10 GEOLOGY. 
Yet this small area of land presents us with mountains 14,000 feet 
in height; volcanoes of unrivalled magnitude ; peaks, crags and gorges 
of Alpine boldness. And amid the wildness and grandeur of these 
scenes, many of which would well aid our conceptions of a world in 
ruins, the palm, the tree-fern, and other tropical productions flourish 
with singular luxuriance. Zoophytes, moreover, spread the sea-bottom 
near the shores with flowers, and form islands with groves of verdure 
above, and coral gardens beneath the water. ‘There is no part of the 
world where rocks, waterfalls and foliage are displayed in greater 
variety, or where the sublime and picturesque mingle in stranger 
combinations. 
These statements may seem incredible to those who have traversed 
only the surface of our own land; yet it will be in some degree com- 
prehended when the agencies that have operated to produce the 
results are considered :—that through every part there has been the vol- 
cano to build up mountains, and to shatter again its structures; a vast 
ocean to surge against exposed shores; rapid declivities to give force 
to descending torrents; besides a climate to favour the coral shrubbery 
of the ocean, and bury in foliage the most craggy steeps. Under such 
circumstances, 1t is not surprising that these ocean lands should be 
replete with attractions alike to the eye of taste and of science. 
The waters abound in fish, mollusks, echini, crabs and other forms 
of crustacea, asterias or starfish, and the variously coloured actinias 
or sea-flowers; and the fresh waters, although the islands stand 
isolated in the ocean, have their own species of fish, reptiles, and even 
Unionide. Yet with all the profuseness of life, animal and vegetable, 
it is a little remarkable that, besides bats, a native land quadruped is 
not known in the whole ocean, though rats and mice from shipping 
are common everywhere. New Zealand, although as large as New 
England, cannot boast of a single native species, excepting perhaps a 
mouse of doubtful origin, and bats which have wings to aid them in 
migration. 
It is obvious that the geology of the Pacific Islands embraces topics 
of the widest importance. There are extensive rock formations in 
progress, proceeding from the waters through the agency of animal 
life;—there are other formations, exemplifying on a vast scale the 
operation of igneous causes in modifying the earth’s surface ;—there 
are also examples of denudation and disruption, commensurate with 
the magnitude of the mountain elevations. ‘These three great sources 
of change and progress in the earth’s history are abundantly illustrated. 
