Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.3)

April, 1836. VEGETATION, 541 very oppressive ; and on the outer coast, a solid broad flat of coral rock, which serves to break the violence of the open sea. Excepting near the lagoon where there is some sand, the land is entirely composed of rounded fragments of coral. In such a loose, dry, stony soil, the climate of the intertropical regions alone could produce a vigorous vegetation. On some of the smaller islets, nothing could be more elegant, than the manner in which the young and full-grown cocoa- nut trees, without destroying each other's symmetry, were mingled into one wood. A beach of glittering white sand formed a border to these fairy spots. I will now give a sketch of the natural history of these islands, which, from its very paucity, possesses a peculiar interest. The cocoa-nut tree, at the first glance, seems to compose the whole wood; there are, however, five or six other kinds. One of these grows to a very large size, but, from the extreme softness of its wood, is useless ; another sort affbrds excellent timber for ship- building. Besides the trees, the number of plants is exceedingly limited, and consists of insignificant weeds. In my collection, which includes, I believe, nearly the perfect Flora, there are twentv species, without reckoning a moss, lichen, and fungus. To this number two trees must be added ; one of whicl> was not in flower, and the other I only heard of. The latter is a solitary tree of its kind in the whole group, and grows near the beach, where, without doubt, the one seed was thrown up by the waves. I do not include in the above list, the sugar-cane, banana, some other vegetables, fruit-trees, and imported grasses. As these islands consist entirely of coral, and at one time probably existed as a mere water-washed reef, all the productions now living here, must have been transported by the waves of the sea. In accordance to this, the Flora has quite the character of a refuge for the destitute : Professor Henslow informs me, that of the twenty species, nineteen belong to diff'erent genera, and these again to no less than sixteen orders