THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OF BENGAL. 47 



which they built; the houses, aud enclosed their gardens and fields ; 

 every path has disappeared. On Car Nicobar I saw these grassy 

 plains partially cut down, because the natives use the grass for 

 thatching their houses ; and on Camorta large strips were in flame. 



" The grass vegetation, says Kink (loc. cit., p. 136) which to the 

 gi'eatest extent covers these islands is, in the valleys at the base 

 of the hills, very thick and high ; it becomes, however, higher up, 

 thinner and shorter. On the places which are sufficiently damp 

 many soft grasses may occur rich in juice ; but on the tops of hills, 

 where the dry magnesian claystone locally penetrates through the 

 scanty layers of soil, and is also partly covered with a coarse 

 ferruginous sand, while the showers of rain carry all the finer 

 particles which may be produced by decomposition into the valleys, 

 there, as a rule, only dry and rough siliceous Graminecd and 

 Cyperace<s are to be met with. 



" The area which may, therefore, in future be successfully 

 cultivated is that of the southern islands, composed of sandstone 

 and slate, producing a fertile argillaceous sandy soil. On Little and 

 Great Nicobar with the small Islands Pulo Milu and Kondul, the 

 hilly land may be estimated at nearly two-thirds of the total area. 

 These islands are therefore in point of colonization the most 

 important, and a comparison with Ceylon and Pulo Penang shows 

 what could thrive where now impenetrable primeval forest covers 

 the whole surface. 



" Primeval forest. — This is of great extent, and the coast inhabit- 

 ants of Great Nicobar tell of the existence of a wild tribe, forest- 

 men, ("jungle-men") with long hair, inhabiting small huts or 

 trees, and living upon honey, roots, and game. But no European 

 eye has yet sighted these forest-people." 



II. — Diary of our Trip. 



It was about 3 p.m. of the 1st of March that we got fairly 

 off. Steaming slowly down the Hooghly, little, as might have 

 been expected, was to be seen in the bird line, except innumerable 

 Kites, mostly govinda, as I identify Sykes' Bird, with a few 

 ajjflnis, intermingled, but no major. This too is exactly the case 

 in the streets of Calcutta, where I have been for some months past 

 closely scrutinizing the myriads of Kites one sees daily, and which 

 are ten times more numerous in our streets than Sparrows are in 

 those of Loudon. Here and there a Brahminy Kite (H. indus) 

 in brilliant white and chestnut garb, and with a more aquiline 

 flight, contrasted with the sombre Milvi, but beyond these and 

 a pair or two of Crow r s (C. impudicus) and Mynahs (J. tristis) 

 perched on the rigging of some of the anchored ships that we 

 passed, not a single bird came in view. At sunset we anchored 



