68 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
climbing species of Lygodium. This plant twines around the 
stems of trees up to a height of 50 feet. The leaves at the 
base are entire and sterile, those higher up being partly sterile 
and partly spore-bearing. In the spore-bearing leaves the 
margins are produced into a number of digitate sori masses. 
The fern is known to the natives as the Wa-ka-lu, or “ Fern 
of the Gods.” In the neighbourhood of Narokorokoyawa a 
good collection of fresh-water fishes was obtained. The size of 
some of these was remarkable, considering that the water is 
extremely shallow and rapids are very abundant. 
Among land forms, the large beetle Macrotoma heros was 
obtained. The giant larve of this organism are used by the 
natives in place of fat. This I learnt on making inquiries 
after having consumed a fine meal of fried bananas. Spiders 
are exceedingly abundant, as one soon finds out when spending 
a night in a cave, an experience which sometimes fell to our 
lot. The principal species are Nephila maculata and Cyrtophora 
moluccensis. Scorpions are not regarded by the natives with 
the same dread as they fear the large millipedes (Spzrostreptis 
fijiensis) mentioned above. The boys will bring one a handful 
of scorpions with as little fear as if they were carrying a 
handful of marbles. Among the scorpions are found Isometrus 
perfidus and Isometrus maculatus. The millipede (Spdrostreptis 
fijiensis) is said to-eject a fluid which is extremely harmful to 
the eyes, and may cause blindness. Fungi and lichens are 
extremely abundant. Among the fungi one of the most 
prominent members is the succulent and evil-smelling Phallus 
umpudicus. Prominent among the higher plants are numerous 
species of Hibiscus, the flowers being much in use among the 
natives for self-adornment. ‘The fibres of the Hibiscus are used 
in the preparation of their “national” beverage—yaqona, or 
kava. This material is obtained from the root of Piper 
methysticum, which is found growing in close proximity to the 
native houses. Unfortunately, in a brief paper of this nature, 
a catalogue of the members of the Fijian flora would be out of 
place. Suffice it to say that in arboreous vegetation Hiji has 
many fine specimens. Although none of the trees attain the 
dimensions of the mammoth trees of California, nor the gigantic 
size of some Australian eucalypti, yet they are splendid ex- 
amples of their respective kinds. The flora of Fijiis essentially 
tropical. Its general character is Polynesian, with some 
affinities to the flora of Australia and the Malay Islands. 
From Narokorokoyawa, as a central camp, numerous excursions 
were made to different parts of the island. One of the most 
memorable of these side excursions was the trip across the 
central plateau. After rising a few thousand feet through a 
mass of tropical ferns we reached the top of the plateau, and then 
journeyed for miles through a morass. he surrounding 
country is composed of andesite. Very few white men have 
