436 THE LACCADIVES AND THE WEST COAST. 
them catch any others) are a common prey of this Pseudo 
Lamprey. 
But enough of crabs, there were plenty of them, and species 
Galore, goodness knows, but not one solitary individual big 
enough to be worth eating ! 
The sea beach was strewed with large bunches of a delicate 
snow-white jointed coraline (Isis hippuris) that looked as if it 
would have formed an appropriate moss for the arctic regions. 
The shallows were full of shells, huge massive Cones, enormous 
Tiger-claw shells (Péeroceras lambis), with their beautiful wide 
spreading glossy pink lips. Cowries of many species, amongst 
them some very large tiger shells (Cyprea tigris), deep red 
King Conks (Cassis rufa), Olives Cerithium, Murex, Mitra, 
Nassa, Natica, Nerita, Trochus, Volvorina. I know but little 
of shells, and shall now only add once for all that from our 
cruise, we brought back over 100 species of univalves of which 
at least 12 were new, and a still larger number, I think, of 
bivalves, all of which will be duly dealt with by Mr. Nevill of 
the Indian Museum. 
February 16th.—We tried hard last night to reach Chitlac, we 
steered two points to the north of it, and that was within about 
6 points of the wind, which is the closest that the “ Clyde” can 
ever manage. Well, the breeze was fresh, and about 11-30 P.M., 
Chitlac turned up 2 points on the weather bow, and it appeared 
that, in making 32 miles, this blessed old saucer-bottomed use- 
less tub had sagged 12 miles to leeward, an achievement more 
remarkable than gratifying. 
Of course, in such a craft there is no beating up dead to 
windward, and we had reluctantly to give up all hopes of Chitlac 
and go on to Kiltan. It was in this and similar cases that we 
felt so strongly the loss of steam power; but our screw was 
now hopelessly jambed, the condenser was disabled, and there 
was no help for us. 
Kiltan, of which I give an accurate plan, it being quite 
typical of these Laccadive Atols, is a long oval reef, enclosing 
the usual Lagoon, with one entrance at the N. W. corner, 
surrounded by the usual shelving bank, varying from an one- 
eighth to half a mile in breadth, beyond the edge of which, the lead 
drops at once into very deep water, and with the whole eastern 
side of the reef converted into an island, which is nearly two 
miles in length, and may average nearly a quarter of a mile in 
width. 
The Lagoon is very shallow, nearly dry at low water, and the 
island is one dense cocoanut grove almost from end to end. 
The indigenous vegetation is precisely the same as at Betra- 
Par. I saw no species which does not occur there, except a 
