Chapter LXIII: Appendix: List of Notes (4)

(1) _Sophora tomentosa, Linn._—The moniliform pods will float for few weeks, but it is to the seeds liberated by the breaking down of the pod that the wide dispersal of this beach-plant by the currents is due. When experimenting on the freshly obtained seeds in Fiji I found that four-fifths of them floated after three months in sea-water. With seeds that had been kept for three years, half floated after twelve months and retained their sound condition. The seeds owe their floating power to the buoyant kernel.

(2) _Sophora chrysophylla, Seem._—The dry pods of this Hawaiian mountain species float between one and two weeks in sea-water, but being brittle they readily break down and the seeds escape. The seeds have no buoyancy even after drying for four years.

(3) _Sophora tetraptera, Ait._, from the coast of Chile.—After floating from ten to fourteen days in sea-water, the dry pods become sodden and begin to break up, the seeds escaping. Since, however, the pods tend to decay and break open on the tree they would not be available for dispersal by currents. Out of a number of freshly gathered seeds all floated buoyantly after a month in sea-water, when the experiment ended; and of seeds that had been kept over a year six out of ten floated after four months in sea-water, two of them germinating afterwards in soil. Like those of S. tomentosa the seeds possess buoyant kernels to which the floating power is due. On account of the hardness of the tests the seeds to ensure rapid germination require to be filed.

NOTE 57 (page 153)

ON THE SPECIES OF OCHROSIA

Schumann distinguishes the following species:

(_a_) O. parviflora, Hensl., widely spread in the Pacific islands.

(_b_) O. compta, Schumann, confined to Hawaii and corresponding to var. B. of O. sandwicensis as given by Hillebrand.

(_c_) O. borbonica, Spr., synonym O. oppositifolia, Lam., from Mauritius and Madagascar to Java and Singapore.

(_d_){O. sandwicensis, Gray, of Hawaii. } Both probably varieties of
{O. elliptica, Lab., of New Caledonia.} O. borbonica.

(_e_) O. parviflora, Schumann, of New Guinea, probably identical with O. mariannensis.

NOTE 58 (page 156)

ON PANDANUS (from Warburg)

(a) _The size (length) of the drupes of endemic species in oceanic islands._—The drupes of P. reineckei of Samoa are 4-5 cm. (1-3/5 - 2 inches). Those of P. joskei and P. thurstonii in Fiji measure respectively 6 cm. (2-2/5 inch) and 2-1/2 cm. (1 inch).

Out of about sixteen species in the Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodriquez) quite half have drupes 2 - 3-1/2 cm. (4/5 - 1-2/5 inch) in size, whilst they run up to 8 or 10 cm. (3-4 inches), and may be less than a centimetre (2/5 inch).

(b) _The affinities of the Fijian and Samoan species._

P. odoratissimus | Wide-ranging | Section Keura. P. joskei | Fiji | Section Lophostigma. P. samoensis | Samoa | Section Lophostigma. P. thurstonii | Fiji | Section Acrostigma. P. reineckei | Samoa | Section Hombronia.

NOTE 59 (page 188)

SEEDS IN PETRELS

Darwin, in his correspondence (1859) with Sir Joseph Hooker, refers to the occurrence of large West Indian seeds in the crops of some nestling petrels observed by Sir William Milner at St. Kilda (_Life and Letters_, II, 147, 148). Mr. Charles Dixon in _Ibis_ (1885) refers to Sir W. Milner’s observation in the case of the Fulmar Petrel (Procellaria glacialis) and speaks of them as Brazilian seeds brought by the Gulf Stream, adding that he himself found a nut in the crop of one of these birds in the same locality. He supposes that the birds pick them up from the water. Mr. Hemsley very kindly wrote to Sir Joseph Hooker recently on this point with the object of obtaining some idea of the nature of the seeds; but after this lapse of time it has not been found possible to satisfy my curiosity. I live in the hope of their proving to be Cæsalpinia seeds.

NOTE 60 (page 202)

SCHIMPER ON THE HALOPHILOUS CHARACTER OF LITTORAL LEGUMINOSÆ AND OF
SHORE PLANTS GENERALLY

As a result of extensive microchemical investigations, this eminent German botanist arrived at the conclusion that plants living on the sea-shore, or in inland stations rich in chlorides, are able, as a rule, to store up in their tissues a large quantity of these salts, a capacity enabling them to live in localities where the subsoil is rich in these materials. This inference, as shown in his experiments, is just as applicable to the shore-plants of temperate regions, such as Aster tripolium, Crambe maritima, and Eryngium maritimum, as it is to such typical littoral plants of the tropics as Barringtonia speciosa, Ipomœa pes capræ, Scævola Koenigii, Tournefortia argentea, &c. However, with the Leguminosæ experimented upon, this capacity of storing up chlorides was often exhibited but slightly or not at all; and characteristic Pacific beach-plants, such as Canavalia turgida, Pongamia glabra, and Sophora tomentosa are especially cited as examples (Schimper’s _Ind. Mal. Strand-flora_, pp. 140-151; Wolff’s ash-analyses are here quoted).

NOTE 61 (page 215)

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA LOA

The summit is formed of bare rock and sand, the phanerogamic vegetation ceasing a couple of thousand feet below. Some low plant-forms doubtless occur under the moist, warm conditions near the steam-cracks, since Wilkes mentions his finding a small moss; but with this exception the surface may be described as sterile.

_Dryness of the Air and Electrical Phenomena._—Wilkes refers to the association of these conditions more than once in his narrative. Whenever, as sometimes happened, the dew point could not be obtained with Pouillet’s hygrometer, electricity was easily excited, and was developed in large sparks. On taking off the clothes at night, sparks would appear. As shown in the table subjoined, electrical phenomena were noticed during the first few days of my sojourn on the summit when the relative humidity was very low. My red blanket at night crackled in my hands and emitted sparks, and a glowing line was produced by drawing the finger along. Whilst the air was in this condition I observed that the wings of dead butterflies lying on the ground stuck to my fingers tenaciously like a needle to a magnet. The adhesiveness disappeared when the excessive dryness gave place to humidity. The physiological effect on me of the associated dryness and electrical state of the air was displayed in a hot, dry, sweatless skin (cracking and chapping rapidly), severe headache and sore-throat, general lassitude, and great irritability. When the weather changed and the air became humid, these unpleasant symptoms quickly disappeared.

As a result of these dry conditions on the summit of Mauna Loa, decomposition does not occur. I found in one place on the top, on the site of an old camp, the remains of a quarter of beef, the meat fresh but dried up. From a water-bottle left behind by one of the party and subsequently restored to him, I learned that the visit had been made in the previous summer. This non-decomposition seems a little strange, since, as remarked below, flies and other insects were not infrequent on the summit. However, as Hann remarks, when speaking of mountain climates, everything dries much more quickly at great altitudes; animals that have been shot, or killed by falling, become mummies without undergoing decay (Schimper’s _Plant-Geography_, 697).... The scorching power of the sun in a sky usually cloudless, or nearly so, was a trying feature of my daily experiences; and I found that when I faced it with unshaded eyes during my walks I suffered from severe pain in the eyeballs at night.

_Insects on the Summit._—It may seem a strange thing to relate, that in a region apparently absolutely sterile, the flies and other winged insects caused me much discomfort in my small tent when I was confined to it through illness. When lying down one morning I noticed the house-fly, the blue-bottle, and two or three other flies, small beetles not over a fifth of an inch in size, a moth, and a wasp. They were no doubt quite happy in the heat, as the temperature inside was over 80° F., and the sun’s rays felt almost scorching through the thin duck canvas. Butterflies (and occasionally large moths) were often observed flying in a drowsy condition about the summit and were easily caught. They were fond of fluttering around the steam-holes. In places, numbers were to be seen dead and dried up on the ground, the detached wings lying about. In the case of a recently dead butterfly I found its carcase already attacked by numerous small bugs. The butterflies were most frequent when there was a fresh southerly breeze, and were doubtless blown up the slopes from the forests below.

Whymper in his _Travels amongst the Great Andes of the Equator_ gives many particulars of the occurrence of insects at great elevations. He noticed beetles, diptera, butterflies, moths, and several other insects at altitudes of 15,000 to 16,000 feet. At 16,500 feet he obtained a small bug of the genus Emesa. He quotes Humboldt and Bonpland as showing that insects are transported into the upper regions of the atmosphere 16,000 to 19,000 feet above the sea, and he remarks that the transportation of insects by ascending currents of air has occasionally been observed in operation. These facts bear directly on the dispersal of insects.

_The Winds._—My tent, which was pitched near the middle of the western border of the crater, happened to be situated in the battle-ground of the northerly and southerly winds, in a region of gusty winds, fitful airs, and dead calms. The northerly winds were usually from N.-N.N.W. and the southerly winds from S.W.-S.S.W., easting in either case being rarely observed, the northerly winds rather prevailing at night. As a result of this location miniature whirlwinds were frequent in the vicinity of my tent, which carried sand into the air and more than once threatened to lift up my tent bodily and carry it off into the crater below. At the north end of the crater-border north-easterly winds prevailed, and at the south end southerly winds occasionally showing easting. When on one occasion I walked round the crater-margin, a fresh south-easterly wind prevailed at most parts of the circumference except in the vicinity of my camp, where there was a light S.S.W. wind both at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. when I started and returned. The local character of the winds was often displayed in my walks. On one occasion, having left my camp, where a southerly wind was blowing, and walked half a mile to the north, I found a bitterly cold N.N.E. gale in my face which so impeded my progress that I returned to my camp where the same southerly breeze continued.

Commodore Wilkes was encamped on the east side of the crater, and there (December and January) he experienced strong south-west winds, on at least three days having the force of a gale. These are the prevailing winds in this season over the group; whereas in August, the time of my sojourn, south-westerly winds are quite out of season, this being in the midst of the period of the N.E. trades.

It will be gathered from the foregoing remarks that the mere record of the winds is insufficient for the purpose of obtaining any definite notion of the air-currents at this elevation (13,600 feet). It is to close observation of the clouds that we must look for data of importance.

_The Clouds._—The clouds on the summit of Mauna Loa were an unending source of interest to me, and I will give briefly the results of my observations. The highest clouds were wispy cirri, often arranged as in a mackerel sky, and evidently at a great altitude. They were only observed on four or five days. (The lower clouds are indicated in the accompanying diagram.) Below them and at no great height above the mountain were to be not infrequently observed isolated woolly clouds that were carried in a few minutes across the sky and had a brief existence, often forming and melting away as one gazed at them. Next, there was a heavy bank of cumulus, which formed on the south-west slope near the top of the mountain, from which lines of cloud extended along each flank. Lowest of all was a broad belt, or rather a sea, of cumulus that was developed on both sides of the mountain about one-third way down its slopes, and during the day-time isolated the peak from the world below. It is with the last two cloud formations that we are most concerned, and I will first describe the sea of cumulus.

The sea of cumulus, as in the case of similar cloud-formations of most other isolated mountains, when viewed from above, as from the mountain-top, presents a cloud-field of dazzling whiteness, sparkling in the sun. Seen from below, as from the coast, it has the dark lowering appearance of the rain-cloud and indicates the rain-belt. Disappearing during the night, this broad belt begins to form again between 8 and 9 a.m., and by 10 or 11 a.m. the lower regions are completely hidden and the mountain’s summit, cut off from the world, rises above the level of the sea of clouds like an island in an Arctic ocean. As the day progresses the clouds become more compact and dense. The usual altitude of this broad belt of cloud is between 7,000 and 8,000 feet. This level is indicated by the burying of the Kohala mountains, which rise to a height of 5,500 feet in the distant north-west corner of the island, and by the usual emergence of the highest summit of Hualalai, which rises, still nearer, to an elevation of 8,275 feet. On some days, however, it attains a height of nearly 9,000 feet. On such occasions the highest peak of Hualalai kept reappearing and disappearing during the day, but the distant summit of Haleakala in East Maui, 10,032 feet in elevation and 80 miles away, was always visible.

Words fail to describe the magnificent aspect of this sea of cloud which shuts off the spectator from the world below. From the summit of the mountain he gazes down on its surface lit up by a sun shining in a typically cloudless sky. At one time it appears as an undulating Arctic land covered with snow of dazzling whiteness. At another time it looks like a hummocky frozen Polar sea sparkling in the sunshine. Through occasional rifts, however, one can discern a dark dismal region of mist and rain-cloud beneath. Miss Bird, who passed a night on the summit in June, 1874, well describes this sea of cloud in her book on the Sandwich Islands as “all radiance above and drizzling fog below.”

[_To face page 585._

The heavy bank of cumulus, that forms at noon on the south-west slope at an altitude of 10,000 to 13,000 feet above the sea, and sometimes rises above the mountain, is one of the most conspicuous of the cloud-phenomena on the summit of Mauna Loa. Apparently extending from it, but in reality moving towards it, are two lines of small cumuli that follow the same level along either flank above the sea of cumulus, as is indicated in the accompanying diagram. It was observed by Wilkes in mid-winter, 1840-41, but at a lower level. “Clouds would approach us (he writes) from the south-west when we had a strong north-east trade wind blowing, coming up with their cumulus front reaching the height of about 8,000 feet, spreading horizontally and then disappearing.” During my sojourn this bank formed a very striking feature in the landscape during the early afternoon. On two or three occasions when I visited the south side of the summit and descended for about a thousand feet I passed through this bank, being then exposed to a driving mist coming up the slopes from the south-west. Though its upper surface viewed from a distance is dazzling white, below it is dark and nimboid.

It is to an updraught of warm moist air on the south or south-west slopes of the mountain, and to the prevailing cool north-east trade that strikes the north side of the summit, that we must look for the explanation of the development and situation of this bank. Although the trade-wind is markedly stronger than the south-west updraught, some of the warm, moist, southerly air-currents find their way, as shown by the observations at my camp, along the sides of the summit, and a line of condensation is produced where they come into contact with the cool air of the north-east trade as it sweeps past the flanks of the mountain. Sometimes at my camp, when there was a light southerly breeze blowing, I have noticed the line of small cumuli moving south along the mountain side towards the bank of cumulus.... I may remark that on a few days a small bank of cumulus formed under similar conditions on the north-west side of the summit.

From my study of the clouds I arrived at the conclusion that there were three prevailing air-currents on the summit of Mauna Loa:

(1) The updraught of warm moist air on the south and south-west slopes of the mountain.

(2) The north-east trade wind, the upper limit of this air-current being probably not far above the summit.

(3) An upper air-current from the south-east (E.S.E.-S.S.E.), which, from the velocity of the clouds it carried, was often probably not over a couple of thousand feet above the summit. It may be observed that on the coast at the base of the southern slope of the mountain in the middle of September, when the wind was N.E. and carried the lower clouds with it, the upper clouds were, on several occasions, noticed travelling in the opposite direction, namely, from the south.

The volcano was quiescent during my visit and could have exercised but little influence on the air-currents.

_The Shadow of the Mountain._—Every morning and evening, in clear weather, for about twenty minutes after sunrise and before sunset, the shadow of the mountain was thrown back against the sky of the opposite horizon. It seemed as if some Titanic brush, at work in the sky far away, had painted in the profile of the mountain with a very uncanny blue. At sunset the peak was the last to disappear. Commodore Wilkes, who only records it once, namely, at sunset on the 1st of January, describes it as “a beautiful appearance of the shadow of the mountain projected on the eastern sky ... as distinct as possible, its vast dome seemed to rest on the distant horizon.” This phenomenon is, of course, well known in the case of other isolated mountains. According to Murray’s _Handbook of Southern Italy_ (1892), the correct thing for a visitor to Stromboli is to make an early ascent of the cone to observe “the very curious triangular shadow of the mountain cast by the rising sun upon the _sea_.” Unfortunately I neglected my opportunity when on the island. The shadow of the mountain is also one of the sights of Etna, a dark-violet, triangular shadow (Baedeker) being thrown at sunrise over the surface of West Sicily, that is, on the _land_. I saw the shadow but imperfectly outlined, as the weather was not favourable at the time of my ascent. When at Nicolosi, on the south slope of Etna, I noticed at sunset a faint shadow of the mountain thrown against the eastern sky. I gathered from a short conversation with Prof. Ricco, the director of the Catania Observatory, when I told him of the shadow of the Hawaiian mountain, that the interest lay in its projection against the sky. It is doubtless akin to the spectre of the Brocken and other mountain spectres.

_Some Previous Meteorological Observations on Mauna Loa._—.... Mr. Douglas, the botanist, who was subsequently found dead in a cattle-pit on Mauna Kea, spent a day on the summit of Mauna Loa in the middle of January, 1834. He mentions that a little way below the top the thermometer fell at night to 19° F. The wind on the top was N.W. The air at 11.20 a.m. was 33°, the hygrometer registering 0·5. He remarks that the great dryness of the air was evident without the assistance of the hygrometer (_Hawaiian Spectator_, vols. I and II, 1838-9).

Commodore Wilkes, in vol. IV of his _Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition_, gives the following observations on the temperature and winds on the top of Mauna Loa between Dec. 23, 1840, and Jan. 13, 1841. Those on the temperature are incomplete, but they give a fair idea of the prevailing conditions. The degrees are in Fahrenheit’s scale.

Dec. 23, 1840: elevation, 13,190 feet; 3 p.m., 25° F.; strong S.W. gale; night temperature, 15°. Dec. 24, 1840: summit (13,600 feet); night minimum, 22°. Dec. 26, 1840: summit (13,600 feet); violent S.W. gale; night min., 17°. Dec. 27, 1840: summit (13,600 feet); sunrise temp., 20°; night min., 17°; wind, S.W. Dec. 29, 1840: summit (13,600 feet); noon temp. in shade, 47°; night min., 20°. Dec. 30, 1840: summit (13,600 feet); noon temp., 55°; night min., 13°. Dec. 31, 1840: summit (13,600 feet); night min., 17°. Jan. 2, 1841: summit (13,600 feet); sunrise, 20°; wind, N.E. Jan. 3, 1841: summit (13,600 feet); night min., 17°. Jan. 4, 1841: summit (13,600 feet); daylight, 20°. Jan. 8, 1841: summit (13,600 feet); S.W. gale. Jan. 10, 1841: summit (13,600 feet); night temp., 16°. Jan. 12, 1841: summit (13,600 feet); night temp., 17°. Jan. 13, 1841: summit (13,600 feet); strong S.W. wind.

The usual variation of temperature in the twenty-four hours is given as 17°-50°. The south-west was evidently regarded as the prevailing wind, and the clouds are spoken of as sometimes moving from opposite directions towards the same centre.

When Miss Bird spent a night on the summit of Mauna Loa during the eruption of June, 1874, the cold was described as intense, eleven degrees of frost (21° F.).

_Observations on the Summit of Mauna Kea._—.... When Prof. Alexander with a party of scientists ascended this mountain (in the summer of 1892), the thermometer at night fell to 13° F., and the trade-wind was found to be blowing as strongly on the summit as down below (Whitney’s _Tourist Guide to Hawaii_). It is to be inferred that the party camped by the small lake which is a few hundred feet below the actual summit (13,800 feet). This lake, which I visited on May 20, 1897, is about 120 yards across, and evidently shallow, probably not more than three or four fathoms deep. A carpet of algæ covered the bottom. At noon, by the lake, the air in the shade was 53° F., whilst the temperature of the surface-water was 51°. The lower clouds were moving from S.S.E. This lake is said to be permanently frozen over in the winter, and to have been visited by skaters.

_Permanent Water Supply on the Summit of Mauna Loa._—In this barren rocky region water derived from the winter-snow is to be found all the year through at the bottom of the deep cracks or fissures in the lava-rock. Such fissures are from two to four feet wide, and in the case of that near my tent the bucket had to be lowered to a depth of seventeen or eighteen feet to reach the water, or rather the ice, since it was often necessary to break the surface ice. In these deep, narrow fissures, which the sun scarcely penetrates, the water would probably be frozen over all through the seasons; but in those of less depth it would remain liquid in summer.

REGISTER OF OBSERVATIONS ON WIND, RELATIVE HUMIDITY, CLOUD, RAIN, AND
TEMPERATURE, MADE BY H. B. GUPPY ON THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA LOA AT AN
ELEVATION OF 13,500 FEET ABOVE THE SEA, AUGUST 9TH TO 31ST, 1897.
(CAMP ABOUT MIDDLE OF WEST SIDE OF CRATER MARGIN)

+-----+-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+------------------+--------------+ | | | | | | | | | Air in shade. | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Date.|Obser- | 12-4 | 4-8 | 8-12 | 12-4 | 4-8 | 8-12 |------------------+ Remarks. | | |vation.| A.M. | A.M. | A.M. | P.M. | P.M. | P.M. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Min.| Max.|Range.| | +-----+-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----+-----+------+--------------+ |9 |Wind |S.S.W- |Variable | ... |W.S.W.- |N.N.W.- |N.N.W.- | F. | F. | F. |A beautifully | | | |S.W. 2 | | |W.N.W. 3 |N. 1 | N. 3 | | | |coloured lunar| | |Rel. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 27·5| 61·2| 33·7 |halo at 1 A.M.| | | hum. | | | | | | | | | |Electrical | | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |condition of | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |the atmosphere| | | | | | | | | | | | |(see text). | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |10 |Wind | ... |N.N.W. 2 |S.S.W.- |S.S.W.- |Calm | ... | | | |Electrical | | | | | |W.S.W. 3 |W.S.W. 2 | | | | | |condition of | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 34 | 42·5 | 46 | ... | 33·5| 59·7| 26·2 |the | | | hum. | | | | | | | | | |atmosphere. | | |Cloud | ... | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ... | | | |Faint lunar | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |halo at 8 P.M.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |11 |Wind |Calm |W.S.W. 1 | ... | ... |S.S.W.- | ... | | | |Electrical | | | | | | | |S.W. 1 | | | | |condition of | | |Rel. | ... | ... | {28·5 | ... | ... | ... | | | |the | | | hum. | | | {21 | | | |}22·5| 61·2| 38·7 |atmosphere. | | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ... |} | | | | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |12 |Wind |Calm |Calm |N.N.W.- |N.N.W. 1 |N.N.W.- |N. 2-4, | | | |Earth tremors.| | | | | |N. 2-3 | |N. 2-4 |S.W.- | | | |Total rain, | | | | | | | | |W.S.W. | | | |10/100. At | | | | | | | | | 3-5 | | | |sunset, wind | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 45 | 79 | 89 | ... | 23 | 54·7| 31·7 |N.W., wet | | | hum. | | | | | | | | | |canvas of tent| | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 5 | | | |froze hard. At| | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 |Rain |Rain |Rain | | | |10 P.M., | | | | | | | | | | | | |strong | | | | | | | | | | | | |southerly | | | | | | | | | | | | |wind, canvas | | | | | | | | | | | | |thawed, rain | | | | | | | | | | | | |with strong | | | | | | | | | | | | |gusty wind | | | | | | | | | | | | |until 4 A.M., | | | | | | | | | | | | |when wind | | | | | | | | | | | | |less. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |13 |Wind |S.W. |S.W. 3-5 | S.W.- |S.W. 3 |Calm; | ... | | | |Earth tremors.| | | | 4-6 | | S.S.E. | |N.W. 1 | | | | |Total rain | | | | | | 3-4 | | | | | | |10/100. | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 86 | 86 | 78 | ... |} | | | | | | hum. | | | | | | |}33·6|48·7 |15·1 | | | |Cloud | ... | 10 | 7 | 10 | 9 | ... |} | | | | | |Rain |Rain |Rain | 0 |Rain |Rain | 0 | | | |Butterflies | | | | | | | | | | | | |flying about | |14 |Wind |N.N.W.- |Northerly,|N.N.W. 3 |N.N.W. 2 |N.N.W. 1 | ... | | | |in a semi- | | | |N. 1 |3 | | | | | | | |torpid state, | | |Rel. | ... | 61·5 | 47 | 42 | 45·5 | ... |} | | |and easily | | | hum. | | | | | | |}32·5|52·2 |19·7 |caught with | | |Cloud | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | 0 | ... |} | | |the hand. | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |15 |Wind |Northerly,|W.S.W. 1, |S.W.-W. |Calm; |Calm; |N.N.E.- | | | |Wind fitful | | | |1 |N.N.W. 1 |2 |Southerly,|N.N.W. 1 | 1-2 | | | |during day; | | | | | | |1 | | | | | |north-westerly| | |Rel. | ... | ... | 38 | 44·5 |{62 | ... | | | |and south- | | | hum. | | | | |{52·5 | |}28 |}54·7| 26·7 |westerly airs | | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7-0 | 0 |} | | |with calms. | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |16 |Wind | Calm |N.N.W. 2 |N. 3 | ... |Southerly,| ... | | | |Carefully | | | | | | | |1 | | | | |observed the | | |Rel. | ... | ... | {32} | ... | 61 | ... | | | |shadow of the | | | hum. | | | {28} | | | |}26 | 53.2| 27.2 |mountain | | |Cloud | ... | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ... |} | | |which, at | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |sunrise and | | | | | | | | | | | | |sunset, is | | | | | | | | | | | | |projected | | | | | | | | | | | | |against the | | | | | | | | | | | | |opposite | | | | | | | | | | | | |horizon. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |17 |Wind | ... |N.N.W. 1 |N.N.W. 2, |N.- |N.N.W. 1 | ... | | | |Fitful | | | | | |Southerly,|N.N.E 3, | | | | | |northerly and | | | | | |2 |Southerly,| | | | | |southerly | | | | | | |2 | | | | | |winds causing | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 32 | 32·5 | ... | ... |} | | |miniature | | | hum. | | | | | | |}20·5|58·7 |38·2 |whirlwinds | | |Cloud | ... | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ... |} | | |that carried | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |dust and paper| | | | | | | | | | | | |up into the | |18 |Wind |Calm |S.W. 1 |Variable | ... |S.W. 2 | ... | | | |air. | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 26 | ... | 47 | ... |} | | | | | | hum. | | | | | | |}23 | 58 | 35 | — | | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ... |} | | | | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |19 |Wind | ... | ... |N.N.W. 1, |Northerly,|Northerly,|Southerly,| | | |Through the | | | | | |W.S.W. 1 |3, |2, |3 | | | |day, fitful | | | | | | |S.S.W. 3 |Southerly,| | | | |northerly and | | | | | | | |2 | | | | |southerly | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 20 | 23 |{24 } | ... | | | |breezes. | | | hum. | | | | |{35·5} | |}22 | 58·7| 36·7 | | | |Cloud | ... | ... | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |} | | | | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |20 |Wind |Southerly,|Northerly,|Northerly,|S.S.W.- |Northerly,|Southerly,| | | |Fitful | | | |2 |1, | 1, |S.W. 4 |2, |3 | | | |northerly and | | | | |Southerly,|Southerly,| |Southerly,| | | | |southerly | | | | |1 |1 | |1 | | | | |airs, often | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 26·5 | 25 | 29·5 | ... |} | | |reversing | | | hum. | | | | | | |}22 |57·2 |35·2 |several times | | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |} | | |in a few | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |minutes. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |21 |Wind |Southerly,|Southerly,|S.S.W. 3-4|S.S.W. 4-5|S.W. 4-5 |S.W. 4 | | | |At camp, | | | |4 |3-4 | | | | | | | |strong | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 35·5 | 31 | 47 | ... |} | | |southerly | | | hum. | | | | | | |}26·5|53·7 | 27·2 |winds all | | |Cloud | ... | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ... |} | | |day. At 7 | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |A.M., walked | | | | | | | | | | | | |half-mile | | | | | | | | | | | | |north and | | | | | | | | | | | | |found a | | | | | | | | | | | | |bitterly cold | | | | | | | | | | | | |N.N.E. gale | | | | | | | | | | | | |blowing there,| | | | | | | | | | | | |which forced | | | | | | | | | | | | |me to return | | | | | | | | | | | | |to camp where | | | | | | | | | | | | |the south wind| | | | | | | | | | | | |still blew | | | | | | | | | | | | |freshly. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |22 |Wind | ... |S.S.W. 1 | ... | ... |Calm, | ... | | | |Walked round | | | | | | | |Southerly,| | | | |the crater | | | | | | | |2 | | | | |from 8 A.M. to| | |Rel. | ... | ... | 58 | ... | ... | ... |} | | |6 P.M. | | | hum. | | | | | | |}20·5|46·7 |26·2 | | | |Cloud | ... | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ... |} | | | | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |23 |Wind | ... |S.S.W. 2 | ... |N.N.W.- |Southerly,|Calm | | | |A few drops of| | | | | | |N.E. 1-3, |1 | | | | |rain at 2 P.M.| | | | | | |Southerly,| | | | | | | | | | | | |3 | | | | | | | | |Rel. | ... | ... | {60 | 52·5} | 70 | ... | | | | | | | hum. | | | {54·5 | 64 } | | |}24 | 50·7| 26·7 | | | |Cloud | ... | 0 | 3 | 3-8 | 3-6 | 0 |} | | | | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 |Rain | 0 | 0 | | | | | |24 |Wind | ... |Northerly,|S.W. 1 |N.N.W.- |N.N.W.- |Northerly | | | | | | | | |3 | |N. 2-3 |N. b. E. |2 | | | | | | | | | | | |2-3 | | | | | | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 54·5 | ... | 53 | ... |} | | | | | | hum. | | | | | | |}20 | 52·7| 32·7 | | | |Cloud | ... | 0 | 0-1 | 4 | 0 | ... |} | | | | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |25 |Wind |Calm | ... |Calms |Calms |Northerly |Northerly | | | |A few drops of| | | | | |with N.W. |with N.W. |and |and | | | |rain at 3 P.M.| | | | | |and S.W. |and S.W. |Southerly |Southerly | | | | | | | | | | airs | airs |airs |airs | | | | | | |Rel. | ... | ... | {42·5 | 73·5} | 61 | ... |}17 | 52·2| 35·2 | | | | hum. | | | {37·5 | 61·5} | | |} | | | | | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 2-9 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 |Rain | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |26 |Wind |Northerly,| N.N.W. 1 | ... |N.N.W.- |N.N.W. 2 | ... | | | |Descended | | | |2 | | |N. 3 | | | | | |through the | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 49·5 | ... | 64 | ... |} | | |bank of | | | hum. | | | | | | |}19·5| 53·7| 34·2 |cumulus on | | |Cloud | 0 | ... | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |} | | |S.W. slope and| | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | |found driving | | | | | | | | | | | | |mist coming up| | | | | | | | | | | | |the slope from| | | | | | | | | | | | |S.W. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |27 |Wind |Calms |Calms |S.W.- | W.S.W.- |Southerly |Calm | | | |Rain not | | | |with light|with light| W.S.W. 2 | W. 1 | | | | | |measurable. | | | |airs |airs | | | | | | | |Rain-clouds | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 35 | 73·5 | ... | ... |} | | |poured into | | | hum. | | | | | | |}18·5| 50·7| 32·2 |and filled the| | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 0 |} | | |huge crater. | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 |Rain | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |28 |Wind |Calms |Calms |N.N.W.- |S.S.W. 3 |Northerly,|Calms | | | |9 A.M., high | | | |with |with |N. 2-3 | |3 |with | | | |stationary | | | |northerly |variable | | | |variable | | | |cirrus; at | | | |airs |airs | | | |airs | | | |noon, solar | | |Rel. | ... | ... | {46·5 | 64·5} | | | | | |halo; in | | | hum. | | | {59·0 | 73·0} | ... | ... |}15 | 49·7| 34·7 |afternoon, | | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 |} | | |nimbus partly | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 |Rain | 0 | 0 | | | |filling crater| | | | | | | | | | | | |causing a | | | | | | | | | | | | |rainbow there;| | | | | | | | | | | | |a few drops of| | | | | | | | | | | | |rain at 4 P.M.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |29 |Wind |N.N.W.- |N.N.W.- |N.- |N.N.W. 3, |Calms with|Northerly,| | | | | | | |N. 3 |N. 2 |N. b. E. 3|S.S.W. 2 |variable |1 | | | | | | | | | | | |airs | | | | | | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 45 | 44 | 60·5 | ... |} | | | | | |hum. | | | | | | |}21·5| 48·7| 27·2 | | | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |} | | | | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |30 |Wind |Calms with|Southerly,|N.N.W. |N.N.W. 3 |Calms with| ... | | | | | | | |northerly |1 |2-3 | |variable | | | | | | | | |airs | | | |airs | | | | | | | |Rel. | ... | ... | 32·5 |{41·0} | ... | ... | | | | | | | hum. | | | |{54·5} | | |}18 | 50·7| 32·7 | | | |Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |} | | | | | |Rain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |31 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 18·5| 50·0| 31·5 | | +-----+-------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----+-----+------+--------------+

_Method of Observation employed by the Author on the Summit of Mauna Loa._—My camp was placed near the middle of the west margin of the crater about 13,500 feet above the sea. The instruments employed were a Sixe’s maximum and minimum thermometer made by Negretti and Zambra, several unmounted thermometers, and a reference thermometer (with a Kew certificate) by the above-named makers, which was used as a standard. The freezing point was also tested for all the instruments on the summit in melting powdered ice. The maximum air observations and those on the relative humidity were taken in a small cave with a hole in the roof, through which there was a steady flow of air. One day was occupied in comparing the cave-observations with those obtained under a temporary screen rigged up outside my tent, the only difference shown being as a rule less than a degree. The minimum observations taken in my tent, where there was no artificial heat, were usually only 1·5° higher than those given by a thermometer outside the tent.

_Results of the Observations on the Top of Mauna Loa, Aug. 9-31, 1897_

Mean minimum temperature of air in shade 23·2° F.
Mean maximum temperature of air in shade 53·8°
Mean daily range of temperature 30·6°
Lowest reading 15·0°
Highest reading 61·2°
Mean temperature for the period 38·5°

} Many observations Mean relative humidity, 8-9 a.m., 44·5 % } included which Mean relative humidity, noon ... 43 % } are not given in Mean relative humidity, 5-6 p.m., 56 % } the register.

On Aug. 11th, at 10 a.m., wet bulb, 33·2°; dry bulb, 52°; difference, 18·8°.

On Aug. 19th, at 11 a.m., wet bulb, 35·7°; dry bulb, 56°; difference, 20·3°.

Owing to the varying winds at my camp, the relative humidity fluctuated greatly in a short time. Thus, on Aug. 12 it was 46% at noon, and 79% at 2 p.m.

_Average Cloudiness (10 indicating a Sky completely Overcast)_

12-4 A.M. | 0 | Cloudless during 12 out of 13 days 4-8 A.M. | 0 | Cloudless during 19 out of 20 days 8-12 A.M. | 1·3 | Cloudless during 13 out of 22 days 12-4 P.M. | 3·5 | Cloudless during 6 out of 22 days 4-8 P.M. | 1·5 | Cloudless during 17 out of 22 days 08-12 P.M. | 0 | Cloudless during 11 out of 12 days

The winds at the camp were extremely variable and local from north and south, usually light, with force 1-3: see under Winds and Clouds in the text.

Rain fell on six days, total 30/100 of an inch: but on four of the days it was not measurable.

NOTE 62 (page 222)

ON THE RELATIVE PROPORTION OF VASCULAR CRYPTOGAMS IN FIJI

According to Seemann’s work, where about 617 indigenous flowering plants and about 195 ferns and lycopods are enumerated, the vascular cryptogams would form about 24 per cent. of the whole flora. (All weeds and cultivated plants are here excluded.) The vascular cryptogams, however, seem to figure too prominently in Seemann’s collections. From Horne’s data, who says that he added 363 flowering plants to the flora, the flowering plants would amount to about 980; and since Baker implies, in _Trimen’s Journal of Botany_, 1879, that Horne added 42 species of ferns and lycopods to the flora, this would increase the vascular cryptogams to 237, which enables us to estimate the relative proportion of vascular cryptogams in Fiji as about 20 per cent. of the whole flora of vascular plants. This is probably near the truth.

NOTE 63 (page 222)

ON THE TABLE OF VASCULAR CRYPTOGAMS OF TAHITI, HAWAII, AND FIJI

In the case of Tahiti, I have gone carefully through the list given by Drake del Castillo, comparing it with other Polynesian lists given by Seemann, Horne, Hillebrand, Hemsley, &c., and have reduced his endemic species from 19 to 13. The same thing has been done with Hillebrand’s list for Hawaii, some of his species having been found in other parts of Polynesia, thus reducing the endemic species from 75 to 70. The data relating to Fiji are referred to in Note 62.

NOTE 64 (page 223)

ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE TAHITIAN FERNS AND LYCOPODS

I have arranged them as follows, according to the distributions given by Drake del Castillo:—Cosmopolitan, 5; Tropics of Old and New Worlds, 33; Tropics of Old World, mainly Indo-Malaya, 58; “Océanie,” including Australia, 17; Polynesia, 26; South America, 2; peculiar to Tahiti, 13: total, 154.

Out of 141 non-endemic Tahitian species, 107 at least have been recorded from the Fijian area comprising Samoa and Tonga, and 42 from Hawaii. Of the last, all but four occur also in Fiji. There is thus a very small element peculiar to Hawaii and Tahiti alone. Some of them will no doubt be found in the Fijian area; whilst two of them, Acrostichum squamosum and Lycopodium venustulum, are high-mountain forms in Hawaii and Tahiti, which have evidently failed to find a suitable elevation in Fiji.

NOTE 65 (page 225)

DISTRIBUTION OF SOME OF THE MOUNTAIN FERNS OF HAWAII THAT ARE NOT FOUND
EITHER IN FIJI OR TAHITI (mainly from Hillebrand)

+-----------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+ | Species. | Altitude of | General distribution. | | |station in feet.| | +-----------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+ |Schizæa robusta, Bak. | 3,000- 6,000 |Perhaps a form of S. | | | |australis, Gaud., from the | | | |Falkland and Auckland Islands. | | | | | |Polypodium serrulatum, Mett. | 3,000- 6,000 |Generally diffused in the | | | |tropics and subtropics. | | | | | |Aspidium caryotideum, Wall. | In the forests |Himalayas, South Africa, &c. | | | | | |Aspidium filix mas, Sw. |In the highlands|Over four continents, from the | | | |arctic circle to the higher | | | |levels of tropical mountains. | | | | | |Asplenium trichomanes, L. | 5,000- 8,000 |Temperate zones and the higher | | | |levels of tropical mountains. | | | | | |Asplenium monanthemum, L. | 3,000- 6,000 |American Andes, Madeira, Tristan| | | |d’Acunha, Azores, Abyssinia, &c.| | | | | |Asplenium fragile, Presl. | 4,000- 6,000 |Andes. | | | | | |Asplenium contiguum, K. | 2,000- 5,000 |Lord Howe Island, Ceylon, | | | |Neilgherry Hills. | | | | | |Asplenium adiantum nigrum, L.| 4,000-10,000 |Europe, Asia, Africa, | | | |Atlantic Islands. | | | | | |Asplenium aspidioides, Sch. | 1,000- 6,000 |Andes, Africa, India. | +-----------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+

NOTE 66 (page 226)

ENDEMIC GENERA OF FERNS IN HAWAII

Hillebrand gives two genera of ferns peculiar to Hawaii, one, Sadleria of Kaulfuss, “scarcely distinct from Blechnum,” and containing four species; the other, Schizostege, constituted by himself, and represented by a single species found in only one or two of the islands.

NOTE 67 (page 241)

ON THE DISPERSAL OF COMPOSITÆ BY BIRDS

The goldfinch’s habit of pecking at the heads of thistles, and pulling out the achenes in bundles, is well known. Gätke mentions two suggestive instances of birds feeding on the fruits of a Composite plant. According to this observer, the Scarlet Grosbeak (Pyrrhula erythrina), when it alights on Heligoland, always feeds on the achenes of Sonchus oleraceus, which it picks off the plant; whilst the Parrot Crossbill (Loxia sp.), feeds in Heligoland on burrs and thistles (_Heligoland as an Ornithological Observatory_, pp. 407, 409). See Note 91.

NOTE 68 (page 264)

ON SOME OF THE HAWAIIAN ENDEMIC GENERA, EXCLUDING THOSE OF THE COMPOSITÆ
AND LOBELIACEÆ

_Haplostachys, Phyllostegia, and Stenogyne, all Labiate Genera._—Phyllostegia is not strictly peculiar to Hawaii, since out of the 17 species enumerated in the _Index Kewensis_, 15 are Hawaiian, 1 Tahitian, and 1 is accredited to Unalaska (one of the Aleutian Islands). The last locality appears to be an error. The species in question is P. microphylla, Benth.; and on looking up the original authority in _Linnæa_ (vi. 570, 1831), I find the locality is thus given: “insula coralligena Romanzoffii,” which is either one of the atolls of the Paumotu Islands in about lat. 15° S. and long. 144° W., or a coral island of the Marshall Group, most probably the former.... I paid some attention to the suitability of the fruits of these three Labiate genera for dispersal by frugivorous birds, for which the fleshy nucules in the cases of Phyllostegia and Stenogyne apparently fit them. Out of the fruits of five species of Phyllostegia examined by me, the seed-coverings in three species, after the removal of the fleshy covering of the nucule, were too soft for the protection of the seed in a bird’s stomach. Hillebrand also observes (p. 347) that the nucules when dried are wrinkled, and absorb moisture easily, a quality which, if true of all the species, would make the distribution of the genus by birds impossible. However, in two species I found the seed-coverings somewhat harder. It would seem that since birds have largely ceased to disperse these plants, the soft-skinned nucules would in the absence of their selective agency more frequently characterise the genus. It is possible that the dry nucules of Haplostachys, which according to Hillebrand are not affected by drying, represent the original condition of those of Phyllostegia, and that the fleshy character has been acquired in this archipelago. It will be seen in the list on page 263, that Haplostachys is regarded by Gray as a section of Phyllostegia. The remarks under Phyllostegia, regarding the softness of the seed-coverings beneath the fleshy coat of the nucule, also apply to Stenogyne; and Hillebrand, in contrasting its fleshy nucules with the dry nucules of Haplostachys, implies that they absorb water, which, I may remark, would render them quite unfit for dispersal by frugivorous birds.