DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPEDITION 



former squeezes all the naturally occurring or indigenous trees out of existence, and 

 the pungency of the leaves of the latter trees is destructive to all plants and animals 

 around them. In any islands it is inadvisable to allow the destruction of the main 

 jungles on the hilltops, until some method of replanting them has been found to be 

 practically successful. 



There were also certain islands requiring investigation which the "Sealark" was 

 unable to visit in 1905. Chief of these were Aldabra, Assumption, Astove and 

 Cosmoledo, lying to the west of Farquhar on almost the same line of latitude. These 

 had been visited by Voeltzkow, and the Hon. Walter Rothschild had had collectors at 

 Aldabra. Beyond birds we practically know little of the fauna of that latter island 

 but that little indicates a number of peculiar species. There may be collections at 

 Thring but they have not so far as we are aware been examined. I also found 

 peculiar sand on produce from Aldabra, and accordingly judging it to be of more than 

 ordinary interest added it to our area for investigation. 



We have already referred briefly to our previous work in the Seychelles (pp. 159- 

 162). The second time we were accompanied by Mr H. Scott, B.A., as Entomologist, 

 and Mr J. C. F. Fryer, B.A., as Zoologist, etc., to go to Aldabra. We left England 

 on June 23, 1908, arriving at Victoria, Mahe, on July 12. Unfortunately there was 

 some little smallpox in the native quarters at Aden, and, although all the people have 

 been vaccinated in accordance with the laws of the Colony, and there is, or should 

 hence be, no fear, we were placed for 10 days in quarantine at Long island. This 

 island is an oval granite mass of about 100 acres, 297 feet high. It is covered all 

 over with coconuts having coarse grass beneath, and around its shores a few screw 

 pines, and other of the commoner shore trees such as Hibiscus tiliaceus, Calophyllum 

 Inophyllum, Terminalia Catappa, Guettarda speciosa, Morinda citrifolia, and Hernandia 

 peltata. It stands on a reef with Cerf, Moyenne and Round islands, all parts of which 

 we visited without at that time going above tide-marks. We collected the insects of 

 the island thoroughly, getting little variety but a representative lot of the ordinary 

 forms which inhabit the areas of cultivation. We also secured a good series of the 

 Nernertean, Geonemertes arboricola, described by Punnett (pp. 57-62), which otherwise 

 we only obtained in the mountains of Mahe. The land plants were of course collected 

 as well as the seaweeds. The enforced detention was probably of peculiar value to 

 Fryer in view of his subsequent work on other coral reefs. 



On July 23 the Governor, W. E. Davidson, Esq., C.M.G., from whom we received 

 throughout the greatest kindness and hospitality, placed the Government cutter " Wave" 

 at our disposal to take Fryer to Bird island. She then returned to Victoria, a fortnight 

 later visiting Fryer and bringing him to Dennis, whence he returned to Victoria on 

 Messrs Said and Co.'s trading ship on Aug. 17. These two islands had been seen by 

 us in 1905, but we only dredged between them without landing owing to lack of 

 time. They are both of coral formation and lie on the north edge of the whole 

 Seychelles bank, distant 60 miles from Victoria and 27 miles from one another (map, 

 fig. 46). Their particular interest rests on the fact that they are the only land and 

 surface reefs on the edge of the Seychelles bank, which is about 650 square miles in 



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