of four larger, and numerous smaller islands. Their united area is 1,200 sq.m. The larger islands are Upolu, which contains the chief town Apia, which has a good port, and is the emporium of the produce of many of the Pacific islands, Sawaii, Tutuila, and Manua. These islands are of volcanic origin, and are amongst the most beautiful and productive parts of these regions, and abound in tropical fruits, cocoa-nuts, cotton, coffee, maize, &c. They are, however, subject to hurricanes and earthquakes. The people are amongst the fairest complexioned of all the Polynesian races, and have made much progress towards civilization under the teaching and guidance of missionaries. This Samoan group has, since 1872, been a protectorate of the United States.

Obs. 3. The Union, and Ellice Islands are two small groups which lie N.E. andN.W. of the Samoan group. The Union or Tokeeau group embraces three small islands, which are valuable for their guano deposits. The native population is about 500; but there are a good many Americans also who are engaged in the guano trade. The Ellice group, some 700 m. N. W. of Sawaii, consists of a number of low coral islands and atolls, which are inhabited by some 1,200 souls of Samoan origin who have been christianised.

Obs. 4. The Phoenix Islands are a small group which lie N. E. of the Ellice Islands. The chief of them are Phoenix, McKean, Gardner, Hull, and Enderbury.

Obs. 5. Hervey or Cook Islands, 700 m. S. E. of Samoa, consist of nine islands, of which Rarotonga, and Mangaia, the southernmost members of the group, are chief. They are either volcanic or coralline, and are difficult of access on account of the dangerous reefs which skirt them. The chief productions are bananas, cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, cotton, coffee, tobacco, &c. The people, said to be of Samoan origin, number about 10,000 souls; they have been christianised and civilised, and have adopted the European style of dress.

Obs. 6. The Austral or Tubuai Islands, and Paumota or Low Archipelago, lie at the S. E. corner of the Pacific insular region. The Austral group are volcanic, and well watered, but not much visited. The Low Archipelago consists of a sparsely peopled group of some 80 islets surrounded by coral atolls. They are important on account of their valuable pearl fisheries, and their large yield of cocoa-nut oil. The group forms a protectorate of France. The Gambier Islands near the Low Archipelago are also under French protection.

Obs. 7. Pitcairn Island, E. of the Austral group, is famous as the original home, in 1789, of the mutineers of "The Bounty.' It is 2 m. long, and three quarters of a mile broad. It is volcanic and mountainous, rising in its highest point to 2,500 ft. Its climate is fine, its soil fertile, and its productions embrace the usual tropical fruits and vegetables. In 1878 the islanders numbered 90 persons.

Obs. 8. Easter Island, the most easterly of the Pacific Islands, is 1,300 m. E. of Pitcairn Island. It is 11 m. long, and 4 m. broad, and is volcanic and mountainous. It possesses neither streams nor wood. The natives belong to the fair Polynesians, and are said still to practise cannibalism. The island is celebrated for its most interesting remains of a past civilization of a very advanced degree. It is regarded as the great mystery of the Pacific, and its antiquities afford an insoluble riddle.

Obs. 9. The Society Islands are a group of eleven islands lying N. of the Austral Isles and having an aggregate area of 650 sq. m. They are volcanic, mountainous, and fertile. Tahiti, the chief island, is famous for its charming scenery, its delicious climate, its fertility, and the perfection of its tropical fruits and vegetables. It has an area of 600 sq. m., and rises in Mt. Orohena to 7,340 ft. The people number about 18,000, and belong to one of the most finely developed races in the world. Their skin is dark brown and their hair curly, but they have not much beard. Many of them have been converted to Christianity. The group forms a French Protectorate. The capital is Papeete, a small city of 2,000 inhabitants, 600 of whom are Europeans. Obs. 10. Penrhyn or Manahiki Islands are a few widely scattered islets lying some 10° N. of Cook Islands. Most of them are low coral islands, and Penrhyn, the best known of them, is interesting as being on the E. boundary of the Melanesian race. Fishing and pearl diving form the chief occupations of the people. Manahiki or Humphrey Island, the largest of the group, is a coral lagoon island 6 m. long, and 5 m. wide. The natives, some 400 or 500 in number live upon cocoanuts and fish. They are all Christians, and some of them read and write English. Obs. 11. The Marquesas Islands lie N.E. of the Low Archipelago, and form a group of 17 islands with an aggregate area of 500 sq. m. They are of volcanic origin and mountainous, rising, in places, to a height of 3,600 ft. The climate is, generally speaking, salubrious, and the soil fairly fertile. The productions include cocoa-nuts, yams, sugar-cane, cotton, &c. The natives number about 4,000, and are described as the finest of all the South Sea Islanders. Their skin is yellow, and a

good muscular development is common to them all. They are said still to be savages, and to indulge in the practice of cannibalism, though recently many of them have adopted the Catholic form of Christianity. The group are under French protection. The chief island is Nukuhiwa, which contains the lively port of Taiohai, the residence of the French commissioner.

Obs. 12. The Sandwich Islands lie N. of the Equator, near the tropic of Cancer. They consist of seven large and inhabited volcanic islands, viz., Oahu, Kauai, Niihau, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii, and several rocky and barren islets. Their aggregate area is 8,000 sq. m. The climate, generally speaking, is delightful, and the soil fertile. The common productions are the banana, breadfruit, guava, cocoa-nuts, arrowroot, sugar, coffee, cotton. The people number about 50,000, and are amongst the most civilised of the Pacific Islanders. There are also many European settlers. Hawaii, the chief island of the Archipelago, contains the three loftiest mountains in Oceania, viz., Mauna Kea (13,840 ft.), Mauna Loa (13,650 ft.), and Hulalai (11,020 ft.), all active volcanoes. East of Mauna Loa lies Kilauea, perhaps the most remarkable burning mountain in the world, the crater of which is easily accessible, and always presents a lake of fiercely glowing lava.

Since 1844 the group has been a constitutional monarchy, and since 1864 has enjoyed a parliamentary administration. This State has good roads, houses built in the European style, and 300 schools. The capital and residence of the king is Honolulu, in Oahu, a town of 14,000 inhabitants.

ANTARCTIC LANDS.

These are tracts of land which have been discovered within the Antarctic circle. The chief of them are

Graham's Land, and Louis Philippe Land, S. of Cape Horn.
Sabrina Land, and Adelie Land, S. of Australia.

South Victoria, S. of New Zealand, discovered by Sir James Ross in 1839-43, who penetrated as far as 78° 11' S. lat. A wall-like glacier, behind which were gigantic mountains, stayed his progress. The active volcano, Erebus (12,400 ft.) and the extinct volcano Terror (10,900 ft.) are in the mountains S. of this glacier.

Obs. These lands have been so little explored, that it is not known whether they form part of a great antarctic continent or not.

Belonging to this hypothetical continent are also the Balleny Islands, the South Shetlands, the South Orkneys, and the Sandwich Group.

Alps of the four
Forest Cantons, 84
Alps, Southern (New
Z.), ms., 249
Alps, Western, 79
Alsace-Lorraine, 90,

98
Alsen, i., 88

Altai, ms., 123, 127
Altdorf, 86

Altenburg, 90, 98