160 THE BOTANY OF CHRISTMAS ISLAND. 



aid of man) from those which have been so introduced 

 which I class as weeds. In order to make the dis- 

 tinction clear, I have given in all important cases 

 the date of the first collecting of these plants. The 

 earliest list, that of Lister published in 1888 in the 

 journal of the Linnean Society, though only a small 

 collection, contains only two plants which one would 

 suspect to -be weeds, viz: Datura, &nd\Fleiirya. There is 

 absolutely no evidence of any one's having settled on 

 the island previously to the visit of the Egeria. 

 There may have been wrecks, and doubtless there were 

 and whalers had touched at Flying Fish Cove. Dampier 

 sent a boat on shore on the south west point. But 

 these visits would not be likely to bring introduced 

 weeds, like Datura and Fleurya, which seem only to 

 occur round Flying Fish Cove, and not in the further 

 side of the island where most of the earlier landings 

 seem to have been made. We may take it then that 

 all the plants collected by the Flying Fish find Egeria 

 parties are indigenous, and Christmas Island may be 

 considered the only Oceanic Island of which the flora has 

 been collected when in its original state and before the 

 appearance of man and his concomitant weeds. 

 The settling of the Ross family not long after dates, the 

 first invasion of weeds. Mr. Ross brought many plants 

 to cultivate both useful and economic. Whether in pots of 

 soil or packing or in other such ways, a number of weeds 

 arrived, most if not all these came from Cocos Island and Java. 

 A number of these were seen or collected by myself in 1890, 

 but the few hours at my disposal on that occasion were more 

 devoted to the indigenous flora. More weeds had appeared by 

 the time Andrews made his visit, and about then commenced 

 the influx of Chinese, who often carry pot plants about with 

 them, as well as vegetable seeds, etc. Then cattle and horses 

 were imported, and these added yet more weeds, both in 

 fodder brought with them and in that which they had eaten 

 on the way. Thus I found in 1904, more weeds than Andrews 

 had collected. 



Jour. Straits Branch 



