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Maps, platas, charts, etc.. may ba filmad at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte A des taux da reduction diff Aranf^. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA. il est filmA A partir da I'angla supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant la nombra d'imagas nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthods. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 TWENTY-FOUR VIEWS OP XHB VEGETATION OF THB COASTS AND ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC T.OTTDOW MyTFD nY si'oTTiswoonr: a"?!! ri) IfrW -STKEl'T Sf^VARl; TWENTY-FOUR VIEWS OF THE VEGETATION or THE COASTS AND ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC WITH EXPLANATORY DESCRIPTIONS TAKEN DURING THE EXPLORING VOYAGE OF THE UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAIT. LUTKE, IN THE RUSSIAN CORVETTE "SENJAWIN," YEARS 1827, 1828, & 1829 BY F. 11. VON KITTLITZ TBANSLATED PBOM THE GEBMAN AND EDITED BY BERTHOLD SEEMANN, Ph.D., F.L.S. AUTHOR OF "THE BOTANY OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. H "NARRATIVE OF THB VOYAGE OF H.M.S. HERALD," ETC. ERALD," "POPULAR HISTORY OF THE PALMS," LONDON LONGMAN, GEEEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS 18G1 ■-^.A 05 00 u- 05 I- i- ^ si Co •Xi^ ^N X ^ > H O o -^ '^ > f '^ i Wj of vol woi anc kiic rea( bal) Itah #Ggi' [irfitfH* iij-ii^iiiiamraf'ri.i._ i TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. I WliEX in 1859 IVIr. Church exliibitecl his "Heart of tlie Andes," men of science began to hope that the time had arrived wlien their endea- ; voiirs to spread a correct knowledge of the physical featiu-es of our globe would be aided from a side from which they have long anticipated assist- ance ; that artists, encouraged by the success which Mr. Church's well- knoAvn painting achieved, and taking advantage of the great facihties of reaching the remotest portions of the world in an incredibly short space of time, woidd have suspended for a while the studies of the shady lanes and babbling brooks of Northern Europe, or the purple skies of beautiful Italy, in order to devote themselves to the rich field that the unknown regions of the tropics or little known coimtries of the temperate or frigid zones offer. These sanguine hopes have been disappointed. Our exhi- . bitions of paintings are annually overflowing with landscapes, but they are of the old stamp. Wlien every branch of science, enlarging its horizon, is seized with a kudable desire to take a comprehensive grasp of the matter appertaining to its respective department ; when no historian, who values his repute, now writes the history of a country without ascertaining its bearing and i 3?f>r9 I vi I'KKKACE. I I rdationsliip to lluit oi" the wliolu vnrih ; when no j^'cologist (hires to advance conclusions without kno\vin«j^ what his brethren liave brouglit forth ; wlien no zoologist can publish the fauna, no botanist the (lora, of a district without examining the surrounding regions ; when philologists no longer attempt explanations without having examined the whole range of human speech, — artists have, in contradistinction to this general tendency towards universality, remained essentially " local.'* The fact that North America may now be reached within a week, at less expense than Italy, and the antipodes in forty days, focms to be quite lost upon them, and the treasures there to be found are doomed to be hidden until laid bare by the wand of some future artistic magician. Well may we exclaim. Are all the virgin forests destined to pcx'-ish by the axe before one master hand will attempt to preserve their grandeur on canvas for the instruction of posterity ? Are our descendants to possess nothing save the bare descriptions of the gigantic trees of Western America? When every vestige of them shall have disappeared, will it be believed that in our days there existed vegetable monsters, whose ages were not calcu- lated by hundreds but by thousands of years, whose summits overtopped those of our highest cathedrals, and rivalled the pinnacles of the great pyra- mids ? Are we to have nothing save miserable daubs of the dazzUng au- tumnal changes of colour undergone by the flora of Canada and the United States ? Is the majestic grandeiu* of a coral reef under the bright skies of the South Sea no theme of inspiration? Are the beauties of a coral bed, reflected through the crystal waters of the ocean, with all the manifold fonn, colour, vegetable and animal life, a veritable " sen-scape" out of the region of the land-scape painter ? There is every reason to suppose that art itself would be as greatly benefited as science is by their votaries extending the sphere of their studies. In order to seize upon the features peculiar to a country, one must be able to compare them with those of others. To appreciate at rUKFACK. v\i (hires to 3 broiiglit le iloni, of liilologists c range of I tendency luit North Jian Italy, n, and the tare by the 3 pcrisli by r grandeur i to possess II America? 2heved that i not calcu- ovcrtopped great pyra- azzling aii- ,he United Kies of the coral bed, manifold out of the as greatly e of their untry, one ireciate at one "•huue the chantrtrrisfir hennf'n's of England or Eui'ope, one must have seen more tlnui England or Eur()i)e ; and artists would be able to improve even upon their present style of shady lanes, 6cc. c^c., if they had spent a few nights in the desert, made several excursions in a virgin forest, or seen the mighty working of the icy masses in the Arcti' and Antarctic circles. Tlie physiognomy of plants is a subject which can be advanced, pciiia])s, more by intelhgent artists than by botanists. Our morjihological learning discjualifies us, in a great measure, for physiognomic studies. With our heads erannned with theoretical i)rototyi)es, and fully hnbued witli tlie desire to discover, under the unimportant external dra[)ery, the hiw to wiiich our classifying age attaclies so much value, we are jipt to overlook physiognomic features altogether ; and our sense of the beautiful is so little cultivated, that it would be in danger of becoming totally blunted if it were not brought in daily contact with the grand works of nature. Not so the artist, who, free from this incubus, and looking upon the scenes before him without any preconceived notions, would probably lay hold of their chief physiognomical features, if he were iin intelligent num, much more readily than we plant-hunters. A striking uistance of this is given by M. Von Kittlitz. Though httle versed in botany, as he candidly admits, he has produced a series of pictiu'es which are unrivalled for their truthfulness, and will ever be a source of deep interest and study, whether we regard them with the eyes of artists or of botanists. On the Continent they have been fully appre- ciated, and it is stated that the work, from v hich the plates here given have been reduced, is totally out of print. Lideed, the copy placed at my disposal by the publishers for the purpose of translation, is said to have been the last that could be procured. It must ever be a matter of regret that the talented author, who y first prepared tlic originals and then spent years in order to perfect himself w Vlll PREFACE. in etching before he attempted their reproduction, coiild not have had the co-operntion of the botanist of the expedition, and was reluctantly compelled to prepare the letterpress himself. I have endeavoured to mend the defects of the latter as much as lay in ny power, by adding foot-notes where it was most necessary; whilst ray personal familiarity with most parts of the globe enabled me to free the text from much of the ambiguity, caused by a laudable desire on the part of the author not to commit himself to statements for the entire accuracy of which he did not deem it prudent to pledge himself. BERTHOLD SEEMANN. London : July 20th, 1861. !•! not have had IS reluctantly leavoured to jr, by adding al familiarity om much of f the author of which he CONTENTS. SEEMANN. Intboduction FAGB 1 EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. Plate I. Coast of Chile. Vegetation of the Heights about Valparaiso, in March IL IsLAK. 0. Sitka, on the West Coast of Nobth Amebxca. Underwood and Swamps, in July Woody Mountains, in July ra. IV. Unalaschka. one of the AxEumv Islaxds. A Plain on the Shores of lUuluk Bay and Part of the adjacent Heights, in August V. Island of Ualan. Caboline Abchipelaoo. Mangroves, in December ^' " S^8™Py Fo»st» with Banyan-trees, in December ^"' " "^'g«*^*^o°«f a VaUey and Outskirts of Forest, in December . » Woody Mountains, in December IX. Chain of Cobal Kbef of L.oukob, Cabollne Abchipelaoo. View of a Woody Coral X. Island, in February, seen from without View of a Woody Coral Island, in Februaiy, seen from within XL Guaham. one of the Mabunne Islands. Forest in the Madrepore Plain of Orot^ Peninsula, in March . XIL XIIL Lower Savana District, in March Upper Savana District, in March 11 14 18 20 22 26 28 33 36 38 40 43 iS rim aSiiS '■:m X CONTENTS. I'tATE XIV. Peel Island, Boninsima Grolt. Sea-shore, in May XV. Boninsima. Woody Flaina of the Sea-shore, in May XVI. „ Woody Mountains, in May XVII. Kamtschatka. Meadow in the Awatscha Kivcr District, in July XVIII. „ Forest on the Upper Kamtschatka River, in July XIX. „ Pine Forests on the Central Kamtschatka River, in August XX. „ Deciduous Forests on the Central Kamtschatka River, in August XXI. „ Woody Mountains, in August .... XXII. „ Grassy Plain in the Bolschaja Reka District, in September XXIII. Luzon, one of the Philippine Islands. Vegetation of the Plain of the Passig River, in January XXIV. „ Upper Savana District, in January PAG 12 47 49 52 53 67 69 61 62 64 66 67 PAGli 47 'iissig 49 52 53 67 59 61 62 64 66 67 VEGETATION OF THE ^ COASTS AND ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC. ■.■» *; INTRODUCTION. "BiNCE Alexander von Humboldt ranged the geography of plants amongst the 'feciences, much has been said and \vritten on this eminently popular and attractive subject; nevertheless we must look to the future for the most interesting results of the inquiries instituted. The materials of scientific value relating to the phy- siognomy of vegetation, that charming and grateful study, are for the most part confined to a few more or less comprehensive descriptions, and comparatively a limited number of happy pictorial illustrations. Yet illustrations of that nature %Te an essential element of a branch of science the object of which is principally an immediate appeal to the eye. We still require a considerable number of faithful illustrations before we shall be able to collect into one or a few folios a complete ieries exhibiting the most prominent peculiarities of the beautiful garb in which iTature has clothed our planet, like the bird in its plumage ; whilst the contem- f lation that wherever ma. penetrates he appears destined to destroy or modify fcr cultivation this natural ornament, only tends to increase the wish for early and |j|equent contributions towards such a collection. The following plates are in- •nded as such ; and before proceeding to describe them more fully I shall point it the astonishing richness which Nature displays in the characteristic groupings klled the physiognomy of a country. B ^f] m Ml! m III 2 INTRODUCTION. In order to obtain a correct conception of these riclies, it is necessary to call to mind the splierical sliape of our <>lol)e. The different climates and their transi- tions will then he most evident. It is well known that their differences exercise a direct bearing on those of the vegetation ; heat and moisture, the various degrees of which determine climatic differences, also constituting the principal conditions of vegetable life. The gr(>ater the harmony in which these two agents act, the grander the residt of their co-operation. This is the reason why the lowest lati- tudes, the tropical zones, with exception of their arid deserts, exhibit the greatest force of vegetation, the finest and most diversified forms, and the largest nimiber of species. At every marked approach towards the icy poles, and in proportiim as the temperature decreases, the vegetation becomes altered, assuming more and more what has been termed a " northern look," until it dwindles down to an Alpine flora, and ultimately to a mere crust of lichens covering the rocks. \Miat a variety of features must there be ranged between this extreme and the gigantic forests of the equinoctial regions ! As the temperature decreases with the increasing altitude, exactly 'lie same succession is exhibited in the different regions of the higher mountains, where the various forms of vegetation, from those of the temperate zones to the polar, the limits of perpetual snow, are foimd successively. But, however much diversity there might be in these gigantic terraces, if in every instance the same characters were repeated, interest in them would be much diminished. One would in that case only have to ascend a given mountain, the summit of which reached the region of perpetual snow, in order to behold the vegetation of the cooler regions. A country situated in about latitude 30° south would present as faithful a picture as one situated as far north. This, however, would ill agree with the evident tendency of Nature towards diversity, its manifold variations of certain forms, and the transition to which they give play. Nature has guarded against the forests of the Straits of Maghellan having quite the same aspect as those of Europe. Certain plants of both hemispheres may be similar, but there are specific differences which separat them and render their mutual similarity very slight.* The very different dis- tribution of land and sea hardly produces in corresponding latitudes a sufficieot similarity of climate to insure, even in part, a complete identity of species. Expe- rience has also demonstrated how difficult it sometimes is, in attempts at trans- Is is not ab.soUitoly the ciiso. Tliere is ;i laiul ("Botany of the Voyage of II. M.S. Hcralil," • of fipocies which arc found wild in hoth London, 1852-1857, p. 20), r.ad tliat will no doubt * This nunihci' of fipocir the Arctic and the Subantarotic circlo. A list of be considerably extended by future researclics. — them V.MS given in my Flora of Western Eskimo- Bcrtlw'd Scemann. Pl IK an di tii( r;u api INTRODUCTION. ?ary to call leir transi- es exorcise )U,s degrees conditions ts act, the owest lati- ho g-reatest nuniher of )portion as more and ) an Alpine it a variety c forests of y the same dns, where the polar, ;h diversity I characters that case reofion of A country ure as one endency of transition Straits of plants of 1 separat erent dis- aufficieot js. Expe- at trans- l.R Herakl," will no doubt researches. — plantation from one hemisphere to the other, especially from the southern to the nortiiern, to discover the suitable climate. It is true, in the warmer zones of one and the same hemisphere, the different regions of the mountains, having greater climatic relationship, exhibit many species l)elonging to the colder zones ; but thcM'e are generally a few forms peculiar to warmer countries, which extend their I r;uig(^ high up tliese mountains, imparting to them their idiosyncrasy. Tins mixture (if plants appertaining to different climates imparts quite a peculiar plivsioo-nomv. A district in the Mexican mountains 8000 or 9000 feet above the sea, does certainly remind us by its oaks and firs of North America, or even Europe; but only to render its Yuccas and Foiwcroyas still more prominent features. But it is not only latitude ])y which we measure differences in the typical forms of vegetation, principally caused by the climate; the longitude also works decided changes in the vegetation, which, though subordinate to the former, and apparently quite independent of climate, nevertheless present everywhere new pictiues.* Passing over the striking and numerous physiognomic differences caused in one and the same zone by local circumstances, such as deserts, steppes, and great swamps, we mention only those observable in regular and gradual trans- itions in the same latitude, but different longitude, and imder almost identical climatic conditions. The phenomenon first presenting itself is that the geogra- phical range of most species is not of sufficient extent to occupy longitudinally the whole zone, of course most frequent where the zones are longest, i. e. in the lowest latitudes, and least frequent where shortest. This is the reason why, in the neigh- jbourhood of the poles, the geographical range of species extends, without regard :t() continents, over the whole zone, which is short enough to be filled up by it ; but on nearing the equator, those species, the home of which is the entire zone, con- tinually decrease in proportion to the other occupants of the soil, and thus .an increasing number of districts of distribution is ranged side by side, in order to provide for the continually increasing length of the zones. ; Thus, in consequence of the spherical shape and position of our earth, con- tinually increase, with the temperature of the climate, not only the capabilities of Vegetation and the number of species of each country, but also the space, so that the principal character of the vegetation as imparted by the different climates iiuiy obtain full play to divide in numerous variations longitudinally defined. The * It is true thiit the zones, of which the peo- the whole the same direction as those straight ones iliy of plants takes notice, are detined by the of which mathematical geography avails itself. ^avy isothermal lines, &c. ; but these lines have on u 2 i ! *! 4 INTKODUCTION. so-called region of palms, the longitudinal range of wliicli is the most extensive, would seem to be on that account the richest in species as well as in peculiar features. How interesting would prove the contrast Ijotween three views repre- senting respectively an East Indian, an African, and an American virgin forest, as nearly as possible having the same soil and climate I Without doubt there would be in all three much physiognomic resemblance, notwithstanding the total differ- ence of their component elements. What in the one would only be indicated, would in the other have obtained full development. Thus climbing plants play a more important part in the physiognomy of the Indian jungle than in that of the American forest, whilst the latter enjoys the advantage of harbouring a greater number of strange and beautiful epiphytes. Here then the difference between the continents, totally disappearing towards the poles, is most evident. It is unnecessary to mention that these differences stand in the same relation towards those of the geographical latitudes, as the species do towards the genera, and that, as a rule, only allied species or forms represent each other in the different longitudinal divisions of one and the same zone.* The facility with which almost all species may be transplanted from one of the longitudinal divisions into the other, though a well-known fact, should be noticed as tending to prove more than all others that the longitudinal differences are essentially independent of climate, and not caused by certain subdivisions of it. The law according to which one part of a zone originally produces this, the other that form, does by no means preclude interchange of species, and it would almost seem as if Nature had originally adopted that mode of distribution in order to show even here its tendency towards diversity. The transition being, generally speaking, only gradual, it would bf difficult to find in all cases for the various physiognomy of plants a well-defined boundary line. Still Nature has bestowed on every part of our earth's surface which we geographically may term " country " peculiar beauties, by which it may be known as readily as one organic being from another. Without thi? higher significance the chequered masses, which would otherwise appear le>> noteworthy, become important objects of science and the art subservient to it. True, the latter has no slight problem to solve. Not only is travelling in far- * Of course in allied species there is a certain related to the Luhclias, strikingly recalls the Yucca- resemMancc in form, hut very often the type pre- pcviliod as it were to a certain climate, selects, in the different longitudinal divisions, plants belonging to widely ditferent families. To cite one instance : the mountain plant from Simcn, figured and descrihed l)y Riippel in his "Abyssinian Journey," thougli of the higher mountains of America situated in tli' same latitude. In the extreme oast of the 01' Continent this form is repi'osented by screw-piii'' {Pandamts), having a single crown supported on :i. erect trunk. INTRODUCTIOX. 5 ist extensive, 5 in peculiiiv views repre- jin forest, as there would 3 total differ- be indicated, plants play a ^n in that of ring a greater e between the same relation is the genera, n the different which almost sions into the ove more than 3nt of climate, hich one part eans preclude ad originally dency towards it would be a well-defined earth's surface by which it Without thij |e appear lev iservient to it, irelling in far- reoalls the Yucca- ["ica s-ituatcd in tli. east of the 01' tod by screw-pill" lu supported on a. distant and barbarous countries still associated with diflRculties, but in order to draw these pictures very diff'rent circumstances have to be considered from those which affect ordinary landscapes. The artist must see with the eyes of a naturalist. He nuist alsu be in the position to have at least the engraver under his continued control, if tlie real value of his w^ork is to be preserved. Besides, there are required numerous cuntributions from all sides in order finally to form that great collection, the object of which will be always more scientific than artistic ; and it does not appear advisable to refrain from pul)lis]iing what has been prepared exclusively with this end, merely because, viewed from a purely artistic point, it may be deemed unsatis- factory. This applies to the following " views," in which doubtless much of the ac- customed artistic effects will be missed ; nevertheless they will, it is hoped, supply a fair notion of the countries in which they were taken. It may also not be deemed superfluous to add a few words about the way in which they originated. On the departure of the Russian corvette "Senjawin," in 1826, the botanists of ^t. Petersburg suggested that, as opportunity offered, as many portraits and charac- teristic sketches of the vegetation as possible should be taken. Although un- ac([uainted with botany, I was deeply interested in carrying out this suggestion, and in my mind conceived a series of pictures, from which the following may have borrowed its form. Still want of time, generally experienced by the naturalists of exploring expeditions, would probably have prevented me from carrying my resolution into effect, if the nature of my occupation had not essentially tended to favour it. Sporting and collecting zoological objects constantly brought the featvn-es of the vegetation before my eyes. Setting out with the determination to construct a view, I generally succeeded in accomplishing it during the short time that we used to remain at anchor in each place, provided I had collected the necessary materials. These consisted — 1, in a sketch of any comprehensive land- icape, in which generally several, according to the principal peculiarities of the •|oil, were joined ; 2, in a sufficient niimber of portraits of the larger plants, occupy- ing the respective soils, and which, unless already embodied in the general sketch, paight unhesitatingly be introduced. A rough draft of the wdiole was generally yiude directly after leaving the country to which it referred, when the survey of lothing save sky and water did not interfere with the vivid recollections of im- ■ressions just received. A few possible mistakes were guarded against by the resence of Dr. JMertens, my dear friend and travelling companion, who gene- Hy knew well the plants illustrated, had collected them himself, and preserved hat he had seen fresh in his memory. Thus these B 3 "views," even when origi- ii 6 INTRODUCTION. Dating, vvero under the control of a wholesome criticism. It was long the £ivourite idea of my friend to write to them explanatory letterpress ; and if his unexpected death had not prevented the carrying out of his plan, tlie whole would have been an interesting work, whereas now the plates may rather suffer from want of fuller explanations than here given. I may also be blamed for undertaking the execution of the plates on copper my- self, instead of assigning them to more artistic hands, which would have insured more elegance and saved me the time necessarily lost in trying to perfect myself for a self- imposed task. But the points on which in this case everything depends, the true character of the views represented — the portraiture, so to speak — woiUd have lost by that process more than it would have gained by the supposed increase of elegance in execution. It is perhaps not generally known how extremely difficult it is to obtain from the hands of an engraver or lithographer a correct copy of a picture embra- cing such numerous and ddlicate points of character ; but proofs are furnished by a series of expensive illustrations in works of travel, which convey no idea of tlif scenes represented, though it was not from want of good original drawings. This applies with full force to what alone is here to be represented, characteristic foliage and large masses of vegetation generally. One may justly say that an artist must have seen them in nature merely to copy a drawing without utterly spoiling it, to say nothing about rendering it in quite a different manner. Tht most talented landscape painter can only reproduce the "jf'e ne sals qiioi^^ in the character of those districts which he has seen himself, and he would violatf Nature if suddenly called upon to paint objects belonging to climes foreign to him. It is true the shadows of a tropical forest, for instance, are subject to the same law< as elsewhere, but still they are formed in a peculiar way, difficult for a painter t( convey. As for descriptions it is impossible for them to supply the place o! illustrations. The expressions so often used by travellers in dwelling on tropica! vegetation, — " Innumerable branches and leaves form such a thick mass that the rays of the sun cannot possibly penetrate," &c., — are calculated to give, and ii: many instances do give, a very erroneous impression. Judging from such descrip- tions, I had imagined a deep shade, a darkness almost approaching to night, ani; much greater than that of our pine forests ; and I was not a little surprised t' perceive so much light under the finest trees, the widely spread foliage of whict nowhere alio ed the sky to be seen. At first I was inclined to ascribe this solel; to the perpendicular light of noon, but, after observing the same phenomenon a every time of day, I became convinced that it was one of the characteristics of tli climate. Indeed, what would become of all the plants destined to live in tin INTRODUCTION. IS long till' ; and if ln« whole would suffer from 1 copper my- insured more 5elf for a self- iiids, the true d have lost by ,e of elegance ; it is to obtain icture embra- \irnished by a lO idea of the awings. This characteristic ^ say that an without utterly manner. The sals quoV in would violatt' :oreign to him. the same law- or a painter ti the place o! iig on tropica: lick mass that to give, and it such descrip- to night, aui; e surprised t' oliage of whiol jribe this solel; phenomenon a cteristics of tli to live in tlii sliade, if the enormous masses of foliage causing it had not been placed and arranged by provident Nature in such a manner as to permit the solar rr.ys, though broken in a thousand ways, to penetrate with sufficient force to the lower vege- tation? Our pine woods do not require a similar provision ; their darkest shade* ''-falling on a soil which, having nothing to produce save the trees, can dispense with the influence of light, though the trees themselves do require protection against violent winds and heavy masses of snow, the melting of which is so nmch assisted by being distributed over the broad branches. These very different modes of life must necessarily produce very different aspect3. In a climate where the plants never suffer from the cold, they display a certain freedom looked for in vain in regions sulyect to great changes of tempe- rature, and where trees and shrubs, developing avast number of f mall branches, Ibrm perhaps thicker but on the whole poorer crowms. This is seen in most Alpine plaits in a much higher degree, especially those growing gregariously, the leaves of V. hich are not only placed close together, but also pressed close to the ground : th(.' culd, it would appear, totally restricting the upward extension of the branches. 5'his is most marked on tropical mountains, where one has only to descend into Ihu plains in order to behold the very opposite character of the vegetation already mentioned. The pecidiarity of a vegetation always enjoying a warm and moist fttn\ospliere is particidarly evident in the elegant forms of palms and tree-ferns, constituting, in reality, the type peculiar to most tropical zones. In that climate we behold not only in the Yuccas, Dracaenas, screw-pines {Paiulanus), large Scita^r/nieous plants, &c., a surprising repetition of the chief features of the pahnc;, but to a certain extent even the external branches and spreading leaves ^ the largest forest trees form crowns not unlike those of palms on a small gCiile. If the croAvns often consist of heavy and undivided leaves, and thus again differ from pahns, the Mlmusa-f ovm, playing so important a part in the tropics, dleps in, and by its delicate feathery foliage imitates the features of a palm in a ijirprising degree. There are even mimosa-like trees which assume a much more jRhn-like look than one would be prepared to expect in a dicotyledonous plant, rerywhere in that climate one observes a certain quite peculiar kind of "trellis- )rk,"f if ii may be so called, the most highly developed in the palms, and ^eii in plants which can be but little compared to them, and probably owe their j|fevailing character to the free development they enjoy. Great masses of delicate % ^ Tiinipii-i gravis iinibr;'., nocont ct frugibus f iimlirii'.'' ViKG. Eel. A'. J^ Tliis tfi'iu does not qiiito express the author's meaning; hut it is the nearest English equivalent I could find for the German " DurcMrochenheit." — liiTthold Sccmunn. B 4 8 INTRODUCTION. ■^! 'I'f '■ (III f()liii INTRODUCTION. illest fern .'Utin^ the s ineetin;^ filler scale :hr(mgliout here, more blest urclii- itic masses of which is [»e meetin;^ There, trees •h, develop- continuous ich periodi- the higher L'cumstauces ^e character latitude 48° emperature, neut of the )wth in the uthern por- would have ous climates its on which icceeded in missed it so s upon the icrifice to a jme justice, too simple, and would oduced. To f, and that my primary 1 to figaro> introduced from necessity, and in places more appropriately occupied hy otiier species. If it had not been from want of time, more imposing views of tlu' ("arnline and ^Marianne Islands would have been produced. But iiere must Ix; rtiicatid an observation formerly accepted as correct, but again disputed, that the vc'^etation much fuel is required, where there is hardly any other moisture than that produced by artificial ir- rigation, and wliere land carriage must continue for many years both expensive and laborious, the M-ide-spread distress that must accrue from the in- judicious neglect of the bounties of Nature, will be apparent to the most casual observer. There is no doubt that the aridity of the plain has been per- petuated and increased by neglecting common pre- cautions with regard to tliis shrub. The Espino is brought into Valparaiso in a highly charred con- dition ; it is very hard, gives much heat, and its ashes are sufficiently alkaline for the manufacture of soap. The stoves and warming-pans over whieli the Cliilenian ladies are very fond of putting their feet during the cold weather, are supplied by tlie small bundles of charred Espino so often seen for sale in Valparaiso." — Birthold Seemann. ight stems. [id, a consi- species of . But the *eriivianus, neigliboiir- )lant about ^liout Chile ctaugularly 3 best seen ,re different ansition to dv J pappus b present a peculiar to ;o be mere nd one has fire. The LIS bamboo, [ Bamhusa ted (14 o). a forms, ou is hardly any jy artificial ir- must continue laborious, the lie from the iii- Nature, will be . There is no has been pcr- T common pre- Tho Espino is f charred con- beat, and its e manufacture ins over whicli f putting their ipplied by the often seen for nn. HEIGHTS ABOUT VALPARAISO. ,3 geMy »l„pi„t, hill.s, oxtenxive thickets, which, int.Tlaced with fine #„(;„•„, I cna.t,tutc as peculiar a feature of the district as any of the previonsly me„ti™,„i I plants. An.ongst the brushwood to the left, sheltered to some extent from violent muds, may be recognised traces of the vegetation of the valleys, three pi.u.f, _ eharactcr,sfc of the country :-l. FuMa lydaiUs, now a leaflJss sh™,f but covered rnth a number of flowers of a carmine colour (s | 8 ^) ; 2. the shrubby LohUa Tcpa, the dark red terminal blossoms of which could "scarcely be indicated in our plate (s | 4 ;) ; and 3. a beautiful lo^-anthus, a thick busby shrub, densely covered with leaves and growing parasitically in most trees, here in an old Lithi • .t .s lughly orna.ne„tal, especially in the dry season, on account of its dark fre b' green fohage and splendid red bunches of flowers, much visited by hummin.-b d' M i. W I miliar i •'■ 'ill' i i 1 ii jrl 14 PLATE II. ISLAND OF SITKA, WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA. UXDERWOOD AND SAVAMP. Juh/. The aspect of this country and its luxuriant vegetation hardly remind us of its high northern situation. On tlu; eastern side of the same continent, there are no longer any trees in latitude 57° — 58° north. Repeated reference has already been made, in the illustrations to the Atlas, &c., to the peculiar character of the western coast, influenced in this northern region by the high mountains, which, forming a protection towards the north, increase the mildness of the climate. Hence the imiformity of the temperature, — the necessary consequence of the per- petual influence of the sea-breezes. If the winter be generally mild, but stormy, the summer has nothing of the heat distinguishing it elsewhere, whilst there is little continued fine weather in any season. The sky is generally covered with clouds, and rainy days preponderate throughout the year. It seems to be princi- pally this feature of the climate which imparts to the pine forests of this country their surprising power and luxuriance, and clothes even naked rocks, exhibiting no traces of vegeta])le mould, Avith woody vegetation. A succeeding illustration (Plate III.) will give a conception of these woods ; the present leads us into a district, far away from human habitations, where partly the axe, partly violent winds have effected a clearing, showing amongst the remnants of old trunks tlie luxuriantly growing underwood ; further on is seen one of those swamps, filling nearly all the little valleys, and backed by high and almost impenetrable forests. The two pines, growing intermingled in this wood, are represented in our view in several characteristic specimens, especially Pinus Canadensis, distinguished by its The other species, delicate foliage ( 7 | 8 - j a new one, has been named .MERICA. Juhj. unci us of its there are no ■i already been racter of the titains, which, ■ the climate, ce of the per- , but stormy, hilst there is ' covered with s to be princi- f this country exhibiting no g illustration ads us into a ijartly violent Id trunks the mmp? filling ;rable forests. 1 our view in juished by its been named I :l iifiii: SI li'i' 1 1 I w Oh \."4^, ^../ --^ ^' 1 !^ . >**^/^f^ 4.' ■ :'■: 4- £>^ * t^ ,-' t'fy' ^^^P^M^BEt' ^B^fl^ ' ■o > ■■■■ '" %■: ', >.' - ■ 1! 'm ■■ ''Mm UNDERWOOD AND SWAAII'. l'> riiivs Mertcnsiana by Professor Bongard (2 | 3 - j.* In Sitka it is as iibundant as the former, and in growth and habit approaches our European pines ; henee the KussiauH generally term it"Jull" or "Jollnik " (pine), whilst the other is known by the name of "Liswen" (lareli). They rival eaeh other in height, but the stem of the Canadian pine is generally thicker, round and straight, whilst the Mertens' pin2 has a more diversified growth and highly fantastic branches ; its stems are always slender, in proportion to the branches, and show irregular longitudinal fur- rows, somewhat imparting to them the look of fluted columns. Generally both species are densely covered with mosses and common lichens {Usnea), the latter of whicli, being of considerable length, remind one of the TiUandslds of tropical America. They are of a lively fresh green, that of the Canadian pine more inclin- ing to yellow, that of the Mertens' pine more to blue, which renders these pine forests more beautiful than ours, the dark gloominess of which justifies the Ger- mans calling their deciduous forests " living woods " in contradistinction to them. There will be no difficulty in recognising both species in the various young spe- cimens given in our plate. A fine group of two young plants, which have taken root upon the undisturbed remnant of an old stump (6 | 7 , j, has been carefully copied, and furnishes a good illustration of the prevailing character of growth in this region, — old dead wood, already converted into vegetable mould, harbouring the roots of other trees, whilst it yet retains its perfect shape and bark. Thus most of the plants grow epiphytically upon their own kind, a phenomenon finding a ready explanation in the prevailing moisture and low temperature of the climate, the absence of destructive insects, &c., but which may be regarded as an interesting addition to the fact that America generally produces numerous parasites and epiphytes, of very diversified form. Tlie third species of pine, growing isolated in swampy declivities, is Pinus palustrls, a tree not attaining any height, and having much the habit of our Pinus syl- j vestriSj but the aspect of the branches and fruit of the so-called " Knie-holz " {{Pinus Pumilio) so common in the Alps ( 15 | 16 "^If Amongst the different reciduous plants mostly assuming the form of shrubs, and here and there associated [with these pines, we meet the indigenous apple-tree {Pyrus divers if olia, Bongard), Ithe habit of which resembles that of the different kinds of Cmtcegiis, while its fine white flowers bear a great likeness to those of our apple-tree (l2 -J. There is * Placed amongst tlie doubtful species of the [section Abies, by Eudliclier. — U. Seemann. t This is probably not Pinus paliistris, which does not grow so far north. — Birthuld Seemann. l(i ISLAND OK SITKA. Ml also the bulHainic iAder [Ahiiifi rubral 10 j HtuiidiTifi^ dose to an clder-troe (Sitrnhucus, 10 ), with <»val tcnninal hiiiii'lics of Howcrs. However, the prin- cipal mass of tho underwood, especially on clearings, consists of a species of l{iibii8 (probaltly Ralms spcctdhiUs) (13 u), hearinjif flowers (»f a cannine colour and highly aromatic fruits, which, being plentiful, are important articles of food in this country. Another Jiubaa, without edible fruit (Itubua Kufccmus) (12 p) is distinguished by its large white bh)ssoms, and delights to grow in the outskirts of thickets, in less humid places, where it finds a neighbour in one of the two species of Rlbcs abounding here f9 | 10 -j. But the most striking of all the underwood, more especially in the upper forest region rather than in this locality, is Panax hoiridmn. Well-known descriptions afiford an erroneous idea of its habit ; thus in INleycn's " Geography of Plants " (1836), it is termed " a remarkablu creeper." In the present illustration it is shown first as a low, densely-leaved shrub, as it appears on the outskirts of forests and in sunny places ( 7 - J, and again witli more developed stems, which up to a certain height are leafless, and terminate with a tuft of very large palmate leaves, a growth it assumes in shady and rather humid places (2 | 3 -J. The stems often attain double the height here shown; they are everywhere covered with rather long, strong, and dark brown spines, which do not stand off at right angles, but are pressed to the stem with their points directed upwards. The peduncles and petioles are also clad with spines, but they are less prominent The leaves have a rough surface, are thin and rather transparent, and of a pale yellowish, rather dirty green colour. At the top of the stems appears ii longish erect head, consisting of u mass of minute pale-yellow flowers. The fruit is a small fleshy, very resinous bijrry, which, as far as we could learn, is neither eaten nor otherwise turned to account. Until the end of July, — we did not see it later, —it is in an unripe state and then pale green, but it is said to become red, and during the last day of oui- stay (July 31), several were turning that colour. A tall, fine-looking plant, here and there observed on the outskirts of woods, I am unable to determine botanically, nor could Professor Bongard afford any clue when the herbarium specimens were submitted to him. I have, however, closely copied the original drawing made in Dr. Mertens' presence (14 o). The Httle shrubs, chiefly growing upon old trunks of trees, are principally species of Vac- clnium, amongst which at least two may be distinguished, one having roundish, rather blue green leaves (6 e), and the other possessing a more myrtle-like habit (7e). Til and small imparting Alliolli^sf KiDittavluii forest disti it bt 'tween o tlicrr is g( ferns (4 f) about this that they ( is n(» lack ( an- large e ^ever, so cli ground, — reaching u] = Fnt;n(i,' ])ortant arti clue losely little Vac- idisli. habit UNDKRWOOI) AND 8VVAM1'. 17 (7p). T1h\v ofton attain a j^rcatcr li('irows in the manner here represented in the different valleys hetween old remnants of fallen trees, localities in the nei;^ld)onrhood of which there is jifenerally more humidity. Such spots pnxhice a ;4reat variety, often tall ferns (4 f), tine Cdrtats (5 ^), and mmdjers of Coruns CdiKidciitils, in full lihjom ahout this tinu; (9 p). Mosses and lichens are, as n)i<;ht he expected, so plentiful, that they exercise a considerahh^ infiuence on the colourin}^' of a picture. There is no lack of herbaceous plants with tiJie flowers about tliis season, l)ut few of them are larij^e enou^ifh to be recognised in my illustrati<»n. Three; of them are, how- ever, so characteristic, that they must be indicated at least in the extreme fore- f,M-oun(l, — the fine scarlet AqnUvfjut Coiuidansis, the Mlinulus fjuttufa/^ hen; reachinj^ up to your middle, and the dark Sarannah \\\y {LUlmii Kaintschnikunh = Fritlllii/. A WELL-KNOWN phenomenon is tl;c siuklen transition from the mild climate of somo coast districts to the more severe one, peculiar to the country on account of its latitude, as soon as the observer leaves the region influenced by tempering sea- breezes. Little as is known about the countries situated on the other side of tlic protecting chain of mountains, east and north-east of Sitka, there can be no douht that their climate must be much more severe. This difference becomes evident even where the immediate influence of the sea-breezes just terminates, as is plainly shown in the character of the vegetation of such localities as that liere representee. Tlie narrow bays, stretching far inland, so common on this coast, offer a good opportunity to observe this even from the sea, and still better from the equally numerous long and narrow inland lakes, which are completely separated from the ocean by a ridge of mountains. Plants which at the seaside belong to the upper mountain region. are here growing at the sea level ; the gi owth of woody species is comparatively scanty, and instead of the luxuriant underwood there forme' by different kinds of Riibus, &c., we have here a rocky soil covered with mosses. The present illustration refers to such a district, termed " Glubokoje Osero," or " Deep Lake. Its ele na- tion above the level of the ocean probably does not amount to more than fifty feet, but its situation deprives it of the influence of the sea-breezes. The grtiat number of dead, and yet standing trees, impart to the forest, as to all those of the momi- tains of this country, a curiously mixed appearance. It is hardly necessary to luid that those trjes are principally covered with a dense mass of lichens in general, and Usneas in ;;.articular. Hero Pinus Canadcvsis and Finns Mevtenciana grow ?! together, often mingled with the beautiful Thuja e.rcelsa, Bong. {Chama'.cyp' ,n by a ridge itain reo'ion. jmparatively ent kinds of t illustration Its eleva- an fifty feet, Tiiat number ■ the moun- ?ssary to aad I in general, nciana grow .amcvcypark in the higher 7*1 '•■m illii' p t: lil^iil m I ►m ■■■> v~- 7 '' ■>*•' ^. ■".^xv-^^-/X fi*^*^. .-> Vte 'i ■En cB "■ jjvy HI^^V ^^■=^ nj ^^£ r if*--' ^?. * E."'" ^ .'".^ -7 t:^ /.,\' '■".^^^ \ ■■ :.^^. "^ f*- t» ^^j . 1 .;-*:- - ^i ;■ ■ •' > ■ ^ ^ ■ jy,>-,^: l-iT •a.; '" A *■ V- • ^^■• Hy 1^....: ^:<'' 'X'J^- ^■a^.'t" !ii- \\¥ mi I':;:!; Vl ^M ''Jill IT' :;! IK'*^'''^' WOODY .AIOUNTAINS. 1!) mountain regions as iibmulant as it is here. Its tall, slender gi-ovvtli, its wide-spread branches with their picturesquely grouped and drooping branchlets, distinguish it amongst the surrounding trees, and render it the most typical of these forests. It is of a darker and bluer green than the two prevailing species of pines. Its straight land .strictly cylindrical stem rivals in height as well as in circumference that of the oldest Canadian pines; it has a pale grey, delicate bark, with regular longitudinal rents, carefully collected by the natives and used in a variety of ways, ^^'e also observe here a fir, not essentially differing from the above-mentioned Piiuis ipalustr'iS, but attaining a considerable height ('.\ -j. The fifth conifer of this :. district, named Flmis S'dchensis by Bongard, grows isolated or in groups only in the higher meadows. Such a locality could l)e introduced in the present " view " solely by availing myself of a poetical licence. The chief feature of this mountain pine principally consists in its numerous little branches, clad with a delicate pale green foliage, not drooping as in most of its congeners, but standing upright, and forming fine horizontal bowsers (14, m). In a less marked manner the same trait of character may here and there be seen in the Canadian pine, especially growling in those colder situations in which the present view exhibits it. A specimen jddjecting little above the water may be regarded as an instance of this variation of its growth (7 | 8 -. ]. Of woody plants with deciduous foliage, we notice here only the so-called white alder, forming colossal shrubs close to the water [6 .]. I^everal species of Vaccinece attain in such places no less conspicuous dimensions. ,])ut in the narrow valleys are growing here and there tall ferns, alternating wath \Pa7iax horrUlnm and a rather large Heradeum {If. lanatmn ?). Generally speaking, this west coast appears to be less poor in umbelliferous plants than the other parts jf this continent. The numerous Vaccinew of this district are augmented by a )eculiar plant, growing in the colder parts of the forest, and having a very different hiibit and form of leaf, but flowers closely resembling those of the large kinds of ^yrola. Indeed, it is a shrubby Pyrola, as Dr. Escholz called it when first observing it, — the Cladothamnus pyroliflorus, Bong. ( 9 - ) I A beautiful Dodf- cntheon with flowers of a carmine colour, merging into blue, abounds amongst the jrass of the higher meadows ^ (•* 9- c 2 20 lli:^: iilil'l ;1, , PLATE IV. UNALASCPIKA. A PLAIN ON THE SHORES OF ILLULUK BAY, AND PART OF THE ADJACENT HEIGHTS. August. It is well known that the Aleutian Islands, notwithstanding their large super- ficial area, are quite destitute of trees, and strongly contrast with the woody mountains of the continent. The climate of Unalaschka, notwithstanding the slight difference in latitude, is much more severe than that of Sitka. The reason may be that the whole of these islands are totally unprotected against the north, and their irregular shape does not even shield their southern side from northerly winds. The steep and rather high mountains, of which" the whole country consists, appear like a genuine though rather irregular network of cones, the height and sloping of which are of course very diversified, and amongst which there are in the interior long >>ut narrow valleys without plains. Real plains, of the extent ol i Iiat seen in our illustration, are common about the shores of the deep bays ; they have quite the character of alluvial soil, and above them suddenly tower steep masses of rocks, These plains are generally covered with luxuriant grass, alternating with the almost inconspicuous raspberries and dwarf willows. Up to a considerable distance the heights themselves are clad with a rich turf, the growth of which gradually di- minishes with increasing altitude. Still higher commences an Alpine flora, dimi- nutive, mossy-looking shrubs, amongst them small willows, RJiododendron Kamtschaticum, &c., whilst the highest summits of the mountains near the shore? (aboii' 2000 feet elevation) exhibit nothing save the bare slate rocks, stripes of perpet snow, and here and there a few isolated Alpine plants. Only on the steep slopes of this upper region, especially in the furrow-like valleys so common there, grows the lupine here figured ; it is quite as bushy and tall as on the shores below, though it is not regularly met with in the intervening districts. The still higher mountains, which want of time prevented us from visiting, appear I ADJACEXT Avgust. arge super- the woody Iff the sliglit ™ reason may ; north, and ;herly winds. sists, appear d sloping of interior loiii; . seen in our ve quite tlit' ses of rocks, ag with the able distance p-adually di- flora, diuii- wdodendroi' ir the shores is, stripes v\ Only on the } so common II as on the stricts. Th iting, appear le M Cm 11 s lii'l H;ii '.vt i froi WOI tlu" 1 sen 1 Tli( i del 1 .spa 1 elei 1 ing 1 rep 1 jjro i wit 1 the furl par pre dar a sr ver Epi groi elui tion fine to s Cm COU] * I ob whie SHORES OF ILLULUK BAY. 21 ■.'^:M t'rom a tUstancc to possess (luite the same diameter as here described, so far as tlipy were nut covered witli uninterrupted fields of snow The exact snow-line it would be ratiier difficult to determine, the irregular surface of the country and the influence of the volcanic element on tlie temperature of the soil makiiij,' the iliaracter of the mountains appear chaotically mingled. Thus we found close to the sea, though it was August, great ma-sses of snow, which pro])ably never disappear.* The shnd)by Alpine flora, principally known by the charming little llhtnlo- ((endro'ii Kaniitschdttcdm, — the dark red blossoms of which generally occupy more space than its woody parts, -the region of rhododendrons, often attains but a low elevation, wliilst in some localities herbage and the larger shrubby willows are grow- ing gregariously at a much greater altitude. Tlie extreme foreground of our plate represents the gravelly shores of the innermost part of Illuluk Bay. A gregariously growing Carex of a dark green chiefly covers large patches of gravel, alternating with different littoral plants, amongst them fine yellow ComposUat, peculiar to the whole zone, the geographical range of which is proverbially great. A few steps further inland commence those extensive thickets' of herbs, which tinge those parts of the shores not penetrated by the saline particles of the sea. Amongst them predominates a socially growing aconite with dull green foliage, the numerous dark-blue flowers of which are a pecidiarity of the landscape. Mingled with it is a smaller allied species, and the fine Heracleum lanahim, the umbels of which are very conspicuous near the shores, especially about the rocky slopes ; the beautiful Ep'duhiuin anr/ust I folium, though it may be only in isolated specimens or small groups, and a tall gregariously growing Artemisia. Very common, but highly characteristic, is the lupine, easily recognised in our picture, and, as already men- tioned, found in isolated specimens on the slopes of the highest mountains. Its fine light-blue and white flowers, alternating with those of aconites, contribute to some extent to the blue tinge which the shores exhibit about this time. Several Carices and a number of beautiful grasses principally form the turf of this country. * During my repeated visits to the Arctic region, I observed similar masses of snow at the seaside, which did not melt during an entire summer, but disappeared in the following or third season, when the plants, so long buried, would instantly resume their operations of life. — B. Seemann. c 3 '>•> I la It I i'Jl " ll"'IIIIHI 1; ':! HI i 'I H' M PLATE V. ISLAND OF UALAN, (JAIIOLINE ARCHIPELAGO. MAXOEOVES. Deccmhcr. Of tlio characteristic forms of the iiuingroves we met fine specimens in this island, hit. 5° N. This kind of forest' covers the shores of the tropics as reeds and bul- rushes do the margins of onr inhnid hdces. In this climate, wherever the shores are formed by swamps, /. e. principally at the mouths of rivers and rividets, and at the same time protected from the surf, this form of vegetation y be ex- pected. It appears to attain its perfection and show its pecnliarities n ^arest to the equator, bnt every continent (or every one of those large longitndinal sections) possesses its oAvn species to form these groves. They are composed, generiilly speaking, of the genera lilthophora and Brulgiera, trees of indifferent height, growing upon a soil which, as a ride, is at least during high tide covered with salt water, and throwing out numerous aerial roots. On the Indian coast are associated with them species of Sonnenitla and the stemless Nipa palm {Nipa frutlcans, Thunb.), which exercise a marked influence on the physiognomy. All these plants exhibit a decided tendency towards gregariousness, quite contrary to the common character of the tropical forests. These groves are also, it would seem, destitute of the numerous creepers seen in their immediate neighbourhood.* In Ualan, and, as far as we could judge from a distance, in the larger island of Funopetj it is not so much the true mangrove trees {Rhisophora and * Perhaps Entada scandens, Bth. ( = Mimosa scan- dens, L.) forms the only real exception I can eall to miml. I have seen festoons of this creeper several linncU'cd yards long in the nian>rrove swamps of Fiji. Guilandina Bonduc and Tvphrogia pit^catoria, though sometimes tln-owiug their branches over mangrove trees, if they happen to grow close to soil aboTO high-water mark, cannot be classed with the I'cal swamp vegetation of whicli the author luiv treats. They belong, properly speaking, to tlie ve- getation immediately following the mangi'ove?, composed of Barringtonia speciosa, Ccdoph///liiiit innphi/llmn, Hihisciis tiUacens, Thcspcsia popul- nia, &c. — Bcrthold Sccmann. GO. JJcccmhcr. this island, Is and btil- the shores vulets, and y be t'x- .arest to lal sections) I, generally •ent heig'lit, overed with 1 coast are »alm (^Nipa nomy. All contrary to 3, it would ibourhood.* rger islaud phora and 'assod with the 3 author hiiv ng, to tlie ye- le maiigi'ovt',-, Cahqjhi/lliiM ' much morr striking than with an antique crown or head-dress of an Indian chief. — Bcrthold Seauann.] MANOKOVES. 25 the shore an lie mangrove by river-like rs. Imagine foreground L favours this iratia, which nded by salt e observed a tlie banks of lopterii), and ther island?, This pecul iar s every tree. I with a soft, n-like soimd jreyish-greeii : the smaller 3 stems, will I 1 Asplenium ].* Here it epiphytes of this island very few phanerogamic plants. In conclusion, we must cast a glance at the beautiful Nipa palm, which, at least above the ground, never exliibits a trunk.* The few young plants can give only a poor conception of the stately appearance of the fully grown ones occupyini,^ exclusively entire districts. The only fully developed specimen, which space would permit me to introduce, exhibits the peculiar formation of the spadix, so closely resembling that of most species of Pandanus; it is quite woody, and of a rusty-brown colour, whilst the flowers, appearing simultaneously, incline towards a reddish-yellow tinge (14 | 15 1). * Apcordiiig to Toysmanu (Bonplandia, vii. p. 122) tho tnink, :\bout a foot thick, creeps hcrizon- tally in tlic mud, tlirows out numerous little roots, cand fimiiiics divided into several branches, wliilst its low.r extremity gradually decays and becomes ex- posed, \rithout injury to the plant as a whole; now roots, continually forming as the trunk increases in length, pro\-ide for the general nourishment. This, with the exception of the branching, is exactly the growth I observed in Eln'iis mehniococca, Giertn., ■dYiiXPhi/telephas macrocarpa, E. etPav. in Darien.— Berthuld Seemann. le numeroib cal America. ! riband-like elegance of want of gay r or lighter, renders the amongst the striking reseni- nests when cou- actly the sluipo, ning the sides; ailing into tlio son witli a nee! ntique crown or thold SeefiKiiuil 26 PLATE VI. II ALAN :i lE SWAiMTV FOUKST, WITH BAN VAX TKKKS. Drcrnibcr. Immediately adjoining tlic niiini>i'()vo.s is ti description of forest peeuliiir to the tropics. The adjacent gronnd, just above liigli-water mark, Ixiconies innndaled in eonsetpienct^ of tlie high tide forcing back the water about to be discharged hy rivers and rivuU'ts. A soil thus periodically sul)iuerge(l, of course, never becomes dry, and only somewhat tirm by the gigantic roots of the trees occupying it. hi I'alan, these swam})y forests have a twofold character. Where the underwood consists of the creeping llibiscns popidneus, they are almost impenetrable; wluii' this is wanting, there is, under the huge bower formed by the crown of large trec!«, a widt'r prospect. The un(k>rwood is composed of ninneroiis small trees, the crowns of which have not been able to attiiin the height of the larger trees, and therefoiv remained undeveloped. The greater number t/ them belong to Barrln<)tonk lU'HtaiKjula; the fine droojjing bunches of flowers vera often seen on the ground. The stems are dect>rated with epiphytical ferns ; amongst them most prominent. Asplcnium Nidus. It is seen everywhere at a greater or lesser height, and impart? a striking character to the landscape. No less elegant ornaments are the isolated Fn')/c!)ietias, which in Ualan are mostly growing epiphytically, and replace In their long stems the great orchids of the West Indies. They are shown quite in the foregroimd of the picture nO|llr-)' On the left is a large Cordla, vi which, however, only the stem, surromided by the smaller ones of BaiTinr/toiua acatangida, is visible. The principal figures are several gigantic fig-trees, such a? are often met with in these forests. Those here illustrated may be assumed as having established, above the heads of other trees, a connection with each other by means of their branches, as is common in this kind of plants throughout India, where they form entire forests, the stems of which are connected. These are thi 9 Drconbcr. liiir to tin: imdiiU'd in L'hiirged 1)} ^er becomes ing it. In underwood il)le ; wlu'iv large troc!?, , the crowns d tliorefoiv tr)'l)i;jtonia the grouiid, prominent, lud impai'ti the isolated replace In m quite iu Cordla, of iiTingtonk' ees, such as assumed as ch other by hout India, lese are the !"'-i -'ia y^ !;'! SVVA.MPY FOKEST, WITH liANYAN TKKKS. '27 t'iir-t'anieil banyan trees, regarded as sacred in some places. Amonj,'st the wonderful [jluiinniena of the vegetable kingdom, as displayed in the tropics, they occupy tlie foremost place, and the botanist pauses before them, as the geologist does before si>nie ntcks, in order to decipher tlie hieroglyphics of their formation. The most striking pi'cuiinrity of these trees is their aerial roots, which, springing from the bark, grow downwards, often from a considerable lieight, but as soon as they touch the ground they enter it and form a new stem. They also have, in a prominent degree, a ten- dency of growing together as soon as their different parts come in contact with each other (as is the case in other plants, especially some creepers), which causes that extremely fantastic shape generally observed in these trees.* The present species differs from other kinds of banyan with which we became accpiainted, not only in its astonishing height (our illustration shows only the lower parts of the stems), but especially by its drooping aerial roots appearing in bundles of tender, originally disconnected fibres, which gradually grow together, and, after reaching the ground, increase in thickness, by which the new stem soon loses, more or less, all traces of its original formation. The height of tlie whole is so considerable tliat the crowns reach above that of other trees, and here and there form as it were a forest above a forest, often visible from some distance. The spectator, standing below, soon loses sight of the upper parts of the tree, and only notices accidentally the connection existing amongst trees which at first view would seem to be perfectly unconnected. In vain I attempted to introduce in the original drawing something of the foliage of this tree f ; of the crown little w.'is visible, and the leaves appeared to be comparatively small and of roundish shape. All the young saplings growing about here, and bearing leaves, were those of the Barrinr/touia aciitangida, which does not disdain to assume an epiphytical character on these large masses of wood. The often-mentioned ferns here abound. The bark of this colossal tree is very soft, and of a bro^vnish-yellow colour, whilst the young roots, as long as they are not metamorphosed, are more of a rusty brown. There is also a strong, spiny reed, which at first sight was thought to be a Pandanus, but which belonged to the Cijperacew ( 1 | 2 ' ]. It grows here gregariously, but isolated, in the higher parts of the island, especially on rivulets in forests. * Thcso creepers sometimes form a kind of net- work arouud large stems of trees, and seem to grow more or less together with the bark. Some- thiiiji; of this sort is shown even in the present ilhistration, on the left side of the foreground, at the base of the stem of the large Cordia. t It will be necessary to add that the stem was even more densely covered with IJarriiujtonuin than could be shown without rendering tlie drawing un- intelligible. 28 PLATE VII. UALAN. VEGETATION OF A VALLEY, AND OUTSKIRTS OF FOR'EST. Bcccmlcr. On ascending another step, where there are no longer any periodical inundations, the vegetation assumes a new feature. The level land of the valleys liiis been brought into a certain state of cultivation, being planted, without previous labour, >vith those products of the island which principally furnish food to man. These plantations are so much favoured by the extreme fertility of the heavy soil, for the irrigation of which Nature so liberally provides, that they interfert littlt with the original aspect of the island. Bread-fruit trees, bananas, two g'gai^tic species of Caladium, and the Tahitian sugar-cane, grow here so intermingled that there is some difficulty in determining whether there has been an arbitrary trans- plantation or not, especially as most of these plants readily propagate themselves by suckers, it being generally quite sufficient to put a slip, just torn off the parent plant, into the fertile ground, in order to propagate it. We observed only in one kind of plantation a certain arrangement, properly defined field, and on the whole a greater amount of care ; it being that of the above-mentioned sugar-cane, which, however, is seen in great abundance, perhaps naturalised, amongst other plants. The cocoa-nut palm deserves particular mention, although not very common, and to all appearance not indigenous in the island, but introduced by man, and still kept iu a state of culture. One would be inclined to suppose the same with regard to the bread-fruit trees, abundant though they be, as we did not see amongst the nume- rous fruits a single one having properly developed seeds. This seems to point to a change brought about by cultivation ; but the irregular manner in which the trees occur in the forests looks as if they had been dispersed by Nature's hand, and argues against the supposition. Is the fruit of the wild trees really furnished with seeds, and is it only eaten when necessity demands? We did not remain long '•J Dcccmler. inundations, valleys \\\\> )ut previous bod to mail, e heavy soil, .terferf; littlf two gigantic ningled that itrary trans- ; themselves F the parent . only in one )n the whole cane, whicli, plants. The tt, and to all still kept in egard to the it the nume- to point to a ich the trees 3 hand, and rnished witli remain long h l>l!i i If! I' ■■! Iliiill til^'i ji. 'I €: w wmmmmmm t eno e(iu pill on ( we the inei vari the the all. The of p All .J I trui J to t I tiou a tl diffi as er abort seeds tage ferfili cxpei distil is in of so in tlK sorts. in till not h know pinnii slnipi loss s vario quart eri'et filiroi or le irnni VEGETATION OF A VALLEY, AND OUTSKIRTS OF FOREST. 29 1 : -i enough in the island to gather information on this head.* We only noticed two eciuoUy common varieties of the fruit, the one being oblong, ahuost the shape of a puii^nkin, the other rather smaller and nearly spherical. The two are not produced on one and the same tree ; the round one has a rather more solid fibre: otherwise we could not perceive any difference either in the look or taste of the fruits, or in the shape of the leaves. The tree here illustrated (2 a) is quite a young speci- men, just beginning to bear fruit. The bananas of this place belong to four varieties, the specific type of which are Musa paradisMca and Musa Sapientum, the one having nodding, the other erect beads of fruit.f The larger variety of the former (6 e) is called " f/sA," plural " Ushua ; " it is the best-flavoured of all. The smaller is termed " Kirreh," and its fruit is preferred when baked. The larger variety of the second species (13, n; 15, n), having a soft, pulpy flesh, of poor flavour, is known by the name of "Kalash,''' and the smaller " Kalaiiton.'''' All four differ, as far as I could make out, only in the shape and nature of their fruit. Of the two larger Caladiums (8 f ; 9 f ) it is principally a species allied to the well-known Caladium macrorhizum, the root of which furnishes a nutri- tious and palatable article of food. Still more nutritious and palatable is that of a third ( 14 | 15 - j, which we could take for nothing else than the widely diffused Galadiwm esculentum. Its leaves have a bluish tinge, whilst those of * Most bread fruits — and their variety is almost as encUcss as that of our apples and pears — have abortive ovules, and therefore do not produce any seeds, a peculiarity which gives them the advan- tage over the few sorts in which the ovides are fertile, and assume conrnderable dimensions at the expense of the edible pulp. Not only are there great distinctions in the nature of the pulp (as there is in the nature of the tubers of the potato, that of some being mealy, of others waxy, &c.), but also in tlic time of ripening, there being early and late sorts. Important characters of distinction reside ill tlie foliage; some leaves are quite entire, — I do not here confound Artocarpits intcgrifolia, the well- known jack fruit, with Artocarpvs incisa, — some pinnatifid, and again others bipinnatifid. The shape of the fruit, whether it be oblong or more or loss spherical, its surface, which passes through tlic various stages from smooth to soft prickles three quarters of an inch long, its size, the nodding or erei't tendency of the peduncle, the greater or less fibrousness of the bark (for making cloth), the greater or less heaviness of the wood, and the amount of gum exuded by the stem and brunches, must arrest the attention of all those who make this subject their .study. Bennett ("Gatherings of a Naturali.st," London, 1860, p. 396) found twenty-four varieties in the small island of Tahiti ; Fiji and other Poly- nesian islands are equally rich. No attempt has as yet been made to identify the different varieties scattered over the whole eastern hemisphere. — Ber- thold Scemann. t This is evidently a mistake. The Musa with erect bunches of fruit has nothing to do with either M. paradisiaea or Sapient urn, but is the well-known Musa Tmglod ytaruiv of Linnscus, of which the Mhmi textUis (of which the vlelicate Manila handker- chiefs are made) may be a variety. The Samoans say that at one time all the Musas had a great fight, in which A/. Troglodj/tarum came off victorious, and was able to hold up its head, whilst all the vanquished ones could never muster up courage to rai.se it after their defeat. Our autlior also uses the term " ftanavas " collectively for all the speci(>s, whilst it is more generally restricted to those kinds which may be eaten raw, and that of " plantain " to those which require to undergo some process of cooking before they can be eaten. — Bcrtfwfd Seematnh ihii 30 UALAN. ii tlie larger species are of a fine green. All, but principnlly the first mentioned, exhibit, when closely examined, a great elegance in the textnre of the leave's. Although the smaller species ("7u(^((/,;") is highly esteemed as an article of food, it is nevertheless nowhere planted in greater masses, probably because it grow,- wild in sufficient abimdance. As far as we could see, all three species occur in forests of the uninhabited parts of the island, on the banks of rividets, and not gregariously, and therefore do not seem to have been introduced. The larger species, with rounded leaves, often forms a trunk, but that with pointed leaves (Caladlum sag if t! folium) (6 f) does not ; in the former the spadix is erect, and shorter than the spathe, Avhilst in the other it is nodding, as is the peduncli supporting it. Pandanns odorailssmms (14 | 15 k), as a highly characteristii figure, can as little be dispensed with in such a picture as the bread-fruit tree. One would think that the reason why it principally occurs and flourishes near lumian habitations, may be sought in its claiming a place amongst the useful plants of this place, perhaps on account of its leaves being indispensable for thatcli and matting. But also its fruit, thougli its nutritious qualities are slight, seenis to be much esteemed in Ualan, as was evident from the importance attached to those presented to us. This fruit, or rather head of fruits, has, when ripe, a very fine appearance ; it is larger than a man's head, round, and of a splendid orange colour, each drupe being pale green at the point. This tinge, and the crown ef leaves, recall to mind the pine-apple.* Close by will be seen the Morinda cltv'i folia (12 I 13 m), abounding in these valleys; it does not grow mueli higher than the specimen here shown. The fruit ripens about this season ; it \> of a whitish colour and a poor flavour, Avhilst the foliage is distinguished by a pale green. A kind of orange tree (8 | 9 e) is generally associated with it: attaining only a limited height ; it has, unlike most of the trees, a thick bushy croNvn ; the colour of the foliage is a dark green. The same tint was common to its fruit, much esteemed by the natives, but about this season scarcely ripe. Tii the most prominent plants of this island belongs the widely diffused Draccena tcr- oninalls (12 o; 15 o), commonly used for hedges, and imparting to the dwellings a picturesque appearance, which the variegated tint of the leaves greatly con- tributes to increase, it being a faint bluish green, and at the points of t!ie blade pink and pale yellow. A fine Crlnum (3 g), with massive leaves, grows isolated about the outskirts of the forests, but I do not remember having seen it in blooin, * The Fijians, having no namr for the pine-apple it Balavn ni paimlngi, or foreign Pandanus. — Bd wlien it was first introduced to their isLmJs, made I hold Sccmann. tlie same apt comparison :is imr author, in ti.'rniing VEOETATION OF A VALLEY, AND OUTSKIRTS OF FOREST. 31 s occur ill :s, and not riie larger ited leaves erect, and 3 pedxmclc aracteristit l-fruit tree, dshes near the useful ; for tliatcli iglit, seenis attached U ripe, a very idid orange le crown of ? Morinda [row mucli ason ; it is lished hy a ;d with it: lick bushy common to ripe. To icccna tcr- dwellings eatly cou- th e blade ws isolated in Itlooin. 1 Janus.— /'< I- A Maranta (5 | 6 g\ growing gregariously, a])ounds. It.s bract.s are of a dark rose colour, and the flowers small and yellow. In company with it is often foimd a highly characteristic plant, of which, unfortunately, I do not possess a repre- sentation, but which I cannot pass over without mentioning. It is the Pipev methystlcum, so frequently described, a perennial with large roundish leaves, from the root of which a liquor, here called "*Se/ta," and evidently of a religious import, is prepared.* The background exhibits another characteristic feature of tropical vcfretation, viz. the outskirts of a wood as seen from without. Such out.skirts are generally formed by low trees and by shrubs, and show a greater variety of forms than even the interior of the forest it.self. Here in this island, so widely separated from other coimtries, it is principally the gregariously groyving Hibiscus populiieus which, chiefly constituting the underwood, combines with the dwarfish stems of a new and very common Alyrlstlca (4 b) in forming the scaff(jlding for the impene- trable curtain of creepers of which these outskirts chiefly consist. In the valleys of the higher mountains this Mijristica {"Nuhii ") i.^ generally a stately forest tree of tir.st magnitude ; here, as shown in our illustration, it is too much checked in growth l)y a surrounding web of creepers, out of which it stretches its branches like arms, to attain any considerable dimension.s. The most elegant festoons formed by these creepers are about this time decorated with the dark blue flowers of a CohvoIvuIus conmion about here, and forming a charming contrast with the pale yellow ones of the Hibiscus popubieus, closely resembling the mallows of our gardens. Ab(»ve this drapery towers a tree principally belonging to the outskirts, tlie widely diffused Teniiinalia Catappa, or at least a species closely allied to it (6 b). Its horizontal branches form distinctly marked stories around the erect stem.':, im- parting to the tree, and by means of it to the landscape, a very peculiar feature. We never found this characteristic growth better developed than in this island. The leaves are of a dark green. (In Guaham we saw them assume a red colour, in consequence of the dry season.f) The top of a tree projecting on the right- hand side of the background may perhaps belong to the same kind of Covdia of which the stem is seen in our last view. A fine specimen of tree fern, in which ^-% * This Ix'vpragp is tcrmod Kiiva or Ava in most isliiiiils (jf Eastern Polynesia; in Fiji it is l of Piper with pointed leaves, which also climbs up the trees and contributes to- wards the formation of the above-mentioned festoons. A variety of smaller ferns are decorating this turf. tat (7 I 8 (1), i; especially ir palm-like ;ially rich it) ns, does not ■; f the higher ^ rgest of tile aped leaves, i foreground of Gucumu , we took a season seen mall species itributes tn- imaller ferns ,! i; „, rs ^>^^^B ' '^'v^H r ■ t M •h-i ' H 'hi M PLATE VIII. UALAN. WOODY MOUNTAINS. December. TiiK last plate repreaentetl the outskirts of a forest seen from witliout ; tliis will cxliihit tlieiu as seen from within. It has at the same time the character of a some- what liigher mountain district, which, however, as has already been stated, does not differ materially from the thickets common on the sea-shores, as the island is but of limited extent. The prevailing wood is the creeping Hlblscua populneus, the peculiar growth of which arrests attention. Most of the horizontally directed stems send up branches having the shape of straight poles, gathered by the natives for a variety of purposes. Fantastically curved branches and branchlets are, as the illus- tration shows, never wanting, especially such as have the form of a hook, and they seem to serve as pegs for the support of the numerous creepers flourishing in these thickets. These little excrescences are without leaves, and differ from the principal branches by having a dark and rough instead of a pale yellow bark. In these thickets the screw-pine {Pandanus odoratissimus^ Linn.) is occasionally seen isolated as underwood of considerable height. The higher the ground the more abundant and prevalent become the larger ferns, the crowns of which are not inferior to those of tree ferns, though they have no trunk, properly speaking, as for instance the genus Marattia (13 | 14 -). The ground is besides covered with various herbaceous creepers, the dead stems of which, forming dense curtains, are hanging down from the trees. But those rich festoons, which we have already Seen in our last view, generally consist of the above-mentioned Convolvulus, inter- mingled with a species of Stizolobium and Piper. The woody creepers, the stems D lis,' > li ill !ll'l ■' ! I ■ i !i t !l - 34 UALAN. of which arc soirK'tiinos ati incli tliick, nowlirre show, at h'ast ahout thiw Hcusdii, leav(>.s or l)nnich('S, but run throii<:th the whole forests like; so many ropes; they ;iiv especially attached to the crown of old trees, and ((uito ti^ht, as in a well-triniiiuil ship. Hi^'lily piotnrosrpu! are their numerous twists, and the chains and plaitin-- whicli they form amon<,'st themselves. All theso leafless creepers, as far as \\r could see them, were of a dark chocolate or dusky colour, ^'cnerally full ot sap, and extremely tout^h and flexible. Amongst the forest trees the alreiidv mentioned Nuhn {Myrisliai sp. nov.) occupies a prominent place, and, on accctunt of the peculiar formation of the branches, its foliage arrests attention [15 r j. A fine Euijenia, the flowers of which (here ripe fruit) grow out of the stem, beloii^> to the characteristic plants of this upper region. In that below, near the sea, it occurs but rarely, and is of diminutive dimensions. Unfortunately I had no tiim.' to draw a fully developed .specimen, and have therefore been obliged to om- tent myself with introducing a rather weak one ; the plant attains much greiitri lu'iglit and thickness. The fruits, either isolated or picturescjuely grouped, lunk somewhat like cherries, but are larger and either white or red. They are flesliy, but hard aiul inedible.* Two monocotyledons, already incorporated in th.' last view, could not have been left out here, Draccvua terininalls] ( K^ | H - growing in small groups amongst the creepers, and a Maranta f 14 | 15 -|, Close by the latter generally flourishes a species of Costus (4 h). The sleudii palm (13 I 14 k) is apparently a yoimg specimen of a very fine species, ratlur common, though isolated, in the higher moimtain regions of this island. Its vry straight trunk attains a considerable height, enabling one from the sea to dis- tinguish their crowns above the general level of the forests in the mountain-. Want of time prevented us from forcing our way through the jungle as far as tli:it locality, but lower down this splendid plant, termed " Kutuar " by the native^. does not seem to be found. I remember having only been near it when, lul by native guides, we were on a road, steep and difficult to trace, which led throiigli the interior of the island to the Bay of Lida. The first specimen met with uii that mountain road is the one introduced; I have drawn it as carefully as din- would permit. A second and much finer one was encountered after having di- * Possibly tho fniit may not havo boon quito a rod and a whito variety. — BcrtJwhl Secmann. ripe, and henco appeared inedible; otherwise tlio t Probably an allied, but diflforeiit specii"- doscription hero given may bo roconcilod witli Bcrthold Seciiiann. Eugenia or Jamhosa Malacccnsis, of which there is liJ» WOODV MolNTArNS. jj ».nac.d .1,0 otl,er „i,l„ „f „„. ,„.„. It l,„r,. fi,„. wl,i„. dowers. „„ „,.„„„ ™. ""; !".,„ „f our «„„lo, t„ road, l.U. ,„o ,ro,a, ,„ „,|„„. of Jy U,,-' :. .ir.w,„,r oi tl„., ,.l„nt, „l,icl. .„oo,l „,,o„ s„ol, i„,,oc,™n,io .„■ „| ,„.. „: .•.n.„,„t to o„ it,u.,i ,.t,,er it, flower, wo,.l,, ,„v,. r..,,„i,.o„ .tilLuo,-,.' i .■..„rM. tl„, leav,.H it so„,c.wl„.t ,lo„I,.f„l whothor tl,o ouo horo ,o,.,vsoutc,l is .ii,Iyuyounifstiiteofit,or,|uiteadiirer«,t«podo,. «, ! 1)2 I! 'H I.' 36 PLATE IX. CORAL REEF OF LUGUNOR, CAROLINE .xRCHIPELAGO. :^ i VIEW OF A WOODY CORAL ISLAND, SEEN FEOM WITHOUT. Fcbruari/. Imagine a generally horseshoe-like chain of comparatively long, narrov/ sand- banks, hardly elevated above the level of the ocean, sheltered against the waves by a coral reef surrcunding the whole. Everywhere within the latter the water is shallow; the bottom, consisting of coral sand, is evidently r sing and gradually becoming dry land, so that the open narrow channels crossing tlie long rid^v of land, and dividing it into several islands, will in time disappear. The present vi3W represents one of these channels. Standing at the extremity of one island. we look across upon the other ; on the right we liave an expanded view of tin reef, distant about 200 paces, and behind it the surf of the ocean ; on the It'ft we behold the basin of unequal depth, surrounded by the horseshoe-like chain. where the prospect is closed by a few isletti of this self-same chain. Such coral islands, bu^ recently risen above the suvface of the ocean, exhibit of course no trace of the vewtation which establisnes itself on the older ones. The tirst green appearing on the hitherto naked sand, we found to be invariably tin shrubby Scwvola with small white flowers, which afterwards forms also the prin- cipal brushwood of the shores ; o specimen of it is represented in the centre of tin' foreground (6 g), and there is no difficulty in recognising it by its habit in tlio more distant groups of bushes. The rich juicy foliage of this plant may be well suited to the formation of vegetable mould, in which a mc e diversified vegetation finds a home. Next follows a Tournefortla, common in all the islands of thesi' seas visited by us, which assumes more the look of a small tree, and has a less bushy habit ; the silvery grey colour of its leaves forms a strong contrast Avitli tin' fresh light green of the Scivvola. A young specimen of this exclusively littoral m ilLAGO. Fchruari/. rrow sand- ; tlie waves r the water I gradually long ridge 'he present one island, vievf of till' 3n the left like chain. Such coral of course The first iriably the > the priii- ntre of tlie ibit in the lay be well vegetation h of tliesi' has a less st with the ^ely iittunil ill m mi m I ih CI H «r; ' lil'' ^ frn^ -s ^ ill ml 'f. » ;ii m II r,i VIEW OF A WOODY CORAL ISLAND, SEEN FROM WITHOUT. 37 plant is seen on the right-hand side of the foreground [11 -j, and an older one more in the distance [13 - ].* Close by will be noticed the delicate foliage (if ancjther shrub, peculiar to the outskirts of these forests, which, according to Dr. ]\Iertens, probably belongs to a new genus of Mijrtacew ; an old fully grown specimen of it is seen in the foreground to the left {2 | 3 -j. In the outskirts uf the forest at a distance are found, besides the exclusively littoral plants, other lialf-shrubby trees. Two specimens of Pamkmus odurattsslmus, so common in all these islands, will easily be recognised by their peculiar habit. Their trunks here exliibit numerous crowns. On the right-hand side of the smaller specimtn to the left are seen, besides the low Sacvola and that undetermined M;jr- tacea, a species of Hibiscus with cordate leaves and dark carmine-coloured flowers, which either occurs as a shrub or small tree f 7 | 8 - j, and above it a Calo- yhjUum] (8 e) which in other places becomes a stately forest tree, and has a { which closes a group of trees, is a large Eiujenia with lanceolate leaves, about nine inches long, and fruits of about the size of a large plum, if a pale green colour tinged with red, of a sweet, insipid, yet refreshing taste, and very nuich esteemed by the natives. Several bread-fruit trees {Adocarpos incisa), of considerable height, follow. Here may be found the true type of a tree in a state of cultivation in most of the larger islands, all the fruits having fully developed seeds of the ize of chestnuts, and a -similar skin, koasted, they are eaten, possessing very much the taste of chestnuts. There are besides several varieties of the bread-fruit, prin- cipally distinguished by the shape of their leaves, as we shall have an opportunity of learning on noticing the succeeding view. * Dnu'iiloss Touriiif( i/(,( uvui lUai. Sonanit. Bcrtfwtd t Probably CalophyUum inophyllum. ■— Birthotd Sutmann. li'i liiiii ; !'/, fiV > 38 PLATE X. LUGUNOK. VIEW OF A WOODY CORAL ISLAND, SEEN FROM WITHIN. Fehrunry. The Rtately bread-fruit trees seen at a distance in the last plate are in the present brought so near that it was impossible to include their tops. To niau tliey are the most conspicuous and important of the vegetable products of these islets, and they only flourish where masses of vegetable mould are already accu- mulated. In the foreground we see two of the numerous varieties of tin's fine tree alluded to in the foregoing chapter: on the right (13 | 14 -J, one with slightly cut leaves; in the centre [10 | 11 - j, the other, the leaves of whicli are more deeply cut. According to information collected by Dr. Mertens (" Vo} . du Seniavine," vol. iii.) the former is termed "i/ca" in Morilho and Fananu, the latter ♦' 0//C9S," and said to be the type of the wild plant, unchanged by cultivation, and the only one bearing fully developed seeds. As far as I know, there were in the Lugimor group in F iin- wvcral A-arirfi,.M of hroiid-friiits in rfconcllfd tho abnvo apparently contradictoiy btali- whii'h the oviili'H lici'omc dcvdoprd, whicli fully nii'uts. — Ihrthald Secmann. 'ehrnary. ,re in tlie To man :s of tliese ady accu- 3 of tliis 4 - , one !S of which ns("Voy. inaim, tbe ultivatioii, ;here were dth seeds, id seemed The fruit in Ualiiu, [ibres were l-fruit tree I kinds of ibout here p] auk-like dictory state- m I'M !i:l m II) I'll I VIEW OF A WOODY CORAF. ISLAND, SKKN FROM WITHIN. 3!) txcmscences of the stem, observed above the rootM, are skilfully turned into bojinls Mini pliuiks, which otherwise would be difficult to construct with tlie ruih* tools lii'ic in use. The two huniun Hread-fruit trees, and perhnps indicate a new species. On the left-hand side [3 - ) sonu'thin^ is shown of a tall Eiii/enla, apparently the same as the one termed " Klrldr^'' in Ualan. In the same place of the foreground (4 - ) is seen a young cocoa-nut palm, behjuging to the thickets of this side of the shore, whilst the two liigh specimens in the back- gmuud indicate those of the other side. Pandanns latifolliis (7d; 9-), occurring isolated in Ualan, generally is common in the coral islands ; it differs from Paudanus odoirUlsshiiiis not only by a more elegant growth of its broadt^r Iciives, but also by its fruit, which, when ripe, is whitish, and has very hard though y 'ble drupes; its round heads of fruit, attached to longer stalks than those of Paudanus odoratissirtius, are generally drooping [12 -j. A young shridjby specimen of Barringffmia speciosa grows close to the above-mentioned cocoa-nut palm (o I 6 - j. A ,^ 'cies of fJaettarda* forms middle-sized trees; we see a fully grown specimen of it (9 m), and more in front a young one (12 n). At the foot of the former, several deJicate creepers form a rather rich curtain. Amongst the finest f1 )wers of this season rank the dark blossoms of a species of C/v'uiw'rt (2 f ), with which the inhabitants oiuament their hair and ears. Tacca pianatlfida [ 11 M grows plentifully, though ungrf-gariously, on the outskirts of the woods. * Probiil)]} Giutfarda speciosa, Linn., common on th«! seu-shores, the geographical range of which ixtuiJs fror i Inilia Id the Fijis. — Berthutd Secmann. ! iMlM i:: I »4 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. /. 1.0 I.I lAai2.8 40 12.0 tarn IL25 III 1.4 m 1.6 V] / '■^ 7 Photographic .Sciences Corporation i'. WEST MAIN Si REIT WEBSTER, N.Y. USSO (716) •73-4503 iP iV iV :\ \ ^^ v\ '^ ^ <> 40 PLATE XI. GUAHAM, ONE OF THE MARIANNE ISLANDS. FOREST IN THE PLAINS OF MADREPORE, OROTA PENINSULA. March. As far as the r.Iariannes are represented by Guaham, the most extensive and southernmost of these islands, they are at once distinguished from the more northernCaroHne group by their dry cUmate, which imparts to the whole coiuitrv the look of a steppe. The month of March, in which our visit fell, is evidently the dry season of these regions ; everjrvvhere is aridity, very few trees with frcsli foliage are seen in the forest, and perhaps the third part of all is quite kiif- less. The sea-shores are either kept supplied with moisture by rivulets from tlie interior, and then overgrown with Bruigiera and other mangroves, or they arc sandy, and ^n the latter case distinguished by two forms very characteristic of this island, — Cycas revoluta (10 | 11 - j, very common hereabouts, and a shrubby pyramidal Casuarina*, which is again met with in the upper steppes of the interior, though wanting in the intermediate forest district. Banks of ccuil surround the shores on all sides, making this larger island, as the high Carolines, appear like mountains risen in the centre of extensive coral plains. Here and there considerable districts of these plains have been lifted by plutonic agency high above the sea level ; the Orotd peninsula, confining the south-west side of the bay of Caldero de Apra, is one of these. The low, sandy shores ai-e evidently later diluvial deposits ; a few steps from the water's edge the walls of very ancient madrepore rocks rise perpendicularly, the surface of which is as level as most coral islands, and they only seem sloping by the accumulatioii of vegetable mould. This plain, which, as may be supposed, is utterly destitute of springs, is never- theless covered with fine tall trees, and, although thorny underwood a'younds, i? * ProLably Casuttrina rquisctifolut, Forsf. — Bcrthold Samann. "rtii., common in this region. — Bcrthuld Seemann. I roots of brandies. Marianne, [eaves the , and the I have 3ies of the t the thick the centre i season is ns already ^ w» )M 43 PLATE XII. GUAHAM. LOWER SAVANA DISTRICT. March. Wffere the old volcanic soil of the island prevails, the steppe-like character already commences in the narrow valleys adjoining the mangroves. Even in places little favourable it principally shows itself in the predominance of social grasses, which, in these warm valleys, well watered during the rainy season, generally con- sist of colossal species, mostly of the sugar-cane tribe. At this time of the year tliey are dry, but still well preserved, and afford as pretty as characteristic an aspect. The tall and stately bamboo (7 | 8 d), playing an important part in some of the valleys near the shores, — for instance, in the Bay of Umatd, — surely bears iiiiieh resemblance to the large Bamhusa arundinacea, so common about Manilla, aud is perhaps identical with it; in that case making it difficult to decide whether it has not been introduced from there and become naturalised here. The same question suggests itself with regard to the other plants here represented ; for instance, the papaw {Cwi'ica Papaya, Linn.) (2 ; 2 | 3 b j growing isolated about the outskirts of the woods. The turf in the extreme foreground of our picture is partly formed by the widely diffused Convolvulus maritirmis, which here retreats some distance from the shores of the sea. In its neighbourhood we behold the cocoa-nut palm, the natural associate of man, so common on the shores of the island, and used by the inhabitants in various ways, especially for making toddy, or palm wine, which in a thickened state constitutes a well-flavoured and nutritious syrup, but, after fermentation, an intoxicating beverage. Behind this palm tower stately forest trees, amongst which may be distinguished a couple of wild bread- fruit trees {Artocarpiis iricisa), common in all the woods of the island. Amongst i:i 'I ! ! ii Il 44 GUAHAM. them grow several other fine trees already known to us from tl.e Carolines. especially splendid an ' numerous specimens of the Barringtonia speciosa. Tn our surprise this fine tree was used as fuel, and its square fruits covered the groiiiid as the mast of beeches does in Europe. Morinda citrifolia, already mentioned ;it Ualan, is here as common as in that island, and seen isolated on the outer margins of the forests (.10 1). The finest and most conspicuous figure in this v'evv is, with- out doubt, an areca palm, termed "Bunga" by the natives ( 9 t-)) and dif- fering from that commonly cultivated about Manilla, not in habit but in tlic shape of the fruits, chey being spherical, not oblong like acorns. The splendid plant is an ornament of most valleys of the interior, the heart of its leaves being esteemed as " cabbage," but very seldom eaten on account of the rarity of tin plant. Amongst the plants of the foreground, on the right hand two species of Pandanua are conspicuous. The largest, Pandanus latifolius (15 -r j, does nut strikingly differ from plants of the same kind in the coral islands ; here it is not very rare, though less common than the already-mentioned narrow-leaved species. The smaller species [13 - j we have seen nowhere except here; it is always stemless, has a simple crown, and a pale bluish tinge.* The bushes behind tliis figure are those of a species of Limonia, with rather resinous but aromatic fruits, much sought after by the wild pigeons, — a thorn flourishing in abundance in all the woods of the island, and, on account of its delicate branches, less noticed by the eye than, on account of its prickles, felt by the skin. The bushes on the left chiefly consist of Hibiscus populnetis, thickly overrun by the same creepers noticed in Ualan, amongst which a Stizolobium predominates. On the right rise several thickly leaved branches of Heimandia ovigera, to all appearance shoots of an old fallen trunk of a tree, which is amongst the largest forest trees of tbf island. * Probably Pandanus carkosus, Eumph. — Berthold Seemann. ie Carolines, peciosa. Tn i the ground nentioned ;it iter margins Tev; is, with- j, and dif- , but in the 'he splendid leaves being rarity of thi ro species of ^ j , does nut lere it is not ived species, it is always behind this matic fruits, dance in all I noticed by ? on the left Qe creepers ie right rise ance shoots :rees of the ^ TnE w ine.ado ill the the he to lay pally s It VfOX plants leaved elegan height light, view e 'ns racccv, are oft wound and th of ele Casua trees a and tt 45 PLATE XIII. GUAHAM. UPPER SAVANA DISTRICT. March. The woody hills rising near the sea are followed, as we ascend, by rather extensive; meadows, here and there crossed by little valleys full of trees and shrubs. Furtlier iu the interior these grassy plains gradually merge into steep hills, piled together, the herbage of which disappears soon after the commencement of the dry season, to lay bare the naked soil. The above-mentioned Casuarina is here princi- pally at home, its isolated stems occupying the heights in almost regular distances. It would be difficult to find a country more strikingly defined by characteristic plants than the present is by the combination of this Casuarina with the narrow- leaved Pandanus and the Cycas revoluta. The first-named has a peculiar elegance of growth, rendering it evident that the plant has flourished on the open heights of the island, and under the constant influence of the trade wind. Its light, airy, fluttering habit presents an agreeable sight (15 -j. The present view exhibits one of the places where the character of the just-mentioned grassy , ' ns merges into the naked hills. The foreground is covered with tall Cypc- raceoi, which, though dried up, still preserve their shape. Their dry leaves are often so sharp that an accidental contact with them may impart a serious wound. As the grass is the first to suffer from the aridity, the naked parts here and there bear a Mertensia{l3 o), and especially a little shrubby myrtle (14 | 15 o) of elegant aspect, and growing even at the distant heights near the isolated Casuarina trees. The wood in the centre principally consists of a collection of trees also found in the lower forest region. Only the shrubby Scmvola (2 | 3 f ) and the Cammrina itself are found lower down in the immediate vicinity of the i . M tm !t 46 GUAHAM. sea. A stately Calophyllmi (6 e) here abounds. Nor is the already men- tioned Areca, in this kind of woods, a scarce palm, agreeably contrasting with the taller trunks of the Cycas. A fine Mimosa, ynth umbrella-shaped crowii, (4 '-j is seen on the slopes of the naked hills ; this tree is not abundant in the island, and resembles in habit the acacias bounding the deserts of Northern Africa. t! ready men- asting witli ped crown, dant in th f Northern ftl- '■*('/ 'f\ .\ ill In tl iiilial the f emin chief] vejjet green nentl in th( of th fan-p are r view( the Si it ass neicrh specie in a £ the le one cr occurs calls it 47 PLATE XIV. TEEL ISLAND, BONINSIMA GROUP. SEA-SIIORE. May. In the year 1827 the Boninsima Islands presented. the charming sight of an un- inliabited woodland, favoured by a beautiful climate. Steep volcanic moimtains, at the foot of which but little level land is found, are covered with a fine high forest of eminently tropical character. Only where the lava-like basalt, of which the shores cliiefly consist, unprotected against violent gales, begins to be wooded, is a shrubby vegetation, such as is seen in the centre of our illustration. A carpet of light green Gyperacem covers the naked rocks ; higher up is seen brushwood of emi- nently myrtle-like character, the climate of the island principally showing itself in the forms of the myrtle and the laurel. True, we have here a peculiar mingling of the physiognomic character of different climates ; whilst the Pandanus, the fan-palm, the Tei'miinalia, the Scccvola, &c., recall to mind the tropical zone, we are reminded of the northern by many other plants, amongst which the present view exhibits only a conspicuous and abundant juniper. This species chiefly grows in the soil here represented ; fig. 5 | 6 - is a very tall specimen ; on the bare rocks it assumes a more crippled growth, which curiously contrasts with that of the neighbouring screw-pines (Pandanus), of which there are on these rocks two species, the smaller bearing an orange -coloured fruit, the other a green one when in a state of maturity, whilst both exhibit scarcely any difference in the look of the leaves ; the larger is the most common in the island, and generally has only one crown of foliage on its straight upright trunk. A highly characteristic plant occurs on the projecting points of these otherwise bare rocks (14 1). Dr. Mertens calls it in his notes an " arboreous Gampanulacea," and could not determine it 48 PEEL ISLAND. I 'ii iiioro accurately ; it is confined to the; immucliatc vicinity of tlu' sea. The foif- ;i;roun (2 El do( gre sin; inti tha mo and by hea see smc the of t of t: 59 PLATE XIX. KAMTSCHATKA. PINE FORESTS ON THE CENTRAL KAMTSCHATKA RIVER. dUffiiSt, In the centre of the peninsula there is a district which it takes several days to cross, and which it would seem stretches from the western mountains to Cape Kronotz- koi ; it is covered vith forests of pines, of which, with the exception of a shrubby Cedar, there is no trace in other parts of the country. Two species of Spruce, one of which bears the Eussian name of "Zmvi '." (Larch), strongly reminding us of the forests of Sitcba, and the Plnus Canadensis and P inns Meiiens'iana, are prevalent there. The first, when fully grown, has a striking likeness to Pinus Canadensis (2 j 3 b ; 14 I 15 k), whilst the younger specimens have more the aspect of our European larch. The second, a genuine Spruce (" YiJll " or Yullinh "), (9 - j, does not attain such a height as the first ; its thick foliage is delicate and dark- green, and like the whole tree it has a peculiar balsamic smell. The fruit is rather smaller than that of Pinus Abies, but very like it. These two pines, growing intermingled, form the bulk of the forest, but in such a way that the taller species, that resembling Pinus Canadensis, is the most abundant ; amongst them is found more or less plentifully Betula alba (6 -; 14 mj. The remarkable slenderness and comparatively great height of the stems here represented is principally produced by the same causes as their bent position, viz., the long continued pressure of heavy masses of snow which their crowns have to bear during the winter. We see further a very tall and slender, gregariously growing Aspen (" Ossina "), \\dth a smooth whitish-grey bark. This tree, it would seem, occurs in great masses on the heights of the neighbouring mountains ; it is but seldom found on the banks of the rivers HO | 11 'j. The underwood of these forests, differing from those of the north-west coast of America by their prevailing dryness, consist of two or 60 PINE FORESTS ON CENTRAL KAMTSCHATKA RIVER. • three species of Roses, the already mentioned Lonicera, and an allied species with scarlet inedible fruits ; also a species of Sorhus, and perhaps a few shrubby willows. All these, intermingled, cover the level ground near the river with brushwood, about a yard high, not very thick and therefore easily penetrated. Below it grow a number of little plants bearing edible berries, such as VacciniuTn Myrtillas, V. uliginoamrii V. Oxy coccus ^ V. Vitis idcaa, Ruhua arcticus, R. Chamamioi'us, Empetrum nigrum, &c., not to mention those the fruits of which are unfit for food. Among the edible ones those of Ruhua arcticua (*' Knashniza ') are the best flavoiu-ed and most esteemed ; the next best is the oblong dark-blue fruit of the often mentioned Lonicera, which in fact equals that of superior cherries, and is very useful on account of its abundance. It is generally eaten with milk, and, mixed with Sarannah, made into different dishes. The whole of our illustration represents a *'^'ar," or steep bank, very common in these districts of the Kamts- cliatka River. Curiously enough, nothing like it is seen on the Bolschaja, Beka, and Awatscha, but the Great Siberian rivers exhibit the same feature. Is it perhaps the northern direction of the Kamtschatka to which this correspondence is due ? In that instance it would be a wise provision of nature that just those rivers destined to supply the northern forestless coasts with driftwood should collect those supplies by constantly changing their course. In the central districts of the Kamtschatka River, characterised by their conifers, the loose clay or sand of the bank, against which the current is forced, is very often so much undermined by the water that it falls down from time to time, by which such walls as here represented are formed, though they are generally much higher, the present being only a low "jar." The falling of the forests is such a frequent occurrence that, in travelling on these rivers, one hears nearly every night the noise caused by it. The amount of drift wood which this river carries is therefore considerable ; even in the upper districts where there are numerous deep places, great masses are often piled up. What fine opportunity for the discovery of remnants of antediluvian animals must these continuous walls offer ? Indeed, I heard of the discovery of very large bones made a short time ago in the Schapina district, and in such a "jar ; " but I could learn no particulars. li' icies with f willows. 3d, about ' grow a Willis, V. unfit for are the ! fruit of ries, and ilk, and, jstration Kamts- ska, and perhaps is due? 16 rivers collect s of the . of the [ by the esented y a low ivellingf imount J upper ed up. nimals Y large 'but I !ji ill In >l I I I Op riv Ka tha saD rati app exh low que in g trib alw£ whi( pon( euou mud areg willo Plat( diflfei Gl PLATE XX. KAMTSCHATKA. DECIDUOUS FORESTS ON THE CENTRAL KAMTSCHATKA EWER. August. Opposite a "jar" there is generally a sandbank ('^Pessok ") ; at every bend of the river the jar forms the concave, the pessok the convex bank. In the Central Kamtschatka districts these bends occur at such regular distances from each other, that the length of the road is determined by the number of sandbanks. These sandbanks generally consist of coarse gravel, and evidently increase at the same ratio as the opposite bank gives way to the force of the current. The first shrubs appearing on this new soil are nearly always willows. The curious habit which they exhibit in our illustration is common on the Upper and Central Kamtschatka River ; lower down it is not observed. May not this peculiar habit be perhaps the conse- quence of long inundations ? There are mostly upon these sandbanks a few yellow Gimciferce, and perchance an Artemisia and a Chenopodium, growing gregariously in groups. On the left-hand side of the background is seen the mouth of a little tributary, confined by an alluvial bank of dark-brown mud. In such banks I always noticed the three equally thick strata indicated in our illustration, ard in which the alluvial soil is deposited, though there was no difference in their com- ponent parts. On these perpendicular banks I often observed, and curiously enough, always on the second stratum, a small drooping Equisetum ( 3 f ) growing gregariously. Another larger Equisetum covers farther up the surface of the mud, above which woods of the common willow, intermingled with a few alders, are growing luxuriantly. At a greater distance from the banks poplars replace the willows. Here we see (4 c) only a younger specimen of the species introduced in Plate XVIIL, which on this side forms the forest, alternating with birch and different species of willows. 62 PLATE XXI. KAMTSCHATKA. WOODY MOUNTAINS. Atigust. The character predominating on the whole eastern side of the country is here exhibited, beginning immediately above the steep walls forming the coast, and being repeated in its chief features in all the mountainous districts within the limit:^ of the forests. The Beiula Eivnanni is the principal tree of these generally light forests. Those numerous thickets of willows and shrubby Spirceas charac- teristic of the valleys, are not observed on the summits of the moderate heights, on ground as that here represented, which may be pe •' , , 500 feet above the level of the neighbouring ocean. Even much higher the same character may be presupposed. On these heights one meets everywhere naongst birches isolated specimens of willows with tall stems (Salix cuprea?) (13 1), and possessing a slender habit and rather thin foliage. With the increasing altitude the thickets of underwood characteristic of these moimtain forests assume greater dimensions, the birches alternating with them gi*adually become scarcer and of lesser height, until they disappeai- altogether, and make room for low thickets, to struggle against the Alpine flora, and be again displaced by it in the same manner as the birch forests have been displaced by them. As a rule these thickets are impenetrable to man, and remind us by their habit very much of those of the shrubby pines of the higher mountains of central Europe. In Kamtschatka they are, as our illustration shows, of a three-fold form. In the lowest districts those predominate which consist of Pyrua samhudfolia, Cham. Ts -J, a plant known by the Bussian name " Rybina " (Mountain Ash) ; indeed, its leaves so closely resemble those of Sorbus aucupariay that at first sight one is inclined to consider it a shrubby variety of the same. But its vermilion-coloured fruits have not the bitter taste peculiar to I: name :lll \ \, iilv H < -J i! I I I Dill < I I t f( e] it ai so is th th( fla air of fori thi( Lo'i spi] hav don witl spir the 14 the servi (13 ( to be WOODY MOUNTAINS. 63 the berries of onr Mountain Asli ; on the whole of rather a good flavour, they easily dry up wlum preserved, and are therefore, like the rose-a[)pU's, more soiifjht after by bears, sables, &.C., than men. At about 1000 feet heij,dit thise thickets are no longer seen, but the more common are the other two, one consisting of an Alder, Alrma incana, Cham, (ll - j, the other, of the so-called " Kedruivnilt'f^ by most botanists considered a variety of Pinus Cemhra [5 | 6 -j. The Alder forms of all three the most extensive thickets ; it commences even at a low elevation, alternating with those of the others, but at about 2000 to 3000 feet it alone remains, surrounded by an Alpine flora, bare rocks, and perpetual sno^v ; and there is in all the higher mountains of the peninsula a region in which the soil is exclusively covered by it. The pine growing more isolated about the coast is here only a shrub, and the higher one ascends the more extensive become the thickets it constitutes. As long as its fruits are fresh the seeds can be eaten raw ; they taste rather resinous, but aromatic, are a little larger than peas, of good flavour, and a thin but, in a dry state, hard dark-brown skin ; they are eaten like almonds, and much esteemed in Kamtschatka. These fruits are the principal food of sables during the winter, of bears during the autunm. The soil of the light forest of birches represented in our illustration, between the above-mentioned thickets, is clad with grass of no great height and isolated shrubs of the two Loniceraa and one of the Eoses alluded to, characterised by its rather larger spiny fruits, which are of a better flavour than those of the others, provided they have not become soft by night frosts. Amongst the herbs in the foreground pre- dominate about this season an Aconitum (11 o), a Clmicifuga (9 o), a Cacalia with very broad leaves (10 p), a tall Artemisia, and a very fine thistle without spines (12 o), which is said to occur also in Siberia, and is a favourite fodder of the horses of jakutic descent. There is also the Epilohium angvGlifolium f 14 I 15 -j, which has attained its full height, and plays an important part in the domestic economy of the Kamtschadales, a part of its stem being pre- served as an antiscorbutic dish during the winter. Except a species of Clematis (13 o), of which there is a specimen on the foot of the willow stem, there seems to be no creepers in Kamtschatka. 64 PLATE XXII. KAMTSCHATKA. I GRASSY PLAIN IN THE BOLSCHAJA EEKA DISTRICT. i September. The western slopes of the peninsula, the principal river of which is the so-called " Bolschaja Reka " {i. e. the large river), present fewer picturesque scenes and botanical treasures than the other more mountainous side. Forests are fewer, quagmires and moors are more extensive, and everywhere about them predomi- nate willo''v bushes. Most of the plants represented ha e been introduced in preceding plates; true, they begin to show the effects cf night frosts, which have more or less caused their fading and discolourment ; especially the tall Umhellifers have already been deprived of most of their leaves. These um- belliferous plants are more characteristic of these grassy plains than of any other part of the country. The tallest amongst them are the already-men- tioned Heracleum dulce{?), ?.:id a species of Angelica of surprising dimensions (3|4T;13kj; it abounds in a few level valleys of the western slopes, principally in the district traversed by the Bannaja Rekd, a tributary of the Bolschaja Reka; but is not met with again even in the neighbourhood of its real home. This stately herb is known throughout the country by the Russian name ot " Mediveshie Koren " (Bear's root) ; its hollow stems are dark reddish in the autumn, and those parts of the radical leaves still fresh are of a pale yellowish white green. Another plant (not figured in any prf ceding plate) is a tall, always gregariously growing nettle {Urt'ica; 15 m), which contril " !. :)S an essentially characteristic ttature to the country, but which does not occur aryvvhere in such masses as in these western districts. It is generally ten feet high, and bears other- wise much resemblance to our Urtica mens, without, however, stinging like that does.* Its long stems yield a superior fibre for nettle yarn, which in former times * Rather Urtlea dioica, Linn. — Berthold Sccmann. !|i I li! X II t/ii GRASSY PLAIN IN BOLSCHAJA REKA DISTniCT. e5 was the only material the Kamtschadales had for fi=h- «ome measure been displaced by plantations „f t '^'""^T*"' '"'"'^ '' '"''^ ™ which also attains an astonishirt 'hT 1 t 7 Z " ^•™*-''''"''' "-, abounds in such quantity al to ha^e „ / . , '''""'''' P'"'"^' ''™«-"'r. it of the inhabitanl. T^loest a th 171 '."" '" '"'= ''°"™"« -""-'/ edged by low willows on the blk o'a r^T T'* °' ^^'"'« ^""«'»"^ elevation, the margin of which ^_f'' ''^^"■«' -"ch is seen a bank-like nik." Regular hilfooks of tWs kind Tr. "^"'"r ^P'^" '"-''ets of "/&,,,„. Of earth, are common th J^out t ; J^Ta rtr'™"" "^""''^"" ^'"^ on the western side of if thev 1,. ,^' ^^"^ '' *" 'V, curiously enough only and are seen as r.lTZ'lflT:^^^: tr/'"'^" "^ ^"'^^' nothing of the kind. ' *'"'* ™'er-shed I have observed F 60 PLATE XXIII. LUZON, ONE OF THE THILIPPINE ISLANDS. VEGETATION OF THE PLAIN OP THE PASSIG KIVER. January, This plain, in which the populous city of Manilla is situated, everywhere bears proofs of an ancient population and cultivation. The river, which flows not very rapidly, has numerous tributaries, the banks of which are either swampy or sandy. Tlie present view is intended to give a notion of such localities as are not imder immediate cultivation. It will not appear strange, considering the great hurry in which we left this country, that I have little to say about the plants here seen. The most important among them is the bamboo {Bambusa ai'undinacea), which flourishes in great abundance, and the gigantic stems of which serve as fuel and even as timber (6 | 7 c). A low Pandanus, generally having several crowns, and growing on the sandy banks, will attract attention (12 n). Fig. 3 e is a yellow- flowering Acacia, often seen isolated on these banks ; behind it are rising several fruit trees, amongst them, one must fancy, a tamarind, and a specimen of Artocar- pus incisa, perhaps escaped from cultivation. The mango {Mangifera Indlca) is a tree often planted, but which has also become \vild, and now grows in great numbers in these woods, and even in fields. In the foreground a specimen of a beaiitiful Efythrina will arrest attention, which seems to be rather indigenous than to have escaped from cultivation. Its bark is soft, smooth, and of a light colour. It is now, during winter, without the slightest trace of leaves, but covered with large flowers of a pale-purple or blood-red colour. The briglit colours with which the tree is decorated are therefore, about this season, one of the most st^riking objects in the country. p,t u /' tt ct ll( fo ta o^ ac th 8( of re eL tr{ mi mi sti cr( fin 67 PLATE XXIV. LUZON. UrrER SAVANA DISTRICT. Januari/. The explanations I can oifer of this plate are even less satisfactory than those of tlie last. From a convenient distance we scarcely ever lost sight of the mountains of the island of Luzon from its north point to Manilla, and everj^vhere we saw the character here represented, i. e. large grassy plains, upon generally not very steep heights, always alternating with less extended districts, covered with thick and tall forests, which only appear to be connected with each other at the foot of the moun- tains. The ci'stom of burning the tall grasses during the dry season is practised all over the islanc*., and in sailing along we had on several evenings an opportunity of admiring this peculiar spectacle. The view represented in our plate was taken in the mountains east of the [jagoon of Bahia, a lake drained by the river Passig, about 800 to 1000 feet above that lake. Although I have endeavoured to represent the aspect of the forest as faithfully as possil)le in its details, I am unable to name any of the prcvailin,f>' species. On the whole, these forests are during this winter season remarkable for the number of leafless trees ; the underwood, to which belong an endless varietv of creepers, is very spitiy, and renders the thickets f;carcely pene- trable. Amongst the creepers especially., there are many so abundantly clad with hooked spines that it is difficult to extricate oneself from them. The finest and most conspicuous form is the genus Calntniis [11 | 12 -j, which in a peculiar manner combines the character of pahns wth that of creepers. Long thin strings are cobweb-like crosning the forest, here and there exhibiting cornphte crowns of palm leaves, and their long nodding bunches of flowers are principally armed with claw-like thorns. Their number of species, and the masses in whicfi 68 UPPER SAVANA DISTRICT. 1 they appear, seem to be very great in all the East Indian islands, but they prefer the lower forests, and are little seen in the higher mountain regions. In the district here represented scandent grasses begin to be prominent instead of them, certainly a strange form of creepers (9 n ; 14 p), which exercise an influence on the physiognomy of the forest. The highest trees are overhung with rich curtains of this highly elegant plant, the leaf of which reminds us of Bambusa arundi- nacea, and contrasts favourably with the beautiful as well as diversified foliage of the forests. Another plant characteristic of these upper Savana bushes is a palm, probably belonging to the genus Caryota fd ^V which in its pinnated leaves resembles a tree-fern, from which, however, it differs in its robust mode of growth, and tall slender trunk. THE END. LONDON PR IN re I) BY 8 I'O TTI8W ooitr, NBW-STBBGT SQUARB AND CO. r prefer In the f them, ;nce on 3urtains vrundi- iage of es is a innated Qode of