178 A CRUISE IN THE LACCADIVE SEA 



aggressive. As I ignominiously dodged these foolish 

 and presumptuous fish, I was able to take note of 

 two kinds of reef-building corals — a Porites and a 

 Mcsandrina — growing strong and healthy in places 

 that had been left dry by the fall of tide. 



The island, which is a mere bank of coral sand, 

 supports a fair amount of vegetation, besides coconuts 

 and numerous coarse tussocks of some kind of sedge. 

 At its northern end every tree and bush is completely 

 overgrown and hidden under a thick pall formed by 

 a spreading species of convolvulus which was covered 

 with large white blossoms. Here, too, in a grove of 

 coconuts, and surrounded by sacred tulsi bushes, there 

 are a few huts, one of which, much superior to the 

 others, has walls of coral-stone, and is said to be the 

 shrine of a saint. There are no inhabitants on the 

 islet, except the inevitable cenobite hermit-crabs, which 

 are particularly numerous ; but people from the other 

 islands pay periodical visits, probably to collect coco- 

 nuts, for there is nothing else to attract them unless 

 they have time for picnics. 



After taking observations for fixing the position of 

 Betrapar, the Investigator ran a line of soundings to 

 Paremulpar, which is an atoll with one little barren 

 sandbank showing above high-water at its north- 

 eastern end, just as at Betrapar, but drying at low- 

 water in several other places. Unfortunately, I had 

 no opportunity of landing on the island by daylight. 



