296 _H. B. GUPPY, M.B., 
Islands. The fruits of both float in salt-water,* but I do not 
know for how long; they, however, do not occur in the drift 
fruits of these islands. Then, again, Cycas circinalis, com- 
mon enough in some parts of this coast a little way in from 
the beach, is also unrepresented in the Cocos-Keeling Islands, 
though its fruits deprived of their fleshy covering occur 
there amongst the vegetable drift. I should here observe 
that these fruits are better fitted to be transported across 
wide tracks of ocean than a single experiment a few years 
ago in the Solomon Islands led me to believe. Then I 
found that out of ten green fruits picked off the same tree 
only one floated in salt-water. When, however, I repeated 
the experiment on the south coast of Java, I found that out 
of three green fruits all floated in sea-water, though heavily. 
After stripping the fleshy outer covering off one of these 
fruits I noticed that it floated more buoyantly; but by 
allowing it afterwards to dry for some time, I ascertained 
that its buoyancy was still greater, this being the condition 
in which these fruits are stranded on the beaches of the 
Cocos-Keeling Islands, where the crabs often break them 
open to get at the pulpy seedinside . . . . . Thereis 
another plant represented (though sparingly) on the south 
coast of Java, which does not occur in these islands, viz., 
Tacca pinnatifida. I ascertained that the freshly picked 
fruits float heavily in sea-water, whilst the seeds sink. 
In the following list I have enumerated the plants that 
came casually under my notice on the south coast of West 
Java. The asterisks denote those that are found in the 
Keeling Islands; and a single glance will be sufficient to 
convince one that the Keeling Islands have largely derived 
their plants from the adjacent coasts of the Indian Archi- 
pelago, of which the south coast of West Java may be 
taken as fairly typical as regards its littoral vegetation. 
Lirtorat Piants on Sourm Coast or West JAvA. 
(As observed casually by the Author.) 
*Calophyllum inophyllum, Linn. Cerbera odollam, Geertn. 
* Hibiscus tilaceus, Linn. Calotropis gigantea, R.Br. 
*Triumphetta subpalmata, Soland. *Tournefortia argentea, Linn. 
*Terminalia Catappa, Linn, *Ipomea pes capre, Roth (biloba, 
*Guettarda speciosa, Linn. Fork). 
*Scevola Kenigi, Vahl. *Premna obtusifolia, R.Br. 
* The fleshy seed of Crinwm asiaticwum has not the appearance of a 
seed that would float more than a week in salt-water. 
