200 Cruise of the '■^ Alert.'''' 



the dry season, which among these islands is supposed to be 

 their time for hybernating. 



One day, when exploring in company with Haswell, we found 

 portions of the carapace and pincer-clavv of a land-crab (most 

 likely a species of Geograpsus), an animal not previously recorded 

 from the islands. On examining the beds of dry mountain gullies, 

 and digging into sand-choked crevices between spurs of rock, 

 where a certain amount of moisture existed, I subsequently obtained 

 several live specimens. No doubt, during the wet season they 

 might be more easily obtained. 



Thursday Island possesses six species of land shells. They are 

 Helix Kreffti, H. Delcssertiana, H. Spaldingi, H. Biixtoni, Bulimus 

 Beddomei, and HeUcina reticulata. During our stay the island was 

 fired, in order to remove the " spear-grass," which is so destructive 

 to cattle. The fire spread over the whole island, and continued 

 to rage for several days, consuming not only all the grass, but 

 also a great quantity of scrub, and laying bare a vast extent of 

 arid stony surface. It was now an easy matter to collect land- 

 shells, for they lay dead in prodigious numbers on the bare 

 summits of the hills as well as in the hollows, gullies, and other 

 more likely places. 



This fire was a great blow to my hopes of collecting plants, 

 almost all the herbaceous ones and many of the creepers having 

 been consumed or shrivelled up by the heat of the conflagration. 

 After much trouble I succeeded in obtaining five species of ferns, 

 which I fancy is not far short of the entire number. Among 

 these were the Nephrolepis acuta, Pulcea nitida, Polypodiuui querci- 

 folium, Lindsay a ensifolia, and the common Australian form, 

 Lygodimn scandcns. 



The avifauna of the different islands is, as might be expected, 

 of a similar character to, and differs very little, if at all, from that 

 of the adjoining part of the mainland of Australia. The list of 

 birds includes species of the genera Campcphaga, Ptilotis, Pachy- 

 cephala, Myzomcla, Nectarinia, Dicanm, Tric/iogloss?is, Artamus, 



