CHAPTER XIV 



ST. HELENA 



Position and Physical Features of St. Helena — Change Effected by 

 European Occupation — The Insects of St. Helena — Coleoptera — Pecu- 

 liarities and Origin of the Coleoptera of St. Helena — Land-shells of St. 

 Helena — Absence of Fresh-water Organisms — Native Vegetation of St. 

 Helena — The Eelations of the St. Helena Compositte — Concluding 

 Remarks on St. Helena. 



In order to illustrate as completely as possible the peculiar 

 phenomena of oceanic islands, we will next examine the 

 organic productions of St. Helena and of the Sandwich 

 Islands, since these combine in a higher degree than any 

 other spots upon the globe, extreme isolation from all 

 more extensive lands, with a tolerably rich fauna and flora 

 whose peculiarities are of surpassing interest. Both, too, 

 have received considerable attention from naturalists ; and 

 though much still remains to be done in the latter group, 

 our knowledge is sufficient to enable us to arrive at many 

 interesting results. 



Position and Physical Features of St. Helena. — This 

 island is situated nearly in the middle of the South 

 Atlantic Ocean, being more than 1,100 miles from the 

 coast of Africa, and 1,800 from South America. It is 

 about ten miles long by eight wide, and is wholly volcanic, 

 consisting of ancient basalts, lavas, and other volcanic 

 products. It is very mountainous and rugged, bounded for 



