TLANTS AND ANIMALS. 243 



white coral sand, with occasional thin beds and 

 ledg-es of coral conglomerate, succeeded by a belt of 

 tangled bushes and low trees, after which the trees 

 become higher and the ground tolerably free from 

 underwood, with occasional thickets of woody 

 climbers. The cocoa-palm gi-ows here in small 

 numbers, usually several together, overtopping the 

 other trees among which one of the Sombacece (silk- 

 cotton trees) and Pisonia grandis attain the greatest 

 dimensions, having frequently a girth of twelve or 

 fifteen feet, with a height of sixty or seventy. A 

 large leaved Calophyllum is the prevailing tree of 

 the island, and among the others I may mention a 

 Myristica and a Caryophyllum, neither of which, 

 however, are of the species furnishing the nutmegs 

 and cloves of commerce. 



Of mammalia a large Pteropus, or fruit-eating 

 bat, was seen once or twice, but no specimen was 

 procured. The little Indian rat occurs abundantly on 

 all the islands, taking to hollow log's and holes under 

 the roots of trees for shelter. Here it is tamer than 

 I have elsewhere seen it, — by sitting down in a 

 shady place, and remaining quiet, I have sometimes 

 had three or four within a few yards of me playing 

 about, chacing each other, or turning over the dead 

 leaves. It even climbs bushes and low trees, and 

 gets out among the branches like a squirrel. 



Birds were plentiful, and our sportsmen com- 

 mitted great havoc among the megapodii and pig-eons. 

 The former were very numerous, running about the 



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