1891.] D. Prain — Little Andaman and the Nicohars. 159 



everywhere overhanging, and occasionally with tunnelled projecting 

 points. This wall is here on an average from 10-15 feet above high- 

 water-mark. There was no time to circumnavigate the island, but the 

 coast is said to present similar features in its whole circuit, the cliff 

 being highest at the south-west corner of the island and being there 

 about 50 feet high. 



The difficulty of landing is largely due to this feature of over- 

 hanging cliff and is much increased by the strength of the tidal currents 

 which, even in calm weather, cause a heavy swell to surge into the 

 caverns and along the cliff -face. On reaching the edge of the cliff we 

 find, at this part of the coast, a rocky platform over which the waves 

 evidently wash in -the monsoon. The rock is a limestone, and is, by 

 weathering and wave-action, worn into the most fantastic spikes and 

 pinnacles and ridges,* the sharp edges of which make walking extremely 

 difficult. This platform slopes backwards rather rapidly to a height of 

 about 10 feet more when the jungle commences with the ordinary sea- 

 fence of Fandar-us, etc. ; the platform itself is almost destitute of vegeta- 

 tion, the only species present in it being tufts of Oldenlandia corymhosa, 

 BoerJiaavia repens and Fimhristylis dipJiylla. Within the sea-fence the 

 surface of the island is even and almost flat from side to side of the 

 island, t 



The commonest tall tree is Mimusops Uttoralis, which is not here 

 confined to the coast-zone, but extends from side to side of the island. 

 The jungle is less dense than Andamans and Nicobar forests usually 

 are. There is a wonderful absence of climbing species, especially 

 of the class of armed climbers, and there is a remarkably large number 

 of species with edible fruits, a feature that doubtless owes its existence 



* This fantastically-weathered limestone so much resembles the bottom of 

 a coral-pool that the rock has actually been described as a raised coral-reef. (See 

 Hume : The Islands of the Bay of Bengal, in Stray Feathers, vol. ii, p. 95). 



f The Admiralty maps give the island a " landmark -height " of 130 feet which 

 is doubtless correct, and in some maps it will be seen that a hill is indicated in the 

 centre of the island ; this, however, is quite incorrect. The height at the north-east 

 corner is, as has been said in the text, about 30 feet ; at the south-west corner 

 the height is said to be about 60 feet ; assuming that the whole island has an even 

 surface the middle of the island cannot exceed 45 feet. Here, as in all other islands 

 exposed to strong monsoons, the trees immediately on the coast are stunted and 

 dwarfed, becoming progressively taller as we pass inland. The principal tree is 

 Mimusops Uttoralis, and even near the shore this often reaches a height of 60 feet, 

 while trees a few hundred yards inland reach 80 feet ; this is the common height 

 of the tree and one which it rarely exceeds. The height obtained by angular 

 measurement from the sea thus not only does not require us to suppose that there 

 is a hill in the middle, but shows that there cannot be anything of the sort and the 

 newer maps correctly indicate that the island has a flat surface. 



