DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPEDITION, 1138 
the place, established large workshops, built roads, cleared the forests, divided up the 
island, and generally developed its agricultural resources. Like so many of the English 
empire-builders in the East, he ended his career after his return in persecution and 
poverty, and his policy was reversed in every particular. Under the French Government 
the island flourished again, and at the end of the century had a population of about 
65,000. It still continued to progress in the first years of the nineteenth century, but 
during the Napoleonic wars became a favourite station for privateers from which to prey 
on English commerce, as well as a dockyard for the repair of French vessels. Accordingly, 
the British Government determined on an expedition for its reduction, and it capitulated 
in 1810, its possession by England being confirmed finally by the Treaty of Paris in 1814. 
It suffices further merely to mention that on the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. 
Indian labour was introduced for the estates, and that the present population of the 
island is upwards of 390,000. The language and laws are by agreement French until 
1910. 
Before the opening of the Suez Canal, Mauritius was an island of great importance to 
_this country as a calling-station for ships and as a fortified base on the trade-routes to 
India and China. Partly owing to the canal and partly to changed conditions of warfare 
it now has even a less value than the Seychelles. Yet it has always been well-known 
and full of interest to scientific men. With Rodriguez it was the home of the Dodo and 
Solitaire, whose deaths have been the theme of many pathetic complaints. In Bourbon 
too there was a third bird of larger size, which had also lost its power of flight. There 
is now no question of any land-connection being requisite to explain the presence of 
these birds in the Mascarenes, their ancestors having been birds of powerful flight; but 
some students of geographical distribution require a land connection at least up to the 
Middle Secondary period to explain the existence of land-tortoises, of certain molluscs, 
and of many plants. In their main characteristics the indigenous land flora and fauna of 
the three islands are quite peculiar. Their variety of life is relatively large, larger at any 
rate than would be expected on purely oceanic islands. This is the more remarkable if 
it owes its existence to marine transport, because the islands are bathed mainly by 
currents setting west or north-west, so that only exceptionally could animals or plants 
arrive from Madagascar. The shore-organisms do not differ materially from those of 
coral-islands in the vicinity, the coast-lands being rich in lime. The island-forms, 
however, living on the volcanic soil are nearly all of peculiar species and many of 
peculiar genera. 
When first discovered, all the Mascarene Islands were uninhabited, but now Mauritius 
has a dense population. It is scarcely conceivable that any part of its forests has not 
been destroyed sometime or other by axe or fire, and in addition introduced animals and 
plants have largely aided in the destruction of its indigenous life. In such circumstances 
any proper study of its organisms in relation to their environment would seem useless, 
but we thought it desirable to see for ourselves, as far as possible, the general structure 
and condition of the island. Besides excursions into the Pouce Mountains and along 
the coast from Port Louis, we explored the central tableland up to and around Curepipe 
(1806 feet), and one of us (Gardiner) made an excursion into the jungle towards the 
Le 
