THE LACCADIVES AND THE WEST COAST. 447 
L. and ciliata, Roxb.) and many* other inconspicuous herbs, 
including the broad-leaved jointed (Panicum compositum, L.) 
and common three-toed Grass (Dactyloclenium agyptiacum, 
Weld.) 
As regards birds this island is as barren as the rest, the only 
new feature in the case was the presence of a good number 
of the common Indian Crow. The White Eyed Tit was here, as 
elsewhere in this group, very common, and on a comparatively 
open plot of ground towards the south-west of the island 
a considerable number of Asiatic Golden Plovers were scattered 
about in twos and threes, and afforded rather pretty shooting, 
as they flew backwards and forwards just within shot, when 
flushed for us by the juvenile portion of the population. I say 
juvenile, for they were made to do the running about, but the 
whole population evinced the liveliest interest and sympathy 
in my proceedings. In the first place, they had never seen a 
breech loader before, and the way in which I deliberately, ac- 
cording to their idea, broke the gun at the breech and popped 
it together again, excited a perfectly irrepressible astonishment. 
All the head men insisted upon my repeating the performance 
of loading the gun at least 50 times before they would consent 
to order the great crowd that surrounded us to give way, and 
let me commence shooting. When at last I drew near to where 
the Plovers were, and indicated that I was about to shoot, it 
became very apparent that they had no confidence in the safety 
of a gun that could open and shut in that way, and as I raised 
the gun to fire, the whole multitude fell back helter-skelter hig- 
gledy-piggledy, tumbling one over the other and creating such 
a terrible stampede that I was obliged to pause awhile to allow 
them to recover themselves. 
But in the second place they had never seen a bird shot 
flying, and when a few minutes later, a pair of Golden Plover 
flew over at a height of about 40 yards, and I knocked them 
down right and left stone dead, the crowd raised a roar of 
applause, that for a moment made me fancy myself a success- 
ful candidate on the hustings on the declaration day. After this 
there was no shooting for another quarter of an hour, every 
* These are as follows:—In giving this list I desire to record my obligations to 
Dr. King who verified for me all the plants I collected. Though I formerly made 
Indian Botany a special study, my knowledge of specific names has grown rusty 
and having now no botanical library, I could not without Dr. King’s kind aid have 
made certain as I now can of the correct names of many of the species, common, 
though most of them are— 
Cleome viscosa, L; Cardiospermum Halicacabum, 4; Crotolaria verucosa, L; 
Vernonia cinerea, Less; Ageratum conyzoides, L; Plumbago zeylonica, L; Ty- 
lophora asthmatica, W.and A; Peristrophe bicalyculata, Nees; Rungia pectinata, 
Nees; Leucas aspera, Spreng; Euphorbia atolo, Forst; Phyllanthus madraspa- 
tensis, Mill. 
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