352 ANTARCTIC CRUISE. 



A thick growth of underwood and dwarf bushes, intermixed with ferns 

 concealed the surface, rendering it difficult to walk. Even on the 

 places apparently most level, the ground was very unequal, and a single 

 step would sometimes send me nearly up to the neck into a hollow 

 filled with large fern fronds. On the highest parts, the small level spots 

 were covered only with moss, and a description of tall grass, and in 

 places also a kind of grain grew abundantly. The ground was dry 

 every where, all the water being found in the streams, which were 

 numerous and pure. .Near the summit, the ground was perforated in 

 all directions, probably by birds, who rear their young in these holes. 

 Many of the birds, principally procellaria, were sitting on the ground: 

 they made no effort to escape, but suffered themselves to be taken 

 without any attempt at resistance. 



" The forest was full of small birds, of three or four different species, 

 which were perfectly fearless ; one little fellow alighted on my cap as 

 I was sitting under a tree, and sang long and melodiously; another 

 and still smaller species, of a black colour spotted with yellow, was 

 numerous, and sang very sweetly; its notes were varied, but approxi- 

 mated more nearly to the song of our blackbird ; occasionally a note 

 or two resembled the larks. Hawks too were numerous, and might be 

 seen on almost all the dead trees, in pairs. Along the sea-coast were 

 to be seen the marks of their ravages upon the smaller birds. The 

 sea-birds were very numerous on the opposite side of the island, sitting 

 upon the cliffs or hovering over the islet." 



On the western side of the Auckland Island, the under-brush and 

 young trees are exceedingly thick. Dr. Holmes remarks, that it was 

 impossible to penetrate ; that he was occupied fully an hour in making 

 his way for a hundred yards, where to all appearance a human step 

 had never before trodden. There was not a vestige of a track ; old 

 trees were strewn about irregularly, sometimes kept erect by the 

 pressure on all sides. Some trees were seen upwards of seventy feet 

 in height, although the generality were only from fifteen to twenty ; 

 every part of the island was densely covered with vegetation ; the soil, 

 from the decomposition of vegetable matter, had acquired considerable 

 richness ; specimens of all the plants were collected. The botany of 

 nese islands is nearly allied to that of New Zealand, and will be found 

 treated of in the Botanical Report, to which I would refer. Some 

 species resembling the tropical plants were found here, viz., the coffea- 

 ceous plants. 



These islands have in many places the appearance of having been 

 raised directly from the sea ; the cliffs consisted of basalt, and were 

 generally from fifty to ninety feet perpendicular. 



