DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPEDITION. 153 
islands we visited, though there are great groves in the Maldives. Land-collecting with 
the sun overhead was tiring work and monotonous, as there were the same classes of 
animals and plants as found in all the other islands, our only unusual forms being a 
land-shell of microscopical size and the green lizard previously obtained at Farquhar. 
After a successful day’s dredging on the edge of the bank, we anchored to the north 
of Darros, remaining for two nights. This island, about a mile in length, is a mass of 
sand and small fragments of coral, piled up by the waves almost to the edge of an oval- 
shaped reef. ‘To the north was a low casuarina-covered dune, on which the settlement 
was placed. Against the sea was a thick belt of the usual scrub with a few small 
coconuts behind ; inside it had evidently been burnt. “ A thirsty and dry land where 
_ no water is.” 
St. Joseph, which is separated from Darros by a channel of about 4 cables breadth, 
_ was a day’s excursion. It is an oval-shaped atoll about 33} miles long by 2 broad, with 
eight islets on its rim; the lagoon is a pool in the centre with 1 to 4 fathoms of water, 
13 miles long by } broad, surrounded by bare muddy flats leading to the lands. We 
went off in the steamboat, but had to crowd into the skiff, the passage not being 
sufficiently deep for her to enter. Crossing the west reef, we found outside a certain 
amount of branching coral and coral-heads, with much weed, sponge, and soft corals. 
This gradually merged into the reef, which at its very indefinite edge was a mass of 
grass (Cymodocea) holding the sand together at its roots. Its surface behind was all 
grass up to the lagoon, with sandy pools of 3 to 6 feet deep, their sides held up by roots. 
It resembled that of Farquhar and Coetivy, but with Cymodocea still more dominant. 
The islands could all be visited from any point by wading. They were all sand 
merging into similar reefs outside and mud-flats within. The first one visited was 
_ Fouquet, which we could see was washing away on its lagoon side. It was planted all 
_ over with coconuts, but the most remarkable surface-feature about it was the extraordinary 
- quantity of small cockle-shells everywhere, even forming up to 50 per cent. of its 
- outgrowing seaward shore. A vast number of black ‘foquet” (Puffinus tenuirostris) 
had made it their home. ‘They build their nests in the ground, sometimes under heaps 
_ of coconut-leaves, but more often in oval burrows excavated in the sand, which they 
make by scraping with the feet, the curved beak assisting by digging and pulling out 
_ roots and small stones. The end part is rather more hollowed out, and in it a single 
_ white egg is laid. The bird will not leave easily; when disturbed it rushes over the 
_ ground with wings outspread, but does not rise until at the edge of the beach, where it 
~ ean get a good “ take off.” 
Wading to St. Joseph Island we made a detour to avoid the current-swept channel 
around its east end, where the settlement is placed. On our way we picked up several 
_ black-lipped mother-of-pearl shells, and large numbers of tiger and other cowries, which 
q were in great demand on board. We then zigzagged along St. Joseph, which has no hills 
_ or dunes such as were shown on the chart. It was formed of sand, as, indeed, were all the 
islands, with small coral- and shell-fragments piled up by the waves, no part being more 
than 6 or 7 feet above the high-tide level. In some places to seaward it was washing 
away, but on the whole would appear to be growing outwards. The lagoon side is all 
22* 
