NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION IN 1896. 7 



A suggestion has recently been made that more Hght is hkely to be thrown on the 

 history of atolls by a study of ancient limestones in the British Isles than by boring 

 in existing reefs. The first essential, however, for such a study would appear to be a 

 knowledge of the structure of living atolls, for, without this, the identification of 

 others forming a part of the earth's crust might remain more or less a matter for 

 conjecture. So far as the structure of Funafuti has been proved by borings, it is 

 scarcely what a field geologist might have anticipated, and if deposits of a similar 

 nature and origin had been encountered in, say, the Mountain Limestone, it is doubtful 

 whether, previous to the borings in Funafuti, their interpretation would have been 

 easily reached. 



Although the boring proved a failure, several other objects of the expedition were 

 attained with complete success. Messrs. Hedley and Gardiner made a thorough 

 investigation of the fauna and flora, both land and marine. Dr. Collingwood 

 obtained a good deal of information of ethnological interest, and we all made a 

 fairly complete collection of native implements and manufactures. A daily record 

 was kept of maximum and minimum temperatures, and of the readings of dry and 

 wet bulb thermometers. These have been reduced by the Astronomer Royal of New 

 South Wales, Mr. H. C. Russell, F.R.S., to whose kindness we were also indebted for 

 the loan of meteorological apparatus. The results are given in Section II. 



The most important contribution, however, is afforded by the investigations of 

 Captain Field, who made a complete topographical survey of the atoll, and a vast 

 number of soundings both in the lagoon and the outer sea ; he also carried out 

 magnetic (Section III) and tidal observations. 



The short length of core obtained from the bore-holes, together with the material 

 brought up by the sounding apparatus used by Captain Field, and some other 

 specimens, were, on my return home, placed by me in the hands of Professor Judd, 

 and a description of them will be found embodied in the report by Dr. G. J. Hinde, 

 F.R.S., on the material of the core. 



Description of the Atoll. 



The general outline of the atoll, as shown on the Admiralty Chart (frontispiece), 

 constructed by Captain Field, bears a grotesque resemblance to the profile of a 

 man's head (see also Plate B, page 62). The " face " looks westward, the occiput 

 eastward, and its protuberance marks the broadest part of Funafuti proper, which 

 is the largest islet of the group, and the only one permanently inhabited. 



The ring of reef awash between tides forms a fairly continuous narrow band, 

 regularly bounding the lagoon, except in the N.W. quarter, where it becomes much 

 broken up and various in direction. The longest continuous stretch of reef is about 

 16 miles in length; it commences at the top of the "head," on the eastern side of 

 the passage called Te Ava i de Lape, runs at first due east, then bends round to the 

 S.S.E. as far as the occipital protuberance, when it is diverted to the S.W., and ends 



