THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC 



551 



Photograph from Dr. J. P. Thomsor 



A NEW BRITAIN NATIVE DANCE 



Bodies which have been covered with oil and rubbed until they gleam and faces stained 

 with red earth or berry juice present a weird picture to the island visitor. The women are 

 not so fantastically dressed for the dance as the men, but they, too, are wearing their best 

 "bibs and tuckers." 



the coconut and a few other palms, the 

 pandanus and bread-fruit tree. The edible 

 roots are mostly represented by several 

 varieties of the yam, the taro, and sweet 

 potato. On the larger groups of islands, 

 such as Fiji, the Hawaiian Archipelago, 

 the Solomons, and New Britain, there is 

 a rich forest vegetation mostly common 

 to Australia and New Guinea, although 

 generally the Papuan plants are more dis- 

 tinctively Asiatic in character. 



ANIMAL LIEE IS RESTRICTED 



A remarkable feature of many of the 

 Polynesian groups is the luxuriant vege- 

 tation on the southeast, or windward, 

 side of the islands, in marked contrast to 

 the northwest, or leeward, side, where 

 the forest is restricted to extremely lim- 

 ited patches, with large reed - covered 

 areas of wide extent, suggesting aridity 

 and the absence of fertile soil. This is, 

 no doubt, due to the fact that a larger 

 percentage of moisture is deposited on 

 the former, the prevailing southeast 

 trade winds being comparatively dry by 

 the time they reach the opposite side. 



In strange contrast to their luxuriant 

 plant life, the Pacific Islands cannot lay 

 claim to a rich fauna except in birds, 

 which are fairly numerous in New Cale- 

 donia, Fiji, and Hawaii. The dog and 

 the pig have a wide range, being found 

 everywhere within the influence of native 

 settlement, but both have been introduced 

 in comparatively recent times and are not 

 indigenous to Polynesia. 



There are several species of rodents 

 and some representatives of the bat fam- 

 ily, which appear to be the only indige- 

 nous mammals of which we have any 

 knowledge. Even insects and reptiles are 

 by no means plentiful, being chiefly con- 

 fined to small lizards, centipedes, spiders, 

 frogs, and harmless snakes. 



In the Solomons the crocodile is met 

 with, both in fresh-water streams and 

 tidal estuaries, but here this saurian 

 reaches its easternmost limit, as it occurs 

 nowhere else in the island groups beyond. 



From this brief description of the 

 physical and climatic conditions of the 

 Pacific islands, it must be clear that no 

 place could be more ideal for the abode 



