Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

AMSTERDAM AND ST. PAUL. 69over with cones from wliich lavas have been discharged. In 1792, at the time ofd'Entrecasteaux's visit, the island was in flames, caused either by the burningof the dense mass of reeds growing on the plateaux, or b}^ the craters, possiblyat that time in full activity.At present they are perfectly quiescent.St. Paul, which is live or six times smaller than Amsterdam, presents atypical instance of a breached marine volcano of perfectly regular form. Thecircular crater, now flooded by the sea, opens towards the north-east, and isenclosed by escarpments and taluses from 760 to 900 feet high. Thus is formedan extensive harbour of refuge completely sheltered and 240 feet deep, butbarred at the enti-ance by two projecting peninsulas of debris, which shifttheir form with the waves, and which have at times been joined in a continuousrampart, preventing all access to shipping.Thermal springs abound on the marginof this basin, where by merely brushing aside the surface sands enough hot watermay be collected to boil the fish captured close by.A comparison of the early descriptions with those of modern explorers wouldseem to show that the underground energies have greatly diminished since thediscovery of the island. The thermal sjjrings are apparently cooler, the gas jetsless abimdant, the hot spaces less extensive. Moreover the island is itselfdiminishing through the rapid destruction of its shores. Everywhere the coastis carved into cliJffs, and on both sides of the entrance to the flooded crater hugefragments have broken away from the flanks of the volcano.Towards the northeastthe coast is fringed by several rocky islets, of which the most striking areLa Quille, a horizontally stratified pyramidal mass, and North Island, a basalticcolonnade affecting the form of a circular temple.The flora comprises from thirty-five to forty species of mosses and lichens, andabout fifteen of herbaceous growths. The trees planted by the fishermen and thebotanists of various expeditions have not succeeded, while the vegetables, such aspotatoes, sorrel, and carrots, have much degenerated. The cabbage alone thrivesto a surprising degree, tending even to acquire arborescent proportions. A fewbutterflies, and even a bee, have been found, but no land-shells.on the island survived only a few years, but the cats, mice, and ratsThe pigs let loosehave becomeacclimatised. "Thrown together by a common fate, they dwell peacefully in thesame retreats."Amsterdam, less studied because less accessible than St. Paul, appears tohave a richer flora and faima. It is even said to possess one or more smallquadrupeds, including a weasel. Here the French expedition of 1874 discoveredabout fifty plants, of which as many as twenty-three were indigenous species.Amongst the larger growths is the phylica arborea, a shrub which had not previouslybeen met beyond the Atlantic basin.The Austral Islands.Several insular groups follow eastwards in the regions of the Indian Oceanstrewn with floating ice. liut these cold lands, girdled round by breakers and