This is the largest of the Percy Isles, being about twelve or fourteen miles in circumference. In structure, it may be said to consist of a series of hills running in ridges, many of them covered with gumtree scrub; and all with long grass growing in tufts, concealing the loose stones, and rendering walking very laborious. On the western side of the island, about a mile from the anchorage, the sea communicates, by a narrow entrance, with a large basin partially blocked up with mangroves, among which a creek filled at high-water, runs up for a mile. At the head of this hollow a deeply worn dried up watercourse indicated the periodical abundance of fresh water; and by tracing it up about a mile further, I found many large pools among the rocks containing a sufficient supply for the ship, but unavailable to us in consequence of the difficulty in getting at it. Signs of natives were frequently met with, but none were recent. From the quantities of turtle-bones about the fireplaces, it is evident that these animals occasionally resort to a small sandy beach near the entrance of the basin above alluded to. The botany of the island afforded at this unfavourable season not more than five or six species of plants in flower, some of which I had met with elsewhere. A species of pine, Araucaria cunninghami, is found here in small quantities, but more plentifully on the adjacent Pine Islets, where it appears to constitute the only arboreal vegetation. A few cabbage palms, Corypha australis, are the only other trees worth mentioning. Among the birds observed, black and white cockatoos, swamp pheasants, and crows were the most numerous. A fine banded snail, Helix incei, was the only landshell met with. A Littorina and a Nerita occur abundantly on the trunks and stems of the mangroves, and the creek swarmed with stingrays (Trygon) and numbers of a dull green swimming crab. BUSH FIRE. During our stay, the bush was thoughtlessly set on fire by some of our people, and continued burning for several days, until nearly the whole island had been passed over; the long dry grass and dead trees blazing very fiercely under the influence of a high wind. At night the sight of the burning scrub was very fine when viewed from a distance, but I did not forget that I had one day been much closer to it than was pleasant--in fact, it was only by first soaking my clothes in a pool among the rocks, emptying the contents of my powder-flask to prevent the risk of being blown up, and then making a desperate rush through a belt of burning scrub, that I succeeded in reaching a place of safety.