted rocky ledge on which the remains of stumps 

 of trees may still be traced ; but by no means so dis- 

 tinctly as on the opposite side of the island. 



This very curious and interesting formation is in ra- 

 pid process of destruction by the action of the violent 

 *urf which beats on the eastern and southern sides of 

 the island ; and it is probable that ere long it will en- 

 tirely disappear. The long narrow spur of this forma<- 



