NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 253 



westwards (see fig. 99). At the margin of this lower tract a small low secondary cliff has 

 .been formed by the waves. Steep slopes of debris lead to the settlement above from the 

 cliffs, here and there broken into ledges and deep gullies, by which ascent to the 

 summit is easy. At the landing-place the beach is formed of black volcanic sand, but 

 elsewhere in the neighbourhood, of coarse basaltic boulders. 



The cliffs have a scanty covering of green, derived mainly from grasses, sedges, mosses, 

 and ferns, with darker patches of the peculiar trees of the island [Phylica nitida), and 

 the Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum, var. rubrum) ; these dark patches become more and 

 more marked towards the summit. Conspicuous patches of bright green are formed 

 under the cliffs at the foot of the water-courses by a Dock (Rumex frutescens). Further, 

 dotted about amongst the other herbage, are rounded tufts of pale bluish-green, consisting 

 of the tall reed-like Tussock Grass (Spartina arundinacea), which is peculiar to the Tristan 

 da Cunha group, St. Paul and Amsterdam Islands. On nearer inspection the damp foot of 

 the cliff is found to be covered with Mosses and Liverworts, which latter form, in favourable 

 situations, continuous green sheets covering the earth beneath the grass. Many Ferns were 

 collected ; Asplenium obtusatum, growing in the clefts of the rocks, just as does our home 

 Asplenium marinum, and Lomaria alpina growing abundantly under the cliffs. 1 The 

 Lomaria plants, where situated on stony slopes, and comparatively starved, were all pro- 

 vided with fertile fronds, whilst when growing in rich vegetable mould, they were commonly 

 without fructification. The commonest flowering plants under the cliffs are Wild Celery 

 (Apium austrcde) — a plant abundant here, in Tierra del Fuego, and in the Falkland Islands, 

 — the Crowberry [Empetrum nigrum, var. rubrum), the common Sow-thistle (Sonchus 

 oleraceus), a cosmopolitan weed, — and a plant with strongly scented leaves (Chenopodium 

 tomentosum), called " tea" by the islanders, and used as such, a decoction of the leaves 

 being drunk with milk and sugar. Creeping amongst the damp moss is the narrow- leaved 

 plant with small bright red berries (Nertera depressa), so common in English conservatories. 



The streams running down the cliffs, which vary from violent dashing cascades in 

 rain time, to narrow rills fed only by the melting of the snow above in dry weather, 

 were small at the time of the ship's visit ; the water soaks into the banks of sand at the 

 foot of the cliffs and on the shores, and is mostly lost, but in some places reappears in the 

 shape of shallow freshwater ponds close to the sea beach. The water of the streams had 

 a temperature of 50°, whilst that of the ponds was higher, 54°. The temperature of the 

 lower regions of the island is no doubt constantly reduced by the descent of the cold 

 water from the snow far above ; in the gully above the settlement, shrubs of Phylica 

 nitida commence at about 400 feet elevation. . The trees in this locality have all been 

 cut down for firewood, but there is still plenty of wood on the island. Phylica nitida 

 is a species found in the Tristan da Cunha group, Gough Island, and in the far-off island 

 of Amsterdam, 3000 miles distant; as well as in Bourbon, Mauritius, and perhaps Mada- 



1 For detailed list, see Bot. Chall. Exp., part iii. pp. 162-170, 1884. 



