Notices of Memoirs — C. W. Andrews — On Christmas Island. 19 



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I. — Notes on a.n Expedition to Christmas Island. By C. W. 

 Andrews, B.A., B.Sc, F.G.S., Assistant in the British Museum 

 (Natural History). 



[Sir John Murray, having resolved to send a naturalist at 

 his own expense to investigate the fauna and flora and the 

 geology of Christmas Island, invited Mr. 0. W. Andrews, of the 

 Geological Department, British Museum (Natural History), to 

 undertake the task. Having obtained the necessary leave of absence 

 Mr. Andrews sailed from England on May 4th, 1897, and after an 

 absence of 15 months he reached home on August 3rd, 1898. 

 He made a considerable stay in Java on his outward passage ; he 

 also visited the Cocos-Keeling Islands on his return voyage. The 

 expedition was most successful. 



The collections made by Mr. Andrews during his stay oa 

 Christmas Island include geological specimens and many illustrating 

 the botany and zoology. These comprise 274 mammals, birds, and 

 reptiles; 183 mollusca; 1,419 insects; and 378 spiders, myriopods, 

 Crustacea, echinoderms, and worms. A selection of the specimens 

 have been generously presented by Sir John Murray to the British 

 Museum (Natural History). 



The island is typically oceanic, and the mammals, land birds, and 

 many of the insects found are peculiar to it ; the geographical and 

 geological observations made by Mr. Andrews are also of great 

 interest. 



The following abridged account communicated by the author is 

 from a paper read by him before the Eoyal Geographical Society, 

 November 28th, 1898.— H. W.] 



One of the most interesting of the lonely islets of the Indian. 

 Ocean is Christmas Island, wliich lies about 190 miles south of 

 Java, in lat. ]0° 25', long. 105° 42'. The seas around it are of 

 enormous depth, and soundings of over 1,000 fathoms occur within 

 two or three miles of its coasts. To the north and north-west is 

 Macclear deep, in which 3,200 fathoms were found, and to the 

 south is the more extensive Wharton deep, with upwards of 3,000 

 fathoms. The island, in fact, rises from the summit of the low 

 submarine ridge which separates these two abysses, and on the 

 westward end of which the Cocos-Keeling Islands are situated. 



Seen from the south-west, the island appears as a long green ridge 

 nearly level at the top, there being onlj'- slight elevations at the 

 north-west and south-east ends. The ridge descends seaward in 

 a succession of terraces, the upper ones bounded by comparatively 

 gentle slopes, the lower by a high and nearly vertical cliff, below 

 which there is a narrow platform sloping gently down to the sea- 

 cliff. This is usually about 15 to 30 feet high, and is much 

 undercut by the heavy swell that is continually breaking against 

 its base. On approaching nearer it can be seen that the whole 

 island is covered with a dense forest, only broken by the grey face 



