ON BOABD H.M.S. ' FLYIXG FISH' 17 



CHAPTEE n 



ON BOAED H.M.S. ' FLTENG FISH' 



The characteristics of Talisse sea — Babirusa bunt — Characters of the 

 forest — The flora — The fauna — Luncheon on the sea-shore— Sandpipers 

 — Eace with a native prau — Visit to Bohoi Promontory — The shore 

 platform — The character of the coral reefs — Conditions favourable to 

 coral growth — Practical importance of the knowledge of the conditions 

 favourable to coral growth — Bohoi Bay — ^Flight of the natives — Jumping 

 crabs and fishes — feriophthalmus — Limb6 Island — ^Batu Kapal — Eooper 

 Point — Wallace Bay — Manado. 



The Kttle sea which I shall call Talisse sea is enclosed by the 

 islands of Banka on the north-east, Kinabohutan, Talisse, 

 Tindela, and Ganga on the north and north-west, and the 

 coast of the northern peninsula of Celebes on the south. In 

 many respects it is a particularly favourable locaUty for the 

 marine naturahst, for its waters are only on the rarest 

 occasions too rough for an open boat, and frequently as 

 smooth as a mill-pond and as clear as glass. The shores 

 being of three kinds — namely, coral reefs, steep rocks, and 

 river-sand — ^present every variation of the tropical shallow- 

 water fauna ; and, as the bottom is fairly smooth and even, 

 and the water nowhere more than twenty fathoms deep, 

 trawls and dredges may be used with impunity. Outside, 

 the sea is very deep, 200 fathoms being found quite close 

 to the reefs on the west side of Talisse, and 560 fathoms 

 close to the rocks on the east side of Banka, so that the 

 naturalist, if he be fortunate enough to possess the necessary 

 appliances, can investigate the mysteries of the deep seas 

 within an easy distance from his home. 



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