NOTES ON A VISIT TO THE ISLANDS OF RODEIGUEZ, 



MAURITIUS AND EEUNION. 



By Eear-Admtral W. E. Kennedy, 



( With a Plate.) 



[Readbefore the Bombai/ Natural History Sociefi/, 29th November, 189!3.) 



It may be of interest to some of tlie readers of your JourBal if 



I give you an account of our visit to the islands of Eodriguez, 



Mauritius, Eeunion, etc., some of whicli places are but little known 



to tlie general public. Leaving Galle harbour on the 7tb June, 



we shaped course for Eodriguez, arriving off the island after a very 



pleasant sail of 11 daj^s. 



Eodriguez Island, or Diego Eais, as it was once called, lies 320 

 miles to the eastward of Mauritius, of which it is a dependency. It 

 is but seldom visited by passing ships and very little is known of it ; 

 occasionally a man-of-war touches there for the sake of sport, and 

 the pleasure of a run ashore on one of the few spots on the globe 

 where the tourist is unknown. Happily this must be the case for 

 many years to come, on account of its isolated position and the 

 difficulty of reaching it, except by man-of-war or steam yacht, to say 

 nothino- of the quarantine regulations which are very strict ; vessels 

 arriving there from Mauritius are invariably subjected to 21 days' 

 quarantine, be they ever so healthy. This alone is sufficient to deter 

 most people from visiting the place. However, as we hailed from 

 Ceylon and possessed a clean bill of health, we were admitted to 

 pratique at once. 



The island is of volcanic formation, mountainous and thickly 

 wooded in parts, with ravines running down to the sea in all 

 directions. The lower slopes are open and covered with coarse 

 yellow grass, and in the interior are extensive plains in which herds 

 of cattle find pasturage. There is but little cultivation, although 

 the soil is rich, merely a few plots here and there planted with 

 maize or potatoes for the owner's use. Water is scarce and generally 

 brackish, but there are a few rivulets of sweet water coursing down 

 the valleys to the sea. 



The whole extent of the island is but 10 miles long by 4 broad, 

 and the highest peak, Point Limon, is 1,300 feet, A coral reef 



