A Broken Field Of Black Basaltic Lava,
Thrown Into The Most Rugged Waves, And Crossed By Great
Fissures, Is Everywhere Covered By Stunted, Sun-Burnt Brushwood,
Which Shows Little Signs Of Life.
The dry and parched
surface, being heated by the noon-day sun, gave to the air
a close and sultry feeling, like that from a stove:
We fancied
even that the bushes smelt unpleasantly. Although I diligently
tried to collect as many plants as possible, I succeeded
in getting very few; and such wretched-looking little
weeds would have better become an arctic than an equatorial
Flora. The brushwood appears, from a short distance, as
leafless as our trees during winter; and it was some time
before I discovered that not only almost every plant was
now in full leaf, but that the greater number were in flower.
The commonest bush is one of the Euphorbiaceae: an acacia
and a great odd-looking cactus are the only trees which
afford any shade. After the season of heavy rains, the islands
are said to appear for a short time partially green. The
volcanic island of Fernando Noronha, placed in many respects
under nearly similar conditions, is the only other
country where I have seen a vegetation at all like this of
the Galapagos Islands.
The Beagle sailed round Chatham Island, and anchored
in several bays. One night I slept on shore on a part of the
island, where black truncated cones were extraordinarily
numerous: from one small eminence I counted sixty of
them, all surmounted by craters more or less perfect.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 576 of 776
Words from 154353 to 154614
of 208183
