44 



valley, and again to ascend to an equal if not greater 

 elevation than the one we were standing upon. We 

 passed through numerous small tracts of forest, all 

 of which seemed to have sprung up after land had 

 been cultivated. These were interspersed with open 

 pieces of land thickly covered with reeds. Although 

 we traversed this district in the dry season, — and the 

 locality is one of the driest in Fiji, — yet, judging from 

 the vegetation, the rainfall at some period of the year 

 must be considerable, probably amounting to from 

 80 to 90 inches per annum. I noticed on this journey, 

 and also in the vicinity of Pickering's Peak, that in 

 passing over the wooded mountain tops, showers and 

 fogs constantly occurred, and the vegetation was 

 dripping with moisture, while on the open grass land 

 at some distance from the woods, and at about the 

 same elevation, the dust was blowing on the paths, and 

 and the grass was perfectly dry. The streams 

 which were passed during this journey were affluents 

 of the Ba river, the sources of which we had traversed 

 until avc arrived at the top of the ravine or gorge at 

 the bottom of which the village of Nadrau is situated. 

 Boeks of sedimentary origin were the most abundant 

 kinds ; but volcanic breccia in the beds of a few streams 

 and also at Bilo was well represented. Basalt was 

 not uncommon, notably at a village about midway 

 between Nadrau and Bilo. The strata of the sedi- 

 mentary rocks on the tops of the ridges were generally 

 Lying in a horizontal position, and those on the sides 

 wrere more or less inclined. Several varieties of sedi- 

 mentary rocks abound in the province of Navosa, and 

 marble la Baid to have been discovered there. Near 

 tic village of Wai-wai these rocks form cliffs about 



