THE VASCULAR FLORA OF MACQUARIE ISLAND.—CHEESEMAN. 
47 
of A. adscendens as peculiar to the island, but its differences from the type are very 
slight. Comparing the distribution of the non-endemic plants of Macquarie Island 
with the South Georgian flora, a remarkable parallelism appears. The thirty-one non¬ 
endemic plants, with four exceptions, extend to the New Zealand Sub antarctic Islands, 
which constitute the nearest land, but no less than fifteen reach Fuegia and the South 
Georgia and Kerguelen groups of islands. Similarly, the eighteen species inhabiting South 
Georgia, with one exception, are all found in Fuegia, which is the nearest land with a 
well-developed vascular vegetation. Further, no less than thirteen out of the eighteen 
occur in some parts of the Kerguelen, Macquarie, and New Zealand group of Islands. 
The one fact that underlies the peculiarities of the South Georgian flora, is that it is 
essentially Fuegian in its origin, and of comparatively modern date. For it cannot be 
doubted that the ice-sheet which, not so long ago, overspread the whole island, must 
have blotted out the pre-glacial vegetation, with the exception of a few cryptogams, and 
that the present vegetation must be looked upon as being composed of immigrants 
from Fuegia, of which all are true natives. 
Before leaving South Georgia, another important fact should be mentioned. 
It stands about half way along a broad and comparatively shallow bank which curves 
eastwards from Cape Horn and the Falkland Islands and then turns sharply to the west, 
successively reaching the South Orkneys, the South Shetlands and Graham Land. On 
no part of this bank does the depth of the ocean much exceed 1,000 fathoms, and in 
some places it is much less. If a land communication ever existed between South 
America and the Antarctic Continent, this submarine bank probably indicates its 
course. 
Travelling eastwards from South Georgia, we next arrive at three groups of 
islands which we shall collectively include under the name of the Kerguelen Islands. 
The most westerly group comprises Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, approxi¬ 
mately 4,250 miles from Cape Horn. Marion Island, which is the larger of the two, 
is about ten miles in diameter and attains a height of 4,250 feet. Quite 450 miles to 
the eastwards lies the Crozets, of which there are three principal islands, the largest 
being Possession Island, which is eighteen miles in length by half the width. Finally, 
and approximately 750 miles still further to the east, comes Kerguelen Island, which 
much exceeds the others in size. It has an extreme length of eiglity-five miles and 
a greatest breadth of seventy-nine; but its coast-line is so much indented by deep bays 
or fiords that its total area does not exceed 2,000 square miles. The interior is rugged 
and mountainous, many peaks reaching heights between 5,000 and 6,000 feet. There 
are snowfields of considerable size, from which small glaciers radiate in different 
directions. Signs of recent glaciation are everywhere plentiful; and there can be little 
doubt that at no very distant period the whole island was covered with a continuous 
ice-sheet. Its present climate is cold, wet, and tempestuous. Nevertheless, the range 
of temperature is not excessive, the thermometer at sea-level seldom falling much 
below 30° F. in winter, or rising much above 60° in summer. 
