Oct. 1, 1900. J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
239 
THE CAMBRIDGE EXPEDITION TO THE 
MALDIVE AND LACCADIVE ISLANDS. 
The last of the three scientific expeditions 
whicli liave lefc the University of Cambridge 
during the past two yeats for work in various 
British dependencies has recently returned. Ic 
may be remembered tliat in April, 1899, an ex- 
pedition left for the purpjse of investigatinf; the 
formation of coral reefs in Ceylon, the Maldives 
and Laccadives, under the charge of Mr. Stanley 
(iardiner, Balfour Student of the University. 
After several -weeks in Geylon, three month's 
were spent in the island of Minikoi, the most 
southern ot the Lacoadive Islands, the light- 
house of which is usually seen by travellers to 
the East about a day aud a half before reach- 
in.u; Colombo. This island has obtained a very 
unenviable notoriety on account of the large 
number of wrecks on its reefs, the last of which 
were the steamship " Tiirunscoe," which went 
ashore shortly before the expedition arrived, and 
the yacht "Tolna," belonging to Count Festetics, 
at the beginning of this year. It has long been 
proposed to erect a signal station on the island, 
as it lies in the direct route from the Ked Sea 
to Colombo, Australia, and the Far East. From 
this point Mr. Gardiner cannot see that there 
would be any difficulty in communicating by 
means of Marconi's apparatus with Southern India, 
or, better, with a station on one of the higher 
mountains of Ceylon. 
The members of the expedition took up their 
residence in a native bungalow, which they had 
erected close to the lighthouse, and from this 
centre carried ou v>'ork of a very varied nature. 
The natives were not friendly to the Englisli, on 
account of the disputes which have arisen after 
the various wrecks on the island though they 
were in no way actively hostile. The population 
numbers about 2,500 adults, of whom less than 900 
are men, the greater number of the native males 
being absent ou voyages. Many of them are 
employed on board the various English steamers 
which" sail from Calcutta. The thorough survey of 
the island and its reefs made by the expedition 
revealed the interesting fact that the island 
had been recently elevated to a height of about 
twenty-five feet. Considerable attention was also 
paid to the currents" round the reefs, which were 
found to be very varied, and large collections of 
the land and marine fauna were obtained. 
In October Mr. Gardiner, accompaued by Mr. 
Forster Cooper, proceeded to the Maldive 
Islands, where they were very kindly received 
by the Sultan, who "is locally known as the Sultan 
of the 12,000 Lands. The group was found in a 
ferment owing to a recent change of Graud Vizier 
and theremoval of Mr- Nusserwanjee Dadabhoy by 
her Majesty'sship " Marathon." Owing to these 
causes considerable opjjosition was shown through- 
out to the work of the expedition by different 
Ministers .and nobles. The Sultan, however, lent 
a schooner of about 18 tons, and did every thing i;-, 
his power to assist the work, despatching a Royal 
proclamation to every part of his dominions. 
The group, it may not be generally known, is 
about 500 miles long, and consists of a perfect 
maze of small islands and reefs. It has passed 
successively into tiie hands of the Portuguese, 
Dutch, French and English, the old treaty of 
friendsl)ip and alliance with the Dutch being 
renewed yearly with the Governor of Ceylon by 
mutual (iresents of local produce to the value of 
about £20, Owing to disputes arising out of the 
wreck ot a Gern!a,u vessel, a second treaty has, 
however, lately been made in respect to sal vjige. 
The jieople are Malioniedaiis of mixed Cinga- 
lese, Arab, and Malay stock, and the Sultan 
claims to have been given his title at Damas- 
cus by a former Caliph. AH trade has to be 
carried on at Male, the Sultan's island, ex- 
cept in Maldiviaii vessels, and a small fleet of 
schooners is run by various Bombay merchants 
in Colombo. Rice is the principal import, no 
grain liaviiig been in recent years grown ; 
and coconuts and dried fish, a kind of "Bombay 
duck, ' are given in exchange. Steamboats seldom 
visit} the island on account of the strong 
currrents and numerous reefs, which are constantly 
growing up or being washed away. Indeed, tlie 
navigaiiDn of steel ships is practically impossible 
exce))t in bright sunny weather. A good in- 
stance of this was seen on the occasion of the 
visit of her Majesty's ship "Marathon "in 1899, 
when, in passing- out of Male atoll, she stuck 
for some time on a reef, which was supposed to 
have at least seven or eight fathoms of water 
over it, A hurried survey of the group was 
made in 1836, but the people at that time were 
in a very disturbed stito and few islands were 
visited. Since then practically no Europeans, 
excepi a iew wrecked sailor.^, have visited any part 
of the group except the Male atoll, and nothing 
was known of the internal affairs or government of 
the many islands. 
The expedition visited over 300 islands in 
every part of the group except the most north- 
ern atoll of Tiladummati, partly in the Sultan's 
schooner and partly in the steamship lieafaee," 
which was for some time cliartered. At all the 
islands the members of the expedition went 
freely among the people, talked to them, and 
heard their legends and grievances. In evei;y- 
thing their proceedings were the objects of the 
greatest curiosity, thousands of people who had 
never seen a wliite man before visiting their 
vessel. As far as possible observations were car- 
ried out, in particular on the currents of the 
group, and numerous soundings of the greatest 
interest were made. The positions of islands and 
reefs in the atolls were fixed, and all the latter 
were thoroughly dredged. Large collections, too, 
were madfe of the land and reef fauna. 
On the whole, the work of the expedition, 
though the white members suffered severely from 
Maldive fever, was of a very satisfactory char- 
acter. The government, mode of life, wants and 
relationships of the people have been investigated, 
and specimens of nearly all arlicles of native 
manufacture obtained. With regard to the. reefs, 
it is hoped cliat these investigations will set 
many scientilic points at rest in respect to their 
formation in the Indian Ocean. The collections, 
too, should once for all determine the possibility 
of there having been at one time in this region 
large island, which has been repeatedly called 
inio existence to explain the present distribution 
of animals and plants. It is hoped to communi- 
cate some of the results of the expedition to the 
meeting of the British Association at Bradford 
in September. — London Times, Aug. 18. 
. «> 
JIPIJAPA OR PANAMA HATS. 
Ecuador is the real home of the liats wrongly 
designated under the name of "Panama," and 
according to the Recueil Consulaire Beige this 
industry afterwards extended to Peru and other 
countries, even to Yucatou in Mexico. Every- 
where in Latin America the hat is known under 
the name of "Jipijapa" in honour of the city 
31 
