774 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
and near it are extensive clumps of chenopodium bushes which the little noddies 
( Micranous hawaiiensis) and Laysan finches ( Telespiza cantans ) find particularly 
favorable for nesting sites. Here also are old piles of broken phosphate rock which 
teem with birds. 
From the top of one of these little hillocks a fine outlook is obtained to the 
southward over the largest albatross rookery on the island. The ground is bare and 
nearly flat for a quarter of a mile, and the gony ( Diomedea immutabilis ) has taken 
almost complete possession. Although the white albatross is distributed fairly 
evenly over the whole island, with the exception of the beaches, they appear more 
numerous in this locality. The central portion of the island is very nearly level, 
and in many places the lime rock has been uncovered for considerable areas. It is 
here that the best deposits of commercial phosphate rock are found. The ordinary 
carbonate of lime of the old coral rock, by long exposure to superincumbent 
deposits of organic matter, mostly in the form of bird excrement, seems to have 
been largety changed into phosphate of lime. The upper slopes of the island are 
sandy, and the glare here on a hot summer day is intense. The rock is much deeper 
beneath the surface of this portion of the island. 
At the present writing I have not been able to learn the names of the species of 
grasses and sedges we brought away.® A few of the characteristic plants were not 
in flower and their definite identification was scarcely possible. A handsome portu- 
laea-like plant, Sesuvium portulacastrum , with small reddish-purple flowers, forms 
extensive beds near the lagoon, as if carefully cultivated. Growing abundantly 
among these plants is the succulent Portulaca lutea, with yellow blossoms. Helio- 
tropimn curassavicum Linnaeus is likewise common near the same place, and Tribulus 
cistoides Linnaeus, a creeping plant with handsome yellow flowers, occurs over all 
the island and is largely visited by the red honey-eaters. Ipomcea, insnlaris , a showy 
morning-glory, is common everywhere, twining up the shrubs and bushy grass. A 
beach species, I. pescaprae , was found near the shore. The large-flowered Capparis 
sandwicheana D’C. had just come into blossom sparingly and was also abundant. 
Chenopodium sandwicheum D’C. likewise is a shrub in great abundance and largely 
used by nest-building species for their homes. Several other shrubs were without 
flowers, and I do not know where they belong. Most of the species mentioned 
above are wide-ranging forms. 
Two very striking facts at once impress the visitor — the great numbers of 
birds and their surprising tameness. The effect of this is at first nearly overpower- 
ing. Birds are everywhere, and the noise is sometimes deafening. When we made 
our way through a populous colony of sooty terns we had to exercise much care to 
avoid crushing their eggs and treading on the birds, which struggled panic-stricken 
before us with the old ruse of a broken wing, and then, taking flight, swarmed over 
our heads. If we would converse, it was necessary to shout. 
Turning toward the center of the island we were obliged to cross a wide area 
covered with tall grass and completely honeycombed with the burrows of petrels 
(. /Estrelata hypoleuca). Through the roofs of these tunnels the pedestrian is contin- 
ually breaking, sinking in the soft soil up to the knee. From out the shadows of 
the tussocks young albatrosses, uncouth and awkward, snapped their beaks at us, 
appendix for names of plants collected. 
