446 Mr Gardiner, The Coral Reefs of [Mar. 7, 



than 200 yards, and in the next cast- a few yards further out 

 I could obtain no soundings with 60 fathoms. Captain Wilson 

 pointed out to me that a ship can often get better anchorage to 

 windward than to leeward outside reefs, in other words that the 

 slope down to 40 fathoms is often more gentle to windward than 

 to leeward. This is distinctly so to the south-east of Taviuni, 

 where there is good anchorage, 300 yards outside the reef; south 

 of Cape Undu, to the north-east of Vanua Levu, I found that the 

 steep lay about 350 yards from the reef, while to the north it 

 began within 200. 



The regular wind in the group for nine months sets from the 

 south-east to the east-south-east ; in the remaining months calms 

 and north to north-west winds occur. The current varies, being 

 largely affected by the wind, but from information, obtained from 

 skippers trading in the group, there seems to be always a definite 

 set to the west-north-west, which, however, with a wind from this 

 direction may be disguised by a merely superficial current in the 

 opposite direction. On an absolutely calm day the sea always 

 breaks on the windward reefs, while there may be no break on the 

 leeward, though the reef, as off Wakaya, is quite as high there. 

 The same phenomenon I observed too off the north-east point of 

 Vanua Levu, the reefs of the two sides of which I visited at 

 succeeding low tides without being able to appreciate any 

 difference in height ; there was a distinct break for every wave at 

 high tide on the south-east reefs, but only one out of every five 

 waves broke on the northerly ones. Early in 1896 a timber ship 

 was wrecked on a reef off Vatoa to the south of the Lau Group ; 

 some of the timber was recovered on the islands of this group, 

 but the greater part was washed to the south and east of Viti 

 Levu, showing a distinct current to the north-west. 



Taviuni displays every type of reef from a mere fringe a few 

 yards wide to a well-formed barrier. The strength of the tide 

 through the Somosomo Strait varies up to 5 knots, the ebb flowing 

 to the north-east up by Rambi, while the flood sets along the 

 north end of Taviuni and to the south-west. Perhaps this strong 

 current together with a rather precipitous slope in places is 

 sufficient to account for the fact, that off a great part of this side 

 there are no reefs of any sort. From Wairiki to Wailanga there 

 is in places a hard platform extending out for about 50 yards, 

 above which the hills are usually separated from the sea by a sand 

 flat 50 — 100 yards broad. This platform is formed of reef- rock, 

 destitute even at its extreme outer edge, where it ends pre- 

 cipitously, of corals or nullipores. I believe that along this part 

 of the coast a broad fringing reef formerly existed, but after 

 growing outwards for some distance was checked by the current ; 

 this gave time for the sand to accumulate, its wash finally killing 



