PACIFIC OCEAN. 219 



side of this island (of which a plan is given in his Atlas of the 

 CoquilWs Voyage), and that it was i garnie d'une bande de 

 recifs a fleur d'eau adherentes au rivage ; ' and he infers, from 

 the abundance of coral on the islands north and south of 

 Bouka, that the reef probably is of coral ; coloured red. 



Off the north coast of the Saloman Archipelago there are 

 several small groups which are little known : they appear to 

 be low, and of coral formation ; and some of them probably 

 have an atoll-like structure : the Chevalier Dillon, however, 

 informs me this is not the case with the B, de Candelaria. — - 

 Outong Java, according to the Spanish navigator, Maurelle, is 

 thus characterized ; but this is the only one, which I have 

 ventured to colour blue. 



New Ireland. — The shores of the S.W. point of this 

 island and some adjoining islets, are fringed by reefs, as may 

 be seen in the Atlases of the Voyages of the Coquille and 

 Astrolabe. M. Lesson observes that the reefs are open in 

 front of each streamlet. The Duke of York's Island is also 

 fringed ; but with regard to the other parts of New Ireland, 

 New Hanover, and the small islands lying northward, I have 

 been unable to obtain any information. I will only add that 

 no part of New Ireland appears to be fronted by distant reefs. 

 I have coloured red only the above specified portions. 



New Britain and the Northern Shore of New Guinea. — 

 From the charts in the Voyage of the Astrolabe, and from the 

 Hydrog. Memoir, it appears that these coasts are entirely 

 without reefs, as are the Schouton Islands, lying close to the 

 northern shore of New Guinea. The western and south- 

 western parts of New Guinea will be treated of when we 

 come to the islands of the East Indian Archipelago. 



Admiralty Group. — From the accounts given by Bougain- 

 ville, Maurelle, Dentrecasteaux, and the scattered notices col- 

 lected by Horsburgh, it appears that some of the many islands 

 composing it are high, with a bold outline ; and others are 

 low, small, and interlaced with reefs. All the high islands 



