THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. NARRATIVE-VOL. I. SECOND PART. -M REPORT ON THE SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER DURING THE YEARS i 8 7 3-7 6 UNDER THE COMMAND OF Captain GEORGE S. NARES, R.N., F.R.S. AND THE LATE Captain FRANK TOURLE THOMSON, R.N. PREPARED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE LATE Sir C. WYVILLE THOMSON, Knt., F.R.S., &c. REGIUS PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH DIRECTOR OF THE CIVILIAN SCIENTIFIC STAFF ON BOARD AND NOW OF JOHN MURRAY ONE OF THE NATURALISTS OF THE EXPEDITION Narrative — Vol. I. SECOND PART. JpubltslicB by <®rber of Dec ^Majesty's ®oberamnu c, \q-A-ql° PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE AND SOLD BY LONDON LONGMANS & CO.; JOHN MURRAY; MACMILLAN & CO.; SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO. TRUBNER & CO.; E. STANFORD; J. D. POTTER; and KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, & CO. EDINBURGH ADAM & CHARLES BLACK and DOUGLAS & FOULIS. DUBLIN A. THOM & CO. and HODGES, FIGGIS, & CO. I885 Price ( Parts First and Second) £6, 16s. 6d. ^hsoT^s J.IBSAKt PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH, FOP HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. S^-r£ b IIS 6^3 G-S _ |\JCVvwGlA V ! I C'fi '&) NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER WITH A GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION BY Staff-Commander T. H. TIZARD, R.N.; Professor H. N. MOSELEY, F.R.S.; Mr. J. Y. BUCHANAN, M.A.; and Mr. JOHN MURRAY, Ph.D.; MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION. Partly Illustrated by Dr. J. J. WILD, Artist to the Expedition. CONTENTS OF SECOND PART. CHAPTER XIII. PAGE Fiji Islands to the New Hebrides Islands — -Halobates — Api — The Macrura — Raine Island — Cape York — Arrou Islands — Ki Islands — Banda Group, .... 511-560 CHAPTER XI Y. Banda Islands — The Monaxonida — Banda to Amboina — The Actiniaria — Amboina — Mimicry in Butterflies and Moths — The Brachyura — Amboina to Ternate — Ternate — The Medusae, 561-603 CHAPTER XY. Ternate to Samhoangan — The Asteroidea — Samboangan to Ilo Ilo — The Amphipoda — Ilo Ilo to Manila — The Lamellibranchiata — Manila to Hong Kong — The Annelida — The Calcarea and Keratosa, ............ 604-645 CHAPTER XYI. Hong Kong to Manila and Zebu — Mactan and Zebu — Zebu to Camiguin Island and Sambo- angan— Samboangan — Samboangan to Humboldt Bay — The Polyzoa — Cephalodiscus — Humboldt Bay — Humboldt Bay to the Admiralty Islands — The Alcyonaria — The Nudibranchiata, . 646-695 CHAPTER XYll. The Admiralty Islands — History of their Discovery — Description of Nares Harbour — General Appearance of the Islands and Botany — Natives — Their Houses, Habits, Customs, Ornaments, Weapons, and Implements — Zoology — Polynesian Races, ...... 696-733 CHAPTER XYIII. Admiralty Islands to Japan — The Schizopoda, Cumacea, and Phyllocarida — Japan — The Japan Stream — Japan to the Sandwich Islands — The Hydroida — Honolulu — Hawaii — Sandwich Islands to Tahiti — -Dr. Rudolf von Willemoes-Suhm — Tahiti — Structure of Coral Reefs — The Corals, . . . . . . , 734-800 CHAPTER XIX. Tahiti to Juan Fernandez — Manganese Nodules, Sharks’ Teeth, Zeolites, and Cosmic Spherules in the Deposits of the Central South Pacific — The Stomatopoda — Historical Account of Juan Fernandez — Physical Features — Botany and Zoology — The Nemertea — Juan Fernandez to Val- paraiso— The Foraminifera — Valparaiso — The Copepoda and Ostracoda, .... 801-848 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. CHAPTER XX. Valparaiso to Cape Tres Montes — The Cirripedia and Pycnogonida— Through the Messier Channel, Sarmiento Channel, and the Strait of Magellan to the Falkland Islands — The Isopoda — The Falkland Islands — Fossils — The Scaphopoda and Gasteropoda — The Anomura, CHAPTER XXI. Falkland Islands to Monte Video — The Deep-Sea Fishes — Monte Video — The Gephyrea — Monte Video to Ascension — Description of the Deposits — On Deep-Sea Deposits in General — Ascension — Ascension to Porto Praya — Pelagic Diatoms — Infusoria — Pyrocystis — Coccospheres and Rhabdospheres — Bathybius — Cape Verde Islands to England — Synoptical Table of the Voyage — The Botany of the Expedition — Challenger Collections and Publications, CHAPTER XXII. Density of Sea Water — Composition of Ocean Water Salts — Geographical and Bathymetrical Distribution of Specific Gravity — Carbonic Acid, Nitrogen, and Oxygen in Sea Water — Discussion of Meteorological Observations as bearing on Oceanic Circulation, ..... APPENDICES. Appendix I. Explanation of Symbols and Abbreviations used in the Charts and Diagrams, II. Revised Table showing the positions of the Soundings obtained by H.M.S. Challenger, the Temperature and Specific Gravity of the Surface and Bottom Water, and the Stations where Serial Temperatures, Trawlings, and Dredgings were procured, III. Report on the Chronometers supplied to, and the Meridian Distances obtained by H.M.S. Challenger,, between the 1st December 1872 and the. 12th June 187 6, by Staff-Commander T. H. Tizard, R.N. IV. Report on the Health of the Crew of H.M.S. Challenger, during the years 1873-76. By Fleet-Surgeon George Maclean, R!N. . V. Chemical Analyses, . . . VI. Bibliography, giving the Titles of Books, Reports, and Memoirs referring to the Results of the Challenger Expedition, . . . . . . . VII. List of Reports on the Scientific Results of the Expedition, .... VIII. Letters addressed by the Admiralty to the Captain of H.M.S. Challenger, and the Director of the Civilian Scientific Staff, after the Arrival of the Expedition in England, . Index, . . . . . . . (For List of Illustrations in this Part see First Part.) PAGE 849-901 902-947 948-1003 1005 1007-1015 1017-1026 1027-1031 1033-1051 1053-1063 1065-1072 1073 1075-1110 H.M.S. Challenger — Shortening Sail to Sound. CHAPTER XIII. Fiji Islands to the New Hebrides Islands — Halobates — Api — The Macrnra — Raine Island — Cape York- Arrou Islands — Ki Island's — Banda Group. Fiji Islands to the New Hebrides. On the 11th August 1874, at 6 p.m., after swinging for magnetic purposes, the ship finally left the Fiji Islands, all sail being made to the westward. Mount Washington was in sight all day. On the 12th, at 6 A.M., a sounding, trawling, and temperatures were taken in 1350 fathoms, at Station 175 (see Sheet 27). The trawl caught at the bottom, but was successfully cleared and brought to the surface at 3 p.m. On the 15th another sounding and serial temperatures were taken in 1450 fathoms. From the 11th to the 15th, wet changeable weather was experienced, the wind blowing chiefly from N.E., but never remaining steady. On the 13th the fore topgallant mast and flying jib-boom were carried away in a rain squall before sail could be shortened. The deposits at 1350 and 1450 fathoms were Globigerina oozes of a. reddish colour, closely resembling the red clays in that respect. They contained respectively 45 and 61 per cent, of carbonate of lime, consisting of Rhabdoliths, Coccoliths, the shells of Globi- gerina, Orbulina, Hastigerina, Piilvinulina, Sjphceroidina, Pullenia, and some bottom- living species. A few of the Globigerina shells had still the delicate spines attached as in the specimens taken on the surface. The absence of Pteropod, Heteropod, and other pelagic Molluscan shells from these deposits is somewhat remarkable, for they were very abundant (nark, chall. exp. — vol. i. — 1885.) 65 512 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. on the surface, and at a similar depth and latitude in the Atlantic they were usually present in considerable numbers. The Foraminifera shells were in some instances quite white, or with a rosy tinge as if lately fallen from the surface, but the great majority were brown coloured, and in some instances black, from a deposit of oxide of manganese on their surface. When one of these dark coloured shells from 1450 fathoms is broken, three zones can be distinguished : at the centre an internal cast of the shell, then the white carbonate of lime shell itself, and outside this an external cast of the same nature and aspect as the internal one, to which it is connected by little red pillars which fill up the foramina of the shell. These casts do not appear to be formed by a simple filling of the shell, but to be due to a chemical combination. There were in these deposits none of the smooth pale yellow and green casts so abundant in the green muds along continental shores. If the brown casts be treated with warm hydrochloric acid and the iron thus extracted, a number of colourless globules are obtained, which have resisted the action of the acid. It has been found that these casts consist of a hydrated silicate containing alumina, lime, magnesia, and alkalies. The mean diameter of the minerals in these deposits — felspars, black mica, augite, hornblende, and magnetite — rarely exceeded 0'05 mm. The great bulk of the residue, however, after removal of the lime, consisted of pumice stone in a fine state of division, with argillaceous matter. Radiolarians and Diatoms made up about 2 per cent, of the whole deposit. The trawling at 1350 fathoms gave a few deep-sea animals, many rounded fragments of pumice covered with oxide of manganese, and the branch of a tree several feet in length which was carbonised in some places. There were many very productive hauls with the surface nets between the Fiji Islands and the New Hebrides, Pteropods, Heteropods, and pelagic Foraminifera being specially abundant. With the exception of a very large cylindrical species of Etmodiscus , Diatoms were very rare both on the surface and at the bottom. It was observed that the larger Foraminifera, • such as Sphceroidina dehiscent, Pulvimdinci menardii, and thick shelled Orbulince, were procured in greatest abundance when the tow-net was dragged at a depth of 80 or 100 fathoms. On one occasion the otter trawl was towed for some time from the lower boom, a short distance beneath the surface. It was not so successful in catching fish as was hoped; it contained, however, large masses and strings of jelly, which on examination turned out to be the eggs of a Cephalopod. Flying Fish ( Exocetus ) were especially abundant during this trip, and at night frequently dashed on board ship near the exposed lights. Holobates. — Specimens of this insect, of which very many were collected during the cruise, were especially abundant on the surface between the Fijis and the New Hebrides. This group of Hemiptera is interesting as containing (along with the allied genus NARRATIVE OF THE CRUI8E. 5X3 Halobatodes) the only insects with an organisation adapted to a truly pelagic mode of life. The head, in addition to the antennae (fig. 179, a), bears three tubercles on either side, surmounted by a single hair, but of unknown function. The mandibles are pointed and serrated, and serve to puncture the creatures upon which they feed, whilst they suck out the juices through a kind of tubular proboscis formed by the united maxillae. The thorax forms by far the largest part of the body ; the first segment is transverse and collar-like, the second and third elongated and fused, and produced behind and below into the acetabula with which the hinder legs are articulated (fig. 179, £ , $ ). The abdomen is larger in the male than in the female ; it consists of six ring-like segments followed by three others specially modified (fig. 179, g,g.a). The abdomen of the female consists of Fig. 179. —Halobates wullerstorffi., Frauenfelcl. <5, Male, upper side ; fathoms, with the northwest point of Wamma Island S. 86° W., and Dobbo Spit S. 68° E. When Pulo Babi came open of Wamma Island, the water deepened to 16 and 20 fathoms, and shortly afterwards to 48 fathoms, with the extremity of Dobbo Spit S. 66° 40' E., the left extremity of Wassia Island N. 32° 4 0r E., and the right extremity of Pulo Babi S. 17° E. At 10 a.m. a sounding, trawling, and temperatures were taken in 800 fathoms (Station 191), with Dobbo Spit S. 66° 40' E., the left extremity of Wassia Island N. 44° 20' E., and the right extremity of Pulo Babi S. 26° E., and at 6 p.m. sail was made for the north point of Great Ki Island (see Sheet 32). Whilst trawling, the tide was setting northwest until 4 p.m. ; and as it was ebbing in Dobbo Harbour, it is probable that the ebb sets northwest, and the flood southeast. The Ki (Ke) Islands. On the 24th, at daylight, Great Ki Island was observed ahead. By observa- tions and bearings of the land, it was found that there had been a current of 20 miles to the westward since 6 p.m. of the previous day, at the rate of 1-| miles per hour. At 6 a.m. a sounding and serial temperatures were taken in 580 fathoms, and then sail NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 553 was made for the north end of the island. Whilst the ship was off the coast of Great Ki Island several boats full of natives came off. The boats have been described by Wallace;1 they are shaped like whale boats, and are constructed of planks fastened together with pegs and rattans. The crews used paddles with long blades pointed at the ends and with cross handles. They paddled in time to a chanted cadence identical with one used by the Fijians in their dances, “ e ai 6 turn turn.” At intervals the sound rose loud from the approaching boats as it was taken up in chorus. The chant was accompanied by a drum with a tense membrane on which two sounds were made by striking it slightly with the tips of the fingers or more violently with the palm of the hand, the sound reminding one that the course was tending towards India, for such a method of tomtom playing is not known in Melanesia or Polynesia, but is in vogue in Ceylon and India, especially by Tamil coolies. The men, a boat-load of whom came on board, were like the Arrou Islanders, but for the most part more strongly built. They wore their hair long and loose, and had no ornaments ; most of them wore only an apron of cloth. All of them were in the most- horrible state of cutaneous disease, the skin being in a rough scurfy condition in many cases all over the body. Worse cases of vegetable itch could not occur. The disease is due to a parasitic fungus, and closely allied to or identical with Pityriasis versicolor. Dr. Crosbie, Staff- Surgeon of the Challenger, made a careful microscopical examination of it. The disease is widely spread in Melanesia and Polynesia.2 The men kept constantly scratching themselves violently, and life can be scarcely bearable in Great Ki Island ; yet the disease is one easily cured. The men begged for all kinds of things, and especially spirits and tobacco. One of the boats had well-made pottery, nicely ornamented with patterns in red, for barter, but unfortunately 119 specimens were procured. The men, as did also the Malays at Dobbo, used a slight click with the tongue, accompanied by a very slow shaking of the head to express astonishment. At 1 p.m. the ship rounded the north end of Great Ki Island, and steered towards Little Ki Island. The position of the north point of Great Ki Island (which is called Tanjong Burong) was made to be lat. 5° 16' 45" S., long. 133° 10' 45" E. It is a bluff point readily distinguished, and has on each side a small bay where probably anchorage may be found ; there were a few huts in these bays. The northeast point of Great Ki Island is low and sandy, with a group of Casuarina trees ; it lies S. 50° E., just over two miles from Tanjong Burong, and off the point are two small islets, the outermost of which is 40 feet high. From here the land trends to the southward for three miles, and then recedes to the westward, forming a small bay, on the south point of which (lat. 5° 24' S., long. 133° 11' E.) is the village of Ali Bandang, from which the land runs S. by W. ^ W. to a conspicuous point in lat. 5° 34/ S., long. 133° W E. Between the northeast point Malay Archipelago, vol. ii. pp. 183-186, London, 1869. See Tilbury Fox, M.D., On the Tokelau Ringworm and its Fungus, The Lancet, p. 304, 1874, 554 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. and the village of Ali Bandang are two other small villages. Nearly two miles west- ward of Tanjong Burong is the northwest point of Great Ki Island, off which is a small detached rock 30 to 40 feet in height. From the northwest point the land trends S.S.W. for a considerable distance without any conspicuous object on the coast. The whole of Great Ki Island is mountainous, but the tops of the hills were capped with cloud during the day, so that it was impossible to obtain the heights of any but the extreme northern mountain, which was found to be 2000 feet above the sea. The land is densely wooded, but here and there in the vicinity of the villages are clearings. Little Ki Island, with its off-lying islets, is low, but as they are all covered with trees, the tops of which are at least 100 feet in height, they can be seen at a distance of 15 or 16 miles. At 4 p.m. the peak of Kalamit was distinguished, and bringing it in line with the northwest point of Ki Doulan, the ship was steered in for the anchorage off Tamandan, where she was brought up at dusk in 8 fathoms, with the left extremity of Dranan Island west, the right extremity of Pulo Bandang N. 22° W., Tanjong Serbat S. 81° E., Bukit Krain S. 31° W. Shortly after anchoring, several boats came off to the ship flying the Dutch flag and paddling to a chant different from that sung by the inhabitants of Great Ki, but very similar. The men being shipbuilders by profession were delighted with the ship and ran all over her, and climbed into the rigging. A dance was got up on the quarter deck. The drum was beaten by two performers and a song accompanied it, but there was no clapping of hands as at Fiji ; the whole mode of dancing was absolutely different, and the attitudes of the dancers were sufficient alone to have told one that one was amongst Malays and not Melanesians or Polynesians, The dance, in which only two or three performers danced at a time, consisted of a very slowly executed series of poses of the body and limbs. There was no exact keep- ing of time to the accompaniment, nor union of action between the dancers. The hands and arms during the action were slowly moved from behind to the front, the palms being held forwards, and the thumbs stretched out straight from them. In another dance a motion as of pulling a rope was used. The chant to one dance was the words “ uela a uela.” There was also a dance of two performers with sticks to represent a combat with swords. The whole was closely like the dancing of the Lutaos seen afterwards at Samboangan, which will be described in the sequel. On the 25th, at 6 a.m., the ship proceeded for the anchorage off Ki Doulan, where the Rajah resides, and at 7 a.m. “came to” in 19 fathoms, very close to the reef, abreast a small pier running out in front of the village. The pier, which is formed of loose coral stones, has a depth of 5 or 6 feet at its outer end at low water. The Rajah of Ki Doulan came on board shortly after the anchor was down, and breakfasted in the cabin, making a hearty meal off curried meat and sardines. He Plate XXIX. Horsburgh, Edinburgh. Permanent Phototype. NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 555 was afterwards conducted round the ship, and was evidently struck with the superior comfort of the style of living in comparison with his own. The day was employed in surveying the harbour, in taking astronomical and magnetic observations, in observing the tides and exploring the islands. There was a large number of cocoanut trees by the villages on the beaches, and numerous bread fruit and sago trees, sago being the staple food of the natives (see PL XXVII.). The houses of the village of the Ki Doulan were all raised on posts, except the Mohammedan Mosque, which building shows a curious development of the high-peaked Malay roof into a sort of half tower, half spire, representing no doubt an equivalent of the dome (see PI. XXVI.). Under the eaves of the houses baskets were hung up for the fowls to nest in. Some boys were playing near the village, and, as a toy, they had a very ingeniously made model of a spring gun, or rather spring bow, a trap by which a large arrow is shot into a wild pig, on its setting loose a catch. A boy who acted as guide, and wore a turban, placed his hand upon it and said, :e Mohammed,” and explained to Captain Tizard that the small boys at play, whose heads were bare, were heathen ; he was evidently very proud of his religion. The Ki Islanders, besides arrows like those of the Arrou Islanders, use others which are peculiar. They are light, thin narrow strips cut out of the long leaves of what is believed to be a species of Carina. The strips are so cut that the stiff midrib of the leaf forms the shaft of the arrow, and portions of the wings of the leaf are left on at the base of the arrow to act as feathers ; the point is simply sharpened with the knife. These leaf arrows when dry are hard and stiff, and are very easily made by a few strokes of the knife. A large bundle of them is carried by the archer, and they are shot away at a bird in the bush without the trouble being taken to find them again, as in the case of other arrows. They are so small and light that they make very little show in their flight, and no noise ; and a youth was seen to shoot at least a dozen of them, at a large Nutmeg Pigeon, without the birds doing more than move its head, and start a little as they flew by almost touching it. These Nutmeg Pigeons ( Carpophaga concinna ) are very large heavy birds ; some of those shot weighed 2 lbs., and a considerable supply was obtained. A Fruit Bat ( Pteropus melanopogon ) and several Lizards ( Varanus indicus, Hemi- dactylus sp., Cyclodus sp., and Heteropus sp.), as also several of the Scincidse, were obtained. A large collection of insects was made, of which the following species are new : — Lepicloptera,1 Hamadryas niveipicta, Lampides cetherialis, Terias photoprhila, Papilio thomsonii, Parnphila moseleyi ; Coleoptera,2 Pelops gularis; Hymenoptera,3 Braeon stigmaticus, Dielis wallacei. ] A. G. Butlers, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist,., ser. 5, vol. xiii. p. 191 et seq., 1884. r C, 0. Waterhouse, Ibid., p. 279. W. F. Kirby, Ibid., pp. 404, 407, THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 556 Among the land shells Nanina citrina, Linn., was collected, which has not been previously recorded from these islands.1 Mr. Darwin in his Journal 2 refers to Epeira clavipes, as said by Sloane to make webs so strong as to catch birds. At Little Ki Island von Willemoes Suhm actually found a strong and healthy “Glossy or Metallic Starling” ( Calornis metallica ) caught fast in a yellow spider’s web, made by a large Nephilci, and he took the bird out alive and brought it on board the ship to be preserved. A few fowls, eggs, pumpkins, and plantains were procured, but the supply was limited. There were several large patches of cleared ground under cultivation, and boat-building was being carried on briskly, for here the boats are built with which the pearl fishers at the Arrou Islands pursue their occupation. The natives appeared to be very jealous of their women, for not one was seen by any of the exploring parties. The tidal observations showed that it is high water at full and change at 1 hour 26 minutes, and that spring tides rise 7 feet. Ki Islands to the Banda Islands. On the 26th September, at 6.30 a.m., the vessel left Ki Doulan for the Banda Islands, passing out to the westward, where the Malay people said a passage existed, and making a running survey of the channel. The ship was steered south of Pulo Doulan Laut, and between it and the islands of Oboor and Oot, and then between the northwest point of Pulo Letman and the Gadang Islands. Deep water was found from the anchorage to the northeast end of Pulo Oboor, when depths of from 7 to 10 fathoms were obtained, whilst rounding the north point of that island at a distance of three cables. When the west point of Oboor bore south, the water again deepened, and no bottom was obtained at 25 fathoms, although the ship was passing between coral reefs nearly dry. Off the southwest extremity of the shore reef, from Pulo Doulan Laut, the soundings were 21 to 28 fathoms, and a little farther westward 9 to 12 fathoms over what appeared to be a ledge joining the northwest extremity of Pulo Letman with Pulo Doulan Laut. Farther on the water again deepened until the depth was 90 fathoms between the Gadang Islands and Pulo Letman, from whence a S.W. by W. course was steered for a group of islands marked on the chart, “ Tionfolokker, P.D.” At 3.30 p.m. a running survey of the Tionfolokker Islands was completed, and the ship stopped and trawled in 129 to 140 fathoms, and then steamed to the westward until 8 p.m., when sail was made for the night. The two trawlings, taken in 129 to 140 fathoms (Station 192), off the southwest 1 E. A. Smith, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., p. 259, 1884. - Journal of Researches during the Voyage of H.M.S. “Beagle,” p. 36, ed. 1879, Breadfruit Tree, Ke Doulan. NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 557 point of the Tionfolokker Islands, were the richest in new species and number of speci- mens obtained during the cruise, siliceous Sponges, Corals, Pennatulids, and Echinoderms being especially abundant. The deposit at this Station was also of considerable interest. The sounding tube brought up specimens of a blue mud, containing about 10 per cent, of carbonate of lime, and in the trawls, besides pumice stones, were several large concretions or fragments of a calcareous rock, differing very considerably from the deposit. The Concretions were of two kinds. First, many more or less rounded agglutinations loosely held together, and from 1 to 7 centimetres in diameter. Second, several large honeycombed pieces of rock, several decimetres in diameter, and requiring a sharp blow from a hammer to break them. Those belonging to the first variety are grey or brown, sometimes slightly greenish, granular, and it can be seen with the lens that they are essentially composed of Foraminifera. An examination of thin sections of these nodules shows that they are agglutinated, or coagulated by an argillo-ealcareous cement which is not in great abundance. Some of the shells are entirely filled with pale green glauconite, others only partially. The intervals between the shells are not filled up with the cementing- matter, and appear to be the first phase of agglutination. Those of the second variety are very irregular in shape, and consist of large pieces of a hard rock traversed in all directions by large and small perforations, with a diameter varying from 1 to 4 centimetres. These blocks have thus a cavernous or coarse cellular appearance. The perforations are covered, like the surface of the rock, with organisms, as Sponges, Polyzoa, &c., and rough to the touch ; the smaller perforations have sometimes the appearance of having been produced by litliophagous Molluscs. These concretions have the hardness of ealcite ; the freshly broken fragments are white-grey. A microscopic examination shows that they are mainly composed of various species of pelagic Foramini- fera. Treated with weak acid the concretions decompose with effervescence, leaving a. residue of 20 '44 per cent., the rest being carbonate of lime. The residue is essentially composed of argillaceous matter, together with a few grains of felspar and quartz, and glauconitic casts of the Foraminifera, these last being brown or green and feebly transparent. The greenish casts present most of the characters of true glauconite. Examined with the microscope in thin sections, the Foraminifera composing the rock are seen to be the same as those in the first variety and also in the muds of the same region ; mixed up with these are fragments of Echinoderms, &c. They are some- times filled with greenish glauconite, but more generally with a semi-opaque greyish matter which constitutes the cement of the various elements of the rock, and must be considered as impure carbonate of lime. It has a slightly opaline aspect, is homogeneous under low powers, but with higher powers a fine granulation can be seen which the 558 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. optical properties show to be due to minute crystalline particles. A section of these concretions resembles in most respects a section of a hardened Globigerina ooze from tropical regions. In this case, however, the shells are nearly all filled and cemented by the finely granular carbonate of lime, while in a Globigerina ooze they are empty. It is not improbable that these large concretions or rock-fragments are hardened portions of a deep-sea deposit formed at a much greater depth, and subsequently elevated into the position in which they were found, probably by the same elevation as that which upheaved the neighbouring islands. On the 27th, at 5.30 a.m., the position was obtained by star observations, and from that time until 4.30 p.m. the course was altered as necessary to complete the survey of the Brother Islands and the Tionfolokker group. It was found that the Tionfolokker group consisted of three large and four small islands, with a few outlying rocks. The southwesternmost island of the group is 550 feet high, and round-backed, the other islands are all low and flat, but 'covered with trees, so that they are visible at a distance of from 12 to 15 miles. They lie in a N.E. by N. and S.W. by. S. direction, between the parallels of 5° 31' and 5° 47' S. latitude, and the meridians of 132° 8' and 132° 23' E. longitude. Passing the group on the southeast side, soundings of 170 to 140 fathoms were obtained. On the northeast side of the high, or southwestern, island are two small islets, from which a reef extends to the southward a distance of three miles, and near the edge of this reef are some rocks above water ; with this exception no danger was seen, but ships should be cautious in venturing amongst these islands until the channels between them have been sounded (see Sheet 32). The Brother Islands are three in number. The southern island, Pulo Ta, 390 feet high, is in lat. 5° 40^' S., long. 131° 55' E., circular in shape, about one mile in diameter, and a small reef fringes its shore. The northwest Brother, Pulo Onelin, is low, but covered with trees, circular in shape, and about half a mile in diameter, bears N. by W. 5 miles from Pulo Ta, and is in lat. 5° 26' 15" S., long. 131° 54^' E. Pulo Dol, the northeasternmost island of the Brother group is also low, but is larger than the other two islands, being a mile and a quarter long in a N. by W. and S. by E. direction, and one mile wide ; it lies 6 miles N.E.- by N. from Pulo Ta, and is in lat. 5° 36^' S., long. 131° 58l>' E. A coral reef fringes the shores of all three islands, but does not extend to any great distance from them ; the channels between them appear free from danger. Kanalur Island, the southern island of the Nusa Tello group, is of considerable size, and rises in a succession of terraces to a height of 1600 feet. The summit is in lat. 5° 20 J' S., long. 131° 57' E. In the passage between the Brother Islands and Kanalur Island, which is 12 miles wide, a sounding of 175 fathoms was obtained. NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 559 The Brother Islands and Kanalur are inhabited, for cocoanut trees were seen grow- ing on them, and boats pulling from one island to the other, besides smoke rising from Kanalur. It could not be ascertained whether the Tionfolokker Islands were inhabited or not. The officers forbore naming the various islands of that group, as doubtless they have already received names from the Malays, and it would have been a pity to introduce others. All these islands appeared to be of coral formation. Even Kanalur, 1600 feet high, looked like a succession of . raised reefs, but whether they really are all of coral formation it was impossible to determine, as landing was not effected on any of them. At 5 p.m. Pulo Ta bore S. 32° W., and Kanalur peak N. 44° W. From this posi- tion the ship proceeded under steam for Bird Island, in order to fix its position, which appeared to be very uncertain, the chart and Horsburgh’s Directory disagreeing con- siderably. At daylight on the 28th Bird Island was sighted, and at 9 a.m. a sounding and temperatures were taken in 2800 fathoms (see Sheet 31). The temperature from 900 fathoms to the bottom remained the same, showing that the Banda Sea is separated from the Arafura Sea and Pacific Ocean by a ridge, the greatest depth over which cannot exceed 900 fathoms. At noon the ship proceeded to the westward, and at 2.45 p.m., when Bird Island bore south (true) sights for longitude and a meridian altitude of Venus were obtained, which enabled the position of the island to be fixed accurately. The result was considerably different from the position assigned it on the chart. At 6 p.m. no' bottom was obtained at 600 fathoms, and the course then altered for the Banda Islands. Bird Island, in lat. 5° 33^' S., long. 130° 18' E., is about one mile long, N.N.W. and S.S.E., and half a mile wide. In shape it is somewhat like a small prism, and rises at an angle of 30° from the sea to the summit, which attains an elevation of 980 feet. There are trees on the island, but they do not completely cover it, as the southern part of the summit and the western side of its slopes were bare. Smoke was seen on shore, but whether this was due to volcanic agency, or merely to a fire lit by natives, could not be determined. On the 29th, at daylight, the Banda Islands were seen ahead, Pulo, Rhun bearing N.N.W. f W., and Pulo Rozengain N.N.E. ^ E. Steering for the passage between Banda and Rozengain Islands, the islands were found placed incorrectly relatively to each other on the chart, so a running survey of them was made. At 10 a.m. no bottom was obtained with 300 fathoms, the left extremity of Pulo Waii, in line with the left extremity of Banda N. 76^ W., and the right extremity of Banda N. 14° W. Proceeding a short distance farther to the northward, a sounding and dredging were obtained in 200 fathoms with the left extremity of Banda S. 65° W., the peak of Rozengain S. 67° E., and the right extremity of Bancla N. 29° W. ; and again in 360 fathoms, with Gunung (narr. chall. exp. — vol, i. — 1885.) 71 560 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. Api.S. 81° W., Banda S. 45° 30' W., and the left peak of Rozengain S. 47° 15' E. At 1.30 p.m. the ship was steered in for the anchorage, passing between Pulo Pisang and Tangong Boerong, and at 2.15 p.m. anchored in 7 fathoms, with the right extremity of Pulo Neira N. 35° E., Fort Nassau N. 5° W., and the left extremity of Gunung Api Island N. 86° W. The deposit at 2800 fathoms in the Banda Sea was a blue mud, without any traces of carbonate of lime or shells of pelagic Foraminifera. The deposits at lesser depths in the same region usually contained many Foraminifera in the surface layers, while the deeper layers, which were of a blue colour, contained very few. Glauconite was present in all the deposits, together with the usual mineral particles derived from continental land. In the trawling in 360 fathoms, close to the island of Banda, a Spirula, with the soft tissues preserved, was taken — the only one obtained during the cruise. It had possibly been disgorged from the stomach of some animal, perhaps a fish, as the epidermis was partially digested, as is the case in most specimens known. NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 5(31 CHAPTER XIV. Banda Islands — The Monaxonida —Banda to Ainboina — Actiniaria — Amboina — Mimicry in Butterflies and Moths — The Brachyura — Ainboina to Ternate— Ternate — The Medusa;. Banda Islands. The Banda Islands,1 twelve in number, were known to, and frequently visited by, the Malays and Javanese before the advent of Europeans. The first European who landed at Banda was Bartema, of Bologna, who returned to Europe in 1506, and gave the first account of the clove tree. In 1511 Affonso Alboquerque, after his conquest of Malacca, despatched Antonio d’Abreu, one of his lieutenants, to trade with, and take possession of, the Spice Islands. On his way d’Abreu touched at Gressic, in Java, and procured Malay and Javanese pilots, who took him first to Amboina and then to Banda. He loaded, his ships with mace and nutmegs, and left the islands well satisfied with his reception. The Banda group consists of twelve islands, the names of which are written as follows on the Admiralty charts : — Banda (or Great Banda), Neira, Goonong Api, Kraka, Pisang, Kapal, Waii, Rhun, Naailaka, Swangi, Rozengain, and Poeloe (see Sheet 33). Their names were correctly given by the Malayan traders who had frequented them for ages. Banda, correctly Bandan, means in Javanese, “ the. thing or things tied or united,” or with the word Pulo, “ united islands.” Pulo Nera is the “ island of palm-wine,” Lontar, written by Europeans Lonthor, is the name of the palm, the leaf of which is used for writing on, the word being half Sanscrit and half Javanese. Pulo Ai, properly Pulo Wai, means “water island.” Pulo Pisang, “banana island.” Pulo Run (Rung), “chamber island.” Pulo Suwanggi, “sorcery island.” Gunung-api, “fire mountain” or “volcano.” The whole Banda group, which has an area of not less than 18 square miles, is of volcanic formation, and the island of Gunung Api is an active volcano, the summit of which is 1860 feet above the level of the sea. The eruptions of this mountain have been frequent and destructive. The first of which there is any record took place in 1629 ; this was followed by others in 1690 and the five following years, also in the years 1765, 1775, 1816, 1820, and 1852. In the months of November and December of 1852 a succession of fearful earthquakes, unaccompanied by any eruption of Gunung Api, took place, which nearly overwhelmed the islands of 1 Crawford's Descriptive Dictionary of Indian Islands ; Crawfnrd’s Indian Archipelago ; Wallace’s Malay Archi- pelago; Hakluyt Society’s Publications ; Pinkerton’s Voyages, 1808-14; Stavorinus’ Voyages; Somerot’s Spice Islands; Rozengain, Een der Eilanden van de Banda Groep ; Samuel Purchas, his Pilgrimes, Lond. 1625 ; Harris’s Collection of Voyages. 562 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGE!!, Banda and Neira, overthrowing houses, and destroying ships and nutmeg plantations. The eruptions of Gunung Api are generally accompanied by violent earthquakes and an earthquake wave. In the eruption of 1690 the sea is said to have risen 25 feet above the' level of high water at springs, to have swept off every dwelling near the shore, and to have destroyed all the ships in the harbour ; a cannon weighing 3500 lbs. was carried away from the quay on which it stood to the distance of 30 feet. In the eruption of 1691 the succesion of earthquakes which took place was such as to terrify the inhabitants, many of whom emigrated to Amboina and Celebes. The eruption of 1852 seems to have been as disastrous as that of 1690. At the time of the visit of the Portuguese to the Banda Islands in 1512, the natives, although few in number, were a spirited and independent people, living under a kind of rude republican government, and Mohammedan in religion. Soon after 1512 the Portuguese established a factory here for the purchase of spices, and remained in possession of the nutmeg trade for nearly a century, when in 1609 the Dutch, with three ships, and seven hundred soldiers, made their appearance, took possession of the islands, and began con- structing a fort on the ruins of one which had belonged to the Portuguese. The natives resisted, seduced the Dutch Admiral and forty-live of his companions into an ambuscade, and massacred them. This led to a war of extermination, which was not closed until 1627. The unfortunate natives in these contests behaved with much courage and per- severance, virtues which would have been successful in the expulsion of the invaders but for the disunion and feebleness incident to their geographical position and to their want of civilization. In 1615 a large fleet and military expedition attempted the conquest of the group, but the Banda men conducting themselves with extraordinary courage, the Dutch were defeated, and the governor-general, who accompanied the troops, died of chagrin on account of the failure. In 1616 the islanders were subdued and forced into treaties more hostile to their prosperity than ever. In 1620 the Banda men again attempted to regain their independence. ■ At this period the Dutch and English were reconciled to each other, and the latter regretted their inability, from want of means, to j oin the Dutch in a league for the subversion of .the natives. The Dutch governor- general piously declared he would undertake the enterprise with the assistance of Heaven, which he boasted had hitherto been so favourable to him. In 1621 all the islands but Great Banda submitted to the rule of the Dutch ; but there the natives betook themselves to the mountains, where in time they were starved and hunted down until at length the survivors, a poor remnant of eight hundred persons, surrendered themselves, were transported to Batavia, and in the course of time absorbed into the ranks of the inhabitants of Java, so that now no vestige of the language or customs of the original inhabitants can be traced. In this manner the Dutch became undisputed masters of the nutmeg monopoly, and introduced slaves for the purpose of carrying on the cultivation ; when slavery was abolished, convict labour was substituted. SHEET 33 Engraved d>y Malby & Sons . « , NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 563 At present a great part of the labour is imported from Java, by contract between the labourer and the owner of an estate ; the man agrees to work for a term of years, the wages being, after £15 passage money has been paid, from £10 to £20 per annum. As many women are encouraged to follow the men as possible ; but it is difficult to induce the better class of men to emigrate. Here as elsewhere the native does not appreciate hard manual labour, whilst the European sits in his verandah, smoking, with plenty of cooling drinks at hand. The management of these imported labourers is a matter of no small difficulty ; the only punishment allowed by the Government is imprisonment, and consequent loss of the man’s services ; and a blow given by a European is also punished with imprisonment, a fine for such an offence being disallowed. This naturally most effec- tually prevents ill treatment, but does not commend itself to the planter’s notion of justice. Almost the whole of the low ground and many of the slopes of the Banda group are planted with nutmegs grown under the shade of lofty Canary trees ( Canarium commune). The light volcanic soil, the shade, and the excessive moisture of these islands, where it rains more or less every month in the year, seem exactly to suit the nutmeg tree, which requires no manure and but little attention. A party from the ship ascended the east side of Gunung Api. It appears to. be but seldom climbed either by Dutch residents or natives. The mountain is a steep simple cone covered with bushes up to within about 700 or 800 feet of the summit, and with the help of these, climbing is easy enough. Above the limit of the bushes there are steep slopes of loose stones, wearisome to climb and constantly falling. Above these, again, the surface of the cone is hard, the fine ashes and lava fragments, of which it is composed, being cemented together so as to form a hard crust. This is roughened by the projection of fragments, but still smooth enough to require some care in the placing of the feet to men wearing boots. The Malay guides with naked feet stood with ease upon it anywhere. The inclination of the slope is about 33°; and to a man who easily becomes giddy no doubt would be rather formidable in descent. An American traveller, Mr. Bickmore, has written a most appalling account of the danger which he encountered in descending, but to a man with an ordinarily good head there are no difficulties either in the ascent or descent. At the summit the fragments of rock were undergoing slow decomposition under the action of heated vapours issuing in all directions from amongst them, and were softened and turned white, like chalk. Any of these fragments when broken showed part of their mass still black and unaltered, and the remainder white ; the decomposition not having reached as yet through the whole. The rocks collected at Gunung Api arc augite-andesite, the augite is generally pleochroic, the plagioclase very much decomposed. Along with these rocks are some specimens of more scoriaceous character, but having the same mineralogical composition as the first ones. Jets of hot steam issued in many places from fissures. Around the mouths of these 564 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. were growing gelatinous masses formed by lowly organized Algae closely similar in appear- ance to those found growing around the mouths of hot springs in the Azores. Here, however, there was no water issuing, the only moisture being supplied by the condensa- tion of the steam. There was no accumulation of water, but drops of moisture hung on the sides of the fissures. In some places the gelatinous algae, and a white mineral incrus- tation, formed alternate layers coating the mouths of the fissures. The steam on issuing within the fissure had a temperature of 250° F.; and where the crust of algse was flourishing the thermometer showed 140° F. The steam had a strongly acid and sulphurous smell. On the summit of the mountain, where the ground is cool, grow a Fern, a Sedge, and a Melastomaceous plant. Besides these was found another flowering plant, growing in a crack in the midst of a strongly sulphurous smoke which issued constantly from it. The thermometer when laid on the surface of the ground where this plant was growing showed a temperature of 100° F.; and at a depth of one and a half feet below it the soil about the fissure had a temperature of 220° F. At the summit of the mountain were numerous flying insects of various kinds, although there was nothing for them to feed upon, and large numbers of them lay dead in the cracks, killed by the. poisonous volcanic vapours. So numerous were they that the swallows had come up to the top of the mountain to feed on them. Similarly, large numbers of insects were noticed at the summit of the volcano of Ternate, at an altitude of more than 5000 feet. Insects are commonly to be seen being carried along before the wind in successive efforts of flight, and no doubt they are blown up to the tops of these mountains, there being no vegetation towards the summits for them to hold on to. The winds pressing against the mountains form currents up their slopes, and in the case of volcanoes, which are heated at the summits, there is no doubt a constant upward draught towards their tops, caused by the ascending column of hot air. The accumulation of insects at the tops of these mountains is interesting, because when blown off into the free air from these great elevations by heavy winds, as no doubt they often are, the insects are likely to fly and drift before the wind to very long distances, and thus become the means of colonizing far-off islands. The skull of a Woolly Phalanger ( Cuscus maculatus) was found on the mountain ; the animal is common in the Banda group, and occurs also in the Moluccas and elsewhere. Its occurrence on the Banda Islands seems most easily accounted for on the supposition that it escaped from confinement, having been brought there at some time by Malay voyagers. Malays seem fond of keeping wild animals in confinement, or taming them ; there were several such pets about the houses at Dobbo at the time of the visit. At the base of the Banda volcano, on the shores of the island, a belt of living corals composed of a considerable variety of species is easily accessible at low tide. Of these corals the most numerous are massive Astraeids,- of which about ten different forms were collected ; a massive Porites is also very abundant. One species of “ Brain Coral,” NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 565 and an Astrcea, form huge masses, often as much as 5 feet in diameter, which have their bases attached to the bare basaltic rock of the shore. The tops of all of these coral masses are dead, and flat and somewhat decayed. ; but on these dead tops fresh growth is taking place, showing that slight oscillations in the level of the shore of a foot at least have taken place recently. Such slight oscillations are to be expected at the base of an active volcano. The tops of the corals have been certainly killed by being left exposed above water, and the present growth is due to the corals being now again sub- merged. The fact that these corals are to be seen growing on the bare rock itself, and not on debris of older corals, shows that the coral growth is very recent. The Brain Coral grows in convex, mostly hemispherical, masses, the Astrcea more in the form of vertically standing cylindrical masses, or masses which may be described as made up of a number of fused cylinders. The masses of the Astrcea are usually higher than those of the Mceandrina by about a foot, because they are able to grow in shallower water, and they thus range also higher up on the beach. Many of the masses of this Astrcea in the shallower water are left dry at each low tide, and appear to suffer no more in consequence than do the common sea anemones of our English coasts, which are so closely allied to them. There seem to be but few instances of species of Madreporarian corals which thus grow where they are exposed at low tide. The Brain Coral apparently cannot survive exposure, and hqnce the tops of its masses have been killed during the change of depth of the water at about a foot below the height at which those of the Astrcea have perished. The common Mushroom Coral ( Fungia sp.), so often to be seen as a. chimney-piece ornament in England, is most extraordinarily abundant on the shore, at a depth of 1 or 2 feet at low water, and with it an allied larger, similarly free-growing Coral ( Herpetolitlia Umax, Esch.). The Mushroom Corals cover the bottom in places in such large quantities that a cart-load of them might be picked up in a very short time ; nowhere else were they seen so common during the voyage. A Beef Coral ( Pliysogyra aperta ) was found, which has been made the type of a new genus.1 Many visits were paid to the nutmeg plantations. The nutmeg is the kernel of a fruit very like a peach in appearance, which makes an excellent sweetmeat when preserved in sugar. The owner of a plantation, a very wealthy Malay native of Banda, said that about one male tree to every fifty females was planted on the estate ; he had a superstition that if a nutmeg seed were planted with its flatter side upper- most, it would be more likely to produce a male seedling. Formerly, before the Dutch Government renounced its monopoly of the growth of nutmegs in the Moluccas, the trees were strictly and most jealously confined to the island of Great Banda. The utmost care was taken that no seeds fit for germination should be carried away from the island, for fear of rival plantations being formed elsewhere ; seeds were, however, often smuggled out. The Government destroyed the nutmeg trees on all the other islands of 1 Quelch, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 5, vol. xiii. p. 293, 1884. 506 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER'. the group. It was, however, found necessary to send a commission every year to uproot the young nutmeg trees sown on these islands by the Fruit Pigeons ( Carpophaga concinna), called “ Nutcrackers ” by the Dutch residents. The various Fruit Pigeons must have played a most important part in the dissemina- tion of plants, and especially trees, over the wide region inhabited by them. Sir Charles Lyell,1 referring to the transportation of seeds by the agency of birds, noted especially this transportation effected by pigeons, and quotes Captain Cook’s Voyages to the effect that at Tanna “ Mr. Forster shot a pigeon (obviously a Carpophaga ) in whose craw was a wild nutmeg.” 2 At the Admiralty Islands the officers of the Challenger shot very large numbers of a Fruit Pigeon ( Carpophaga rliodinolcema) , whose crops were full of fruits of various kinds. Amongst them were abundance of wild nutmegs and wild coffee- berries ; many of the fruits were entirely uninjured, and the seeds quite fit for germina- tion. No doubt, when frightened or wounded by accident, the pigeons eject the whole fruits, and they habitually eject the hard kernels, as I saw quantities of them lying about under the trees on a small island at the Admiralty Islands, on which the birds roost in vast numbers. As soon as a few littoral trees, such as Barringtonia and Calophyllum inopliyllum, have established themselves by means of their drifting seeds on a freshly dry coral islet, the Fruit Pigeons alight in the branches in their flight from place to place, and drop the seeds of all kinds of other trees with succulent fruits. The pigeons were seen thus resting on two or three small littoral trees, which as yet form almost the only vegetation of Observatory Islet, a very small islet in Nares Harbour, Admiralty Islands. The Eesident or Governor at Banda, like all the Europeans, received the Expedi- tion in a most friendly manner, and held a reception at his house in its honour, where nearly the whole community assembled. A very good Malay band performed a selection during the evening, which was spent by most of the guests in playing cards and smoking. One day was devoted to a visit to the nutmeg plantation of Mr. Laws, called Laoetang, on Great Banda Island. The party started in the steam pinnace at 6 a.m., accompanied by the Resident, his Secretary, and Mr. de Borges. The Resident’s large canoe with high pointed bow and stern, profusely decorated with banners, and paddled by eighteen Malays, who kept stroke to the beat of tom-toms and gongs, accompanied the party. The semi-savage appearance of the Malays, their mode of throwing their paddles straight up in the air in exact time and all together between each stroke, the song with which they accompanied their efforts, together with their decorated canoe, presented a most picturesque and pleasing effect. The speed of the canoe was consider- able, but not sufficient to keep up with the steam pinnace (see fig. 186). 1 Principles of Geology, 10th eel., vol. ii. p. 69. 2 Cook’s Second Voyage, London, 1877, vol. ii. p. 69, NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 567 Outside the harbour a slight southeasterly swell was experienced, which rendered the landing on the weather shore of Banda Island a little difficult. A coral reef, which dries at low water, skirted the shore for about 50 yards at the landing place, imme- diately outside of which the depth was 20 fathoms, so that the pinnace was barely able to anchor. The party was conveyed on shore in small boats, the native labourers from the plantation running the canoes clear of the worst seas, and then carrying the members of it to land in arm-chairs. Whilst breakfast was being prepared, a Javanese band of a dozen musicians and two dancing girls, hired for the amusement of the labourers, and evidently a part of the establishment, gave an entertainment. At first it was thought that stringed music was heard, but it was found that the sound was produced from the usual Javan instruments, some dozen bell-shaped gongs with raised knobs on their tops, standing on the ground, and a number of melophones made from bamboo laths, arranged like musical glasses. The girls were dressed in the usual sarongs, with a long scarf crossed gracefully over their shoulders, the- face, arms, and hands were coloured with a yellowish dye, and the hair bound into a knot above their heads, and ornamented with a wreath of flowers. The dance consisted of graceful bendings of the body accompanied with movements of the arms and scarf, and a musical chant. After breakfast the party rode to the top of the range of hills running through the island. When the land is viewed from seaward, it appears to be covered with an almost (narr, chall. exp.— vol. i.— 1885.) 72 568 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. impenetrable jungle, but it is really more like a park, as all the undergrowth is cleared away. At the summit of the hills the Malays brought some freshly-cut bamboos, the spaces between the joints of which were filled with deliciously cool water. After remaining some time on the hills admiring the nutmeg plantations and the tall Canary trees with the numerous orchids on them, the party rode to the north side of the island, where the pinnace had been sent to await its arrival. On dismounting near the shore a party of men appeared dressed in parti-coloured garments, amongst which red and yellow predominated, armed with decorated swords and spears, with brass shields sufficiently long to protect the arm as high as the elbow, and flat silver filigree helmets adorned with the feathers of the Birds of Paradise. They danced to the sound of a drum and small gong, keeping excellent time, and imitated the attack and defence of war parties amidst the firing of guns. The seat of government, principal fort, and European settlement at the Banda group are on the island of Neira. Two piers run out from the shore to facilitate landing at low water, one on the southwest point of the island opposite the fort, which is the commercial pier, and the other on the south coast of the island, opposite the Resident’s house, which is the official pier. A road with trees on each side, and grass plots towards the sea, runs parallel with the coast from the fort, round the south and east sides of the island, and by the side of this road are the residences of the Dutch officials, and the usual club house. The club house is a regular feature in all the Dutch settlements of the East, and every night the officials and residents assemble there to talk over the affairs of the day, and enjoy their cigars in the open air in the cool of the evening, sitting either on chairs round a table placed on the grass flat in front of the club house, or in easy chairs in the verandah. Life at Banda is similar to that at Batavia, and, in fact, all over the Dutch possessions in the Indian Archipelago. The whole community rises at daybreak, and after a light breakfast of fruit and coffee, attend at their offices until 11 a.m. ; at this hour practically all work for the day is over, for after a bath and luncheon at noon, they indulge in a siesta until between 3 and 4 p.m., when they rise, dress themselves for the evening, and take a stroll before dinner, after which they meet at the club. Supplies at Banda are scanty, for as the islands produce nothing but the nutmeg, rice and all other necessaries for the maintenance of the population have to be imported. Beef could be procured occasionally, fowls were 3s. to 4s. each, and eggs 2|d. each. Yams, cucumbers, pumpkins, and plantains are grown, and can be purchased at moderate rates, coal is stored on the island, and could also generally be procured. The population of the Banda Islands in 1870 was 6224, of whom 589 were Europeans, 5479 Natives, 128 Chinese, and 28 Arabs. There were also at this time 1063 head of cattle and 30 horses on the islands. NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE. 569 The nutmeg trees on the island, about half a million in number, produced in 1870 1,022,207 lbs. of nutmegs, and 197,143 lbs. of mace. The weather at Banda is rainy and moist throughout the year, August, to November being the driest months. The northwest monsoon blows occasionally with violence, while the southeast monsoon seldom exceeds a moderate breeze. There is monthly mail communication with Banda from Batavia. The Resident and some of the other gentlemen at Banda stated that in July and August the water was usually milky white, but during the Challenger’s visit it was exceptionally clear ; in connection with this it may be mentioned that on the 28th September, shortly before reaching Banda, Mr. Buchanan procured in the water-bottles from 400 and 600 fathoms a milky-white water, the appearance being due to an amorphous precipitate. It having been ascertained from the Resident during the stay that a small steamer which had been for a cruise to Ceram had broken down on its return when within a few miles of Banda, and that the crew had no provisions on board, the steam pinnace was sent out to search. In the evening the pinnace returned, having found a small boat, contain- ing the Dutch master and half a dozen Malays so exhausted from want of food as to be unable to reach the islands. They reported leaving the steamer two days previously, and that its crew had then no water left ; under these circumstances the ship proceeded out in search of the steamer, and steamed nearly over to Ceram without seeing it or its crew, natives of that island, consequently it was concluded that they had reached' a harbour there, and the Challenger returned to Banda. While the ship was away, the steam pinnace remained with some of the naturalists dredging in 20 to 30 fathoms, close to Banda, when along with other specimens numerous Monaxonid sponges were obtained. Mr. S. O. Ridley, F.L.S., of the British Museum, who is preparing a Report on this group, has furnished the following notes “ The Monaxonida (as it is proposed, in accordance with principles laid down by Pro- fessor Sollas1 and advocated by Professor F. E. Schulze, to term that group of the Siliceous Sponges named Monactinellidse by Professor Zittel) are, as the investigations of the ‘Lightning’ and ‘Porcupine’ in the North Atlantic, those of Dr. Bowerbank in the Shetland seas, and those of Professor Agassiz in the Gulf of Mexico would lead us to expect, well represented in the Challenger collections, viz., by about two hundred species, of which about seventy are new to science ; and they are by no means confined to the more moderate depths. Representatives of the group were obtained at seventy-three distinct localities out of the total number of dredging and trawling Stations. “ Of the six marine families, Renieridee, Chalinidse, Desmacidinidse, Ectyonidse, Axinellidse, and Suberitidse, commonly recognised in this suborder, the Desmacidinidse take unequivocally the first place in the collection, both from their abundance and 1 See Cassell’s Natural History, vol. vi. p. 326, 1883, 570 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. from the interest attaching to the types represented. At the same time no form has been discovered in this family of sufficient distinctness from the known genera to rank as the representative of a new generic type. Those extraordinary forms allied to Esperia, with which the researches of Professor G. 0. Sars, Sir Wyville Thomson, Mr. Carter, and Professor 0. Schmidt have made us familiar, viz., Chondro- clcidia and Cladorrhiza, are present to the number of at least nine species, of which- three Cladorrhiza and as many Chondrocladice are certainly new to science ; among the points of interest which they present not the least is the fact that the majority of the species do not exhibit the same shrubby form as the original species to which these names were applied, but a shape the peculiarities of which led Professor Schmidt to found the genus Crinorrhiza for a specimen belonging to this division of the Desmacidines obtained off Bar- bados. Crinorrhiza has a relatively small, subglobular body, from the equatorial aspect of which radiate in a horizontal direction a number of strong spicular tufts ; a central root may also be present. While, however, Professor Schmidt considered these, certainly remarkable, external characteristics of sufficient import- ance to justify the erection of a genus, the Challeuger specimens show that the spiculation of the five species which exhibit them belongs to two distinct types, the one that of Chondrocladia, the other that of Cladorrhiza. It therefore becomes necessary (having regard to the superior weight which must be admitted to attach to spicular characters in contrast to those derived from the external form) to abandon the genus Crinorrhiza , as constituting a mere growth-type, comparable to the £ artificial genera,’ Ampho- riscus, Olynthus, &c., recognized by Professor Haeckel among the Calcarea. Of the more familiar genera Esperia has nine or