A.S. Keating, who resided twelve months on these islands, of the
various seeds and other bodies which have been known to have been
washed on shore. (20/2. Holman's "Travels" volume 4 page 378.)
"Seeds and plants from Sumatra and Java have been driven up by the
surf on the windward side of the islands. Among them have been
found the Kimiri, native of Sumatra and the peninsula of Malacca;
the cocoa-nut of Balci, known by its shape and size; the Dadass,
which is planted by the Malays with the pepper-vine, the latter
entwining round its trunk, and supporting itself by the prickles on
its stem; the soap-tree; the castor-oil plant; trunks of the sago
palm; and various kinds of seeds unknown to the Malays settled on
the islands. These are all supposed to have been driven by the
north-west monsoon to the coast of New Holland, and thence to these
islands by the south-east trade-wind. Large masses of Java teak and
Yellow wood have also been found, besides immense trees of red and
white cedar, and the blue gum-wood of New Holland, in a perfectly
sound condition. All the hardy seeds, such as creepers, retain
their germinating power, but the softer kinds, among which is the
mangostin, are destroyed in the passage.
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