INSULAR AUSTRALASIA. 



1255 



the eastward it consists merely of coral patches of greater or less extent, with or without 

 islands upon them, between which vessels from the eastward, coming Jn under a clear 

 sky, find easy* entrance, but the navigation in those parts is dangerous in thick weather. 

 In addition to the great barrier, nearly every island has an encircling reef of its own, 

 many of which have commodious passages through them, and afford excellent harbours to 

 a vessel that gets on the right side of them, but they are very dangerous- to the 

 mariner who is caught by bad weather on the wrong side. The general outline of the 

 Islands is bold and striking. They look like, what perhaps they are, the mountain-tops 

 of a sunken continent. Nowhere does Nature present a more beautiful picture than one 



LEVUKA, THE ISLAND OF OVALAU, FIJI GROUP. 



of the larger islands as approached from seaward on a sunny day. The bold back- 

 ground of wooded hills, with intervening valleys cut out by the numerous water-courses, 

 or torn out by volcanic cleavage, the fringe of palms on the beach, with the brown 

 roofs of the native villages peeping out of the green foliage, bordered by the narrow 

 strip of " ribbed sea-sand," the still waters of the lagoon with their varied colours, and 

 the white ring of encircling surf, present a picture of marvellous beauty. But it is 

 always the same ; the eye soon becomes satiated with it, and longs for the changing 

 loveliness of an English landscape. As a general rule, the soil is not of good quality 

 excepting on the river deltas, and the flats caused by the running streams ; but scattered 

 throughout the Group there is a large area of fruitful soil capable of bearing in abun- 

 dance all sub-tropical products, and where good judgment is used in the selection of 

 plantation grounds, the soil responds liberally to the demands of the planter. 



