'Jan. 1, 19Q.2.i THE TROPICAL AGRlCtlLTORIst 
For tbe marine observations and collecting, we had 
within a stone's throw of the house on the seaward 
face of the island a bioad reed-fi=it, on which the 
sea continually breaks. Towards the north this 
gradually n-rrows, but west.wai-d broadens, and con- 
tinues round tbe atoll. A broad boulder zone, which 
can be waded conwniently up to half-tide, extends 
the main (Miiiikoi; island inside the reef-flat to 
Wiringili and thence to llngandi and round the atoll. 
These islets are merely rocky patches, the former 
with a few coconut trees, under the shade of which 
strangers are buried. Towards the lagoon there is 
a great sand-flat, exposed at spring tides from 100 
to 200 yards from the beach. The situation was 
also chosen, as during the raimmer months the 
south-west monsoon blows, the effect of which 1 
wish particularly to study. Unfortunately the mon- 
soon of 1899 was very abnormal, the prevailing winds 
coming from west to west-north-west until the second 
week in August, when the proper monsoon commenced, 
bringing heavy rain in its train. Tbe latte;- made 
work extremely difficult and unpleasant ; the bottom 
could nowhere be seen on account of the surface 
disturbance; bottom living animals oontrac'ed, or 
retired into the sand or other shelters ; the surface 
fauna sank to considerable depths. 
The disadvantages of the position lay in the con- 
siderable distance of the house from the -village and 
from the north passage into the lagoon, through 
which alone access to the open sea could be obtained 
in this monsoon. Natives had to be hired from the 
village for each several job, and it was too far for 
the children or fishermen to bring any. strange animals 
they might find. The wind being dead in our teeth, 
and tVe numerous shoals making short tacks necessary, 
it was difficult to visit the northerly reefs of the 
atoll, and on no occasion was I enahled to approach 
them from seaward within about 200 yards. 
During the month July and August a heavy easterly 
swell came up with large rollers, three times dying 
down and again regaining force. This swell w;is very 
abnormal at the time of year, and apparently was 
due to some cause completely outside the ordinary 
winds 8/nd currents. On enquiry I ascertained that 
it wa=i also observed on the east coasts of Ceylon 
and India and on the large Ocean Liners proceeding 
fiom Ceylon to Albany. Subsequently I found that 
it had been felt throughout the whole of the Maldives ; 
in Suvadiva and Addu it did considerable damage, 
sweeping over islets and land, which had never been 
affected"before. The origin of tbe swell can only, I 
consider have been due to submarine volcanic dis- 
turbances probably towards the East-Indian region. 
During the first five weeks of our stay at Minikoi, 
while I was engaged in a survey of the land and 
shores, Mr Borradai'e occupied himself mainly 
with a thorough study of the land Crustacea. | An 
incautious exposure of the reef, while collecting, 
then laid up with sunstroke, so that I had no option 
but to send him to Ceylon, whence he was ordered 
to return as soon as possible to England. For the 
remaining eight weeks I was absolutely alone, being 
deprived by illness even of my Singhalse servants. 
I returned to Ceylon in the middle of September, 
Mr Forster Cooper shortly afterwards joining me 
from England. After some unavoidable delay we 
left Colombo on Oct. 18th for Male, the capital of 
the MaWives and residence of the Sultan. Owing 
to succession of accidents we did not arrive until 
Oct. 23rd, when we at once lauded our stores, trans- 
ferring suflicient for a three months' cruise to our 
schooner. The latter was lent to us by His High- 
ness the Sultan ; she was a vessel of about 16 tons, 
built in the island, of coconut wood, moderately 
seaworthy, but not laying within six points of the 
wind. The Sultan also appointed Hassan Divi Velana- 
manikofanu, his third vizier, to accompany ns, and 
gave orders that every facility should be granted 
to us. After presenting our oifferings to the Sultan 
+ ride Mr Borradftile's account in the same part 
o; this publication, 
479 
and his viziers, we sailed from Male for Goifurfe- 
hendn (Horsburgh) atoll. 
We at once had a house bnilt on Goidu island, 
from which as centre we visited all the other land 
of the atoll and the greater part of the reef. A 
stay of altogetlier eleven days was made, and every- 
thing was unpacked and properly stowed on the 
schooner; the dredges and instruments were over- 
hauled, and indeed nil preparations were completed 
for the work in Mahlos and o'her atolls. The reef- 
animals were collected and preserved, being sent by 
native boat to Male to await our arrival. On leaving 
Minikoi I brought with me two boys, whom I had 
taught to collect in that atoll ; these I largely em- 
ployed in Goidu and subsequently in other islands in 
collecting the land fauna and flora. 
The remainder of October, 18D9, was spent in S. 
Mahlosmadula. This icroup of reefs really consists of 
three atolls, a small ceutral one .separated frorn 
larger on e loh side by natrow channels of over IdO 
fathoms in depth. The three lie on a shalioiv bank, 
which tapers to the north but has a broad base to 
the south-east. The plateau is studded all over with 
reefs, the out-ide ones forming a chain round the 
perimeters of the three parts. The reefs along the 
west side of the bank are for most part ring-shaped, 
small atolls (atollons or: faro) with deeper watei; 
(the lagoon or vela) in the centre. On the east and 
south sides, however, are isolated islands with fringing 
reefs mostly from the boundaries. The genera? depth 
of the atolls is about 27 fathoms, most of the channels 
between the numerous encircling reefs having over 
20 fathoms. 
The weather during our stay in S Mahlos was 
extremely calm, our vessel indeed being toWed hy 
boats from island to island. Thii was singularly un- 
fortunate, as usually strong winds may be depended 
upon in November. 'We had hoped to systematically 
dredge a large number of the deep channels between 
the reefs, that edge the atoll. As their general 
depth is about 2,5 fathoms, this was found to be im- 
practicable, rowing boats not having sufficient weight 
to carry even the smallest dredges along a ron{jh 
bottom at this depth. Accordingly would be confined 
ourselves to a traverse of the whole south of the 
atoll. Our first anchorage was off Turadu, an island 
situated on the rim of a somewhat ill-defined faro 
at the south-west corner of the bank. We visited 
every part of its reef and collected a few animals. 
The lagoon (re!tn of the /'ary was dredged, yielding 
Asymmetron and Pfi/clodera from 20 fathoms. The 
island itself proved most interesting. Its rocky bar- 
rier of beach-sandstone had in 189(3 been overlapped 
by the waves of a cyclone. Those attacked the sand 
behind, eating deeply into the island, with the result 
that the beach-rock has been loft in lines many yards 
from the shore. The natives have now erected break- 
waters round a great part of the island — and also a 
new mosque — but in spite of these no trace of it ig 
likely to be left in 20 or 30 years' time, unless some 
considerable change in the currents or reefs alters ita 
conditions. 
From Turadu we visited all the reefs to Mabaru 
the most easterly point of the whole group, anchoring 
at Hitada, Heddufuri, Mahrus and Duravantu. At 
Oumfinadn we found some large rocks, standing up in 
the lagoon well inside the boulder zone ; Ijoiiellia was 
living on the reef-flat, and J'fychodera was the most 
abundant form of life on the shores of the island. 
We finally left for N. Mahlos on Nov. 29th, bat 
meeting with strong currents to the west-sonth-'west, 
we only fetched Kuderah-Heelu in the central atoll 
that evening. However we reached Fainu in N. Mahlos 
on the following day, aud remained there at anchor 
three days, which were devoted to dredging and an 
examination of the islands of Fainu, Eenurus and 
Ingurahdu, and Berriam-furi faro. We then separated 
from Mr. Forster Cooper dredging with the schooner 
along the east side, and examining its islands and 
reef a. I meantime embarked '.in a small open boats lor 
the western side, where the lagoon of the atcll is filled 
up with a perfect maze of small reefs and ahoala, 
