THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



479 



(elegant than the manner in which the young and full-grown 

 cocoa-nut trees, without destroying each other's symmetry, 

 were mingled into one wood. A beach of glittering white 

 sand formed a border to these fairy spots. 



I will now give a sketch of the natural history of these 

 islands, which, from its very paucity, possesses a peculiar 

 interest. The cocoa-nut tree, at the first glance, seems to 

 compose the whole wood; there are, however, five or six 

 other trees. One of these grows to a very large size, but 

 from the extreme softness of its wood, is useless; another 

 sort affords excellent timber for ship-building. Besides the 

 trees, the number of plants is exceedingly limited, and con- 

 sists of insignificant weeds. In my collection, which in- 

 cludes, I believe, nearly the perfect Flora, there are twenty 

 species, without reckoning a moss, lichen, and fungus. To 

 this number two trees must be added ; one of which was not 

 in flower, and the other I only heard of. The latter is a 

 solitary tree of its kind, and grows near the beach, where, 

 without doubt, the one seed was thrown up by the waves. A 

 Guilandina also grows on only one of the islets. I do not 

 include in the above list the sugar-cane, banana, some other 

 vegetables, fruit-trees, and imported grasses. As the islands 

 consist entirely of coral, and at one time must have existed 

 as mere water-washed reefs, all their terrestrial productions 

 must have been transported here by the waves of the sea. 

 In accordance with this, the Florula has quite the character 

 of a refuge for the destitute: Professor Henslow informs 

 me that of the twenty species nineteen belong to different 

 genera, and these again to no less than sixteen families ! x 



In Holman's 2 Travels an account is given, on the author- 

 ity of Mr. A. S. Keating, who resided twelve months on these 

 islands, of the various seeds and other bodies which have 

 been known to have been washed on shore. " Seeds and 

 plants from Sumatra and Java have been driven up by the 

 surf on the windward side of the islands. Among them have 

 been found the Kimiri, native of Sumatra and the peninsula 

 of Malacca; the cocoa-nut of Balci, known by its shape and 

 size; the Dadass, which is planted by the Malays with the 



1 These plants are described in the Annals of Nat. Hist, vol. i., 1838, 

 p. 337- 



3 Holman's Travels, vol. iv. p. 378. 



