286 
opposed to tlieir crests, the under-jungle is not so dense, largely owing to 
the mass of creepers being carried up to the tall trees above, while on 
the neck of land that connects the main island with the peninsula at the 
north-east corner, and on the narrow, more level tongue that forms the 
south end of the main island and stretches towards Jerry Island, the 
jungle is rather opener and more penetrable than elsewhere. The 
height of the outlying north-eastern peninsula which probably at one 
time has been a separate islet, at least at high-tide, is 80 feet; the 
highest ridge of the main island has an elevation of 300 feet; the other 
ridges mostly reach from 150—200 feet. Jerry Island, the chief outlying 
islet off Great Coco, consists at the southern end of a low ridge 60 feet 
high with a vegetation quite like that of the ridges on the main island ; 
the northern half, however, consists of a level spit stretching towards 
the main island; this spit is composed of coral-shingle, and though 
covered with coco-nut and other trees there is only a sparse undergrowth 
within its Pandanus belt. Between Jerry and the main island extend 
wide sandstone reefs on which the waves and currents have thrown up 
a small eyot of sand, coral-shingle, dead shells, and drift timber on which 
stranded fruits and seeds are germinating. The other outlying islets call 
for no remark; all of them look like detached continuations of particular 
ridges and most of them have the vegetation characteristic of these. 
During the first visit daily excursions were made into the island to¬ 
wards the northern and eastern jjarts; the jungle was found to be so 
dense on the ridges and the level ground so difficult owing to the 
ramifications of a considerable creek, which, with its concomitant man¬ 
grove swamps, finds an outlet into the northern bay, that it was only 
on one occasion that the western coast was reached. It was impossible 
to do anything like justice to the interior ; still, the northern and north- 
eastei’n peninsulas, the northern half of the east coast, the north coast 
and about two miles of the west coast at the north end were fairly 
thoroughly examined. During the second visit, profiting by the experi¬ 
ence of the former season, fewer attempts Avere made to force a passage 
in a straight line through all obstacles, and the edges of ridges —juga 
ipsissima —were in particular carefully avoided. The compass was 
discarded, no particular objective in the shape of a bill visible from 
the sea-shore was permitted to occupy the attention exclusively; the 
easiest rather than the shortest road was chosen as the route to be 
followed. In this way the island was crossed in four or five different 
places, all, however, towards the southern end; the west coast was 
explored for about four miles and the east coast examined northwai’ds 
as far as the point reached when working in the opposite direction in 
the previous year. The outlying islet, Jerry, was also examined fairly 
thoroughly and its coasts skirted. 
96 
