VEGETABLE SOIL. 127 



in about a N.N.W. and S.S.E. direction. It is 

 surrounded by a coral reef, that is narrow on the 

 lee side, but to windward, or towards the east, 

 stretches out for nearly two miles. The surface of 

 this reef is nearly all dry at low water, and its sides 

 slope rapidly down to a depth of 150 or 200 fathoms. 

 The island is covered with a low scrubby vegeta- 

 tion, partly of reed-like or umbelliferous plants, and 

 partly with a close green carpet, of a plant with 

 succulent leaves and stem, which we subsequently 

 found was good to eat, and so went with us by the 

 name of " spinach." The central part of the island 

 had a rich black soil several inches deep, and here 

 we commenced to dig a well, having brought pickaxe 

 and spade, to try if we could find water. We dug 

 about five feet deep, but found the rock too hard and 

 tough to allow us to proceed further. The following 

 was the section : — 



ft. in. 



Good black vegetable mould . . . .06 

 Stone, brown mottled with white, hard and 



coarse-grained . . . . . .03 



Rich moist black soil, like bog-earth . .14 

 Stone of a light brown colour, rather soft, but 



tough, and yielding slowly to the pickaxe . 3 0 



5 1 



The stone was made up of small round grains, 

 some of them apparently rolled bits of coral and 

 shell, but many of them evidently concretionary, 

 having concentric coats. It was not unlike some 



