436 KEELING ISLAND. [CHAI-. xx. 



wood. A beach of glittering white sand formed a border to these 

 fairy spots. 



I will now give a sketch of the natural history of these islands, 

 which, from its very paucity, possesses a peculiar interest. The 

 cocoa-nut tree, at the first glance, seems to compose the whole 

 wood; there are, however, five or six other trees. One of these 

 grows to a very large size, but, from the extreme softness of its 

 wood, is useless; another sort affords excellent timber for ship- 

 building. Besides the trees, the number of plants is exceedingly 

 limited, and consists of insignificant weeds. In my collection, 

 which includes, I believe, nearly the perfect Flora, there are twenty 

 species, without reckoning a moss, lichen, and fungus. To this 

 number two trees must be added ; one of which was not in flower, 

 and the other I only heard of. The latter is a solitary tree of its 

 kind, and grows near the beach, where, without doubt, the one 

 seed was thrown up by the waves. A Guilandina also grows on 

 only one of the islets. I do not include in the above list the sugar- 

 cane, banana, some other vegetables, fruit-trees, and imported 

 grasses. As the islands consist entirely of coral, and at one time 

 must have existed as mere water-washed reefs, all their terrestrial 

 productions must have been transported here by the waves of the 

 sea. In accordance with this, the Florula has quite the character 

 of a refuge for the destitute : Professor Henslow informs rne that of 

 the twenty species nineteen belong to different genera, and these 

 again to no less than sixteen families ! * 



In Holman's t Travels an account is given, on the authority of 

 Mr. A. S. Keating, who resided twelve months on these islands, of 

 the various seeds and other bodies which have been known to have 

 been washed on shore. " Seeds and plants from Sumatra and Java 

 have been driven up by the surf on the windward side of the 

 islands. Among them have been found the Kimiri, native of 

 Sumatra and the peninsula of Malacca; the cocoa-nut of Balci, 

 known by its shape and size ; the Dadass, which is planted by the 

 Malays with the pepper-vine, the latter intwining round its trunk, 

 and supporting itself by the prickles on its stem ; the soap-tree ; the 

 castor-oil plant ; trunks of the sago palm ; and various kinds of seeds 

 unknown to the Malays settled on the islands. These are all sup- 



* These plants are described in the Anuals of Nat. Hist., vol. i., 1838. 

 p. 337. 

 t Holman's Travels, vol. iv. p. 378. 



