701 
Dtt. little’s coral theory. 
and yet the island is healthy and is not exposed as it ought to be 
to endemic remittents. It must be stated likewise that there are 
hills behind the town to prevent the escape of miasm. 
Sobij another large island of the same group, though surrounded 
by coral, is probably as healthy as Sirhassan, and in the Bay of 
Boni in Celebes, from its entrance, to Luwu, the exposed coral 
reefs are numerous, and extensive, without producing any of the 
frightful consequences attributed to them. 
Dr Little’s theory however must be tested amid the vast expanse 
of the Pacific Ocean, amid the Barrier reefs and Torres Straits, called 
*>y Flinders the Coralian sea, and amid the Attolls of the Maidive, 
Laccadive, and Chagos Archipelagoes. There we behold coral 
reefs in every stage, covering such vast areas, that if they exercised 
the same malarious influence, that a small reef exercises on 
Blakang Mati, human life must long ago have been extinct, and 
the remains of the victims of coral fever, must have strewn the 
inhospitable shores of thousands of islands. 
Such must have been the result, for no race of men could have 
survived amid an atmosphere poisoned for hundreds of miles 
around, by miasm generated u in proportion to the extent of the 
reefs”—where remittent fever was ever endemic and intense, and 
where the unceasing labours of myriads on myriads of polyps were 
advancing the destruction of the human race. 
It will be in vain to urge that this place is slightly unhealthy, or 
another place causes fever amongst Europeans—that there are 
remittents here—or intermittents there.* No ! If coral reefs—as 
* It will be equally vain to urge the climate as modifying the effects of reefs, as 
my remarks are confined to countries within the Tropics. The Marquesas group 
is in 9' S. The Radack and Scarborough Groups from 12* N. to the Equator, 
Torres Straits 10* S., Disappointment islands with their vast reefs 14* S. &c.&c.&c. 
I will take Tahiti however in 17* S. as one of the coolest from situation of the 
islands of the Pacific within the Tropics. The climate according to Ellis is moist, 
equable and debilitatory for Europeans—between April and August the thermo¬ 
meter ranged at noon from 75* to 84—giving a mean of 79* 5, and sometimes it 
rises much higher than 90*. 
The mean of the thermometer on Captain Fitzroy’s authority from the 19th 
November to the 8th December at 10 a. m. was 78* 45 thus exactly agreeing 
with Ellis. 
This is one of the coolest islands, abounding with exposed coral reefs broiling 
under a tropical sun. 
At the Marquesas some observations were made which gave in the shade 
86.5. The suns says partially obscured—lo3*—vide Sir Edward Belcher’s voyage 
round the world—vol. 2-p. 380. 
The mean of the thermoneterin Singapore for the month of June 1848-was 82* 48. 
At Sarawak in the years 1844 and 1 845, the mean during the day was as follows 
for the months of November and December ; 
1844 
November 
80*83 
December 
81*00 
1845 
November 
81*10 
December 
80-75 
Thus the climate of the Pacific may be reckoned as nearly as possible of the same 
temperature as that of the Eastern Archipelago. 
The Red Sea is filling up with corah (vide Lyell) the navigation dangerous from 
