CHAPTER XIII 
THE FIJI ISLANDS 
1. General. 
Fiji, or more correctly Yiti, is a British colony con¬ 
sisting of a rather compact mass of reefs and islands 
lying about 1900 miles north-east of Sydney, and 1200 
miles due north of New Zealand. It is situated between 
the Xew Hebrides and Tonga groups, and its centre 
is crossed by the antipodean meridian and the 18th 
parallel of south latitude. It is composed of two large 
islands, Yiti Levu and Yanua Levu, several of smaller size, 
and a large number of insignificant islets whose number 
has been placed at 250. About 80 are inhabited. The 
total area of the group amounts to 7421 square miles, so 
that it is about equal with Wales in size. Yiti Levu 
claims about half of this area, and is thus larger than 
Corsica. The islands are of volcanic origin, well wooded, 
and very fertile; the south-eastern or weather side being 
the most luxuriant, owing to the heavier rainfall. Here 
the country is covered with a dense jungle, unbroken 
except by the clearings necessary for plantations, but on 
the lee side their aspect is very different, and we find 
open grassy country, here and there dotted with casuarinas 
and screw pines. Most of the islands are high and 
