which is the most important, lies on the south-east coast, and is formed by a large and fine basin in which vessels are secure from all winds. The harbour of Pueblo del Norte, on the northern coast, is good, but the entrance is rendered difficult by a coral reef. The small town of Asompçion, which is not far from the northern coast, is nearly without trade, inasmuch as the island, having an indifferent soil, scarcely produces enough for the support of the inhabitants. Indian corn, bananas, and ground provisions are raised, and sugar, coffee, and cocoa are cultivated; but none of them supply articles of export. The population amounts to about 15,000. Part of the inhabitants are employed in the extensive fishery which is carried on upon the banks between Margarita and the mainland of South America, where great quantities of fish are taken, cured, and sent to the neighbouring countries.

Curaçao, a Dutch island, lies farther west, being crossed nearly in the middle by the meridian of 69° W. long. It extends in a general direction from south-east to north-west about 35 miles: its greatest breadth is 6 miles, and its area 170 square miles. The island is a low rock, in the middle of which the hills rise to a moderate height: though the shores are not generally above 10 or 12 feet high, they are bold, and vessels of considerable size may sail round the island within a cable's length. In most parts the rocks seem to be formed of coral, with a thin vegetable mould scattered over them. There are several small inlets, which form good harbours: that of Santa Anna, on the south-eastern coast, is spacious and deep enough to allow the largest vessel to lie close to the shore; but its entrance is narrow. On the eastern side of the port is Fort Amsterdam, and on the opposite side the town of Curaçao, or Willemstadt, a small but neat and well-built place. The island has no water, and the soil is so poor that the inhabitants are partly supplied with provisions from other places. It produces a small quantity of tobacco, and a considerable amount of salt. The population is 14,000, of which

number 6000 are slaves.

East of Curaçao is the small rocky island of Buen Ayre; and west of it that of Orua, or Aruba, remarkable for the large pieces of native gold which have lately been found there.

19. The Gulf of Darien, especially along the northern coast of the Isthmus of Panama, is skirted by many low wooded islets, enclosed by coral reefs. Numerous islands of the same description occur along the Mosquito coast, between 11° and 16° N. lat., but they are small, and nearly all of them uninhabited. The island of Old Providence, between 13° and 14° N. lat., is small, but has a good harbour, and was some years ago the resort of many pirates.

The Gulf of Honduras contains the islands of Bonacca, Roatan, and Utila, which are considered to belong to the British, though there are no establishments on them. The most considerable is the island of Roatan, which is nearly 30 miles long from east to west, and about 4

miles wide. The interior consists of a range of high hills, which in some points rise to 700 or 800 feet. The island is entirely covered with trees, among which the cocoa-nut palm is the most common. On its southern shores are several small harbours.

Along the western shores of the Gulf of Honduras the number of small wooded islands of coral rocks, called "keys," is greater than in any other part of the Caribbean Sea; all of them are well wooded, and cocoa-nut palms are the most common trees.

Between the Gulf of Honduras and the Island of Cuba are the Caymans, three small islands, which belong to the English. The largest, called the Grand Cayman, is 24 miles long, and, on an average, 3 miles broad. It is low, and covered with trees, which are chiefly cocoa-nut trees. The two others, Little Cayman and Cayman Brack, are small. The inhabitants raise the common grains and provisions of the West Indies in sufficient quantity, but are chiefly employed in catching turtle for the supply of Jamaica and other islands. On the western side of the Grand Cayman is a large village, called Georgetown; but these islands,are generally thinly inhabited.

Towards the western extremity of Cuba, on its southern side, is the Isla de Pinos, belonging to the Spaniards, which is above 30 miles long from south to north, and nearly as much from east to west. It is a mass of high rocks, forming a bold shore, and rising towards the centre of the island to an elevation of more than 3000 feet. The cliffs which surround the island on the south side, and the shoals which inclose it on the north side, render it very difficult of access, even for small vessels. It is thinly inhabited, having only about 300 inhabitants on a surface of more than 900 square miles. The mountains are covered with fine forests, in which mahogany and dye-woods are cut.

The following works have been consulted for the description of the Columbian Archipelago :

Waller's Voyage to the West Indies, for Tobago, Barbadoes, Martinique, Guadaloupe, the Saintes, Marie Galante, Deseada, Antigua, Tortola, Santa Cruz, St. Thomas, and Puerto Rico.

West India Sketch-Book: Deseada, Nevis, St. Christopher, Tortola, St. Thomas, Santa Cruz, Saba, St. Eustatius, Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Barbadoes, St. Vincent, St. Lucie, Martinique, Dominica, Guadaloupe.

West's Beschreibung von S. Croix: Santa Cruz, St. John, St. Thomas, Crabb Island.

Schomburgh on the Virgin Islands, in the London Geographical

Journal.

Lavaysse's Description of Venezuela, Trinidad, Margarita, and Tobago.

Flinter's Account of the Present State of Puerto Rico.

Franklin's Present State of Haïti.

Mackenzie's Notes on Haïti.

Stewart's Present State of Jamaica.

Humboldt's Essay on Cuba. Bryan Edwards's History of the West Indies.

Pinkard's Notes on the West Indies.-Besides various books of travels in Central and South America, which furnished incidental notices. The statistical facts are derived from official papers. As to many of the islands, which belong to foreign powers, no official information can be obtained.

The Bermudas, Summers or Sommers Islands, are generally considered as forming a part of the Columbian Archipelago, though they are situated far to the north-east, in the Atlantic Ocean, and about 650 miles from the Bahama Islands. They are 580 miles distant from Cape Hatteras, in North Carolina; they lie between 32° 14' and 32° 21' N. lat., and between 64° 40′ and 64° 52′ W. long. The islands lie in a line from south-west by west to north-east by east, and are based on the southeastern edge of a bank, which stretches in the same direction about 23 miles in length, by 13 miles in width. The edge of this bank on the north, west, and south is composed of extensive coral reefs, which enclose the islands on these three sides with a semicircular belt, and, with the exception of one rock, called North Rock, are all under water, and very dangerous to navigators. On the outside of these reefs and the islands the sea is extremely deep; the water on the bank is very clear, and the view of the submarine rocks, as seen through it, is singularly beautiful. The number of islets and rocks is very great-some say they amount to 365. They are separated from each other by very narrow channels, and all together occupy a length not exceeding 13 miles, while the greatest breadth is hardly 1 mile they consist of corals and shells, more or less consolidated by a calcareous cement, and are all low. The highest land, called Tibbs Hill, which is situated at the southern extremity of Bermuda Island, is only 180 feet above the sea-level. There are only five islands of any extent and inhabited: the rest are merely rocks. The inhabited islands are St. George's, St. David's, Bermuda or Long Island, Somerset, and Ireland. The two last-mentioned islands are situated at some distance from the edge and towards the middle of the bank. The climate is very mild, and like a perpetual spring, but the atmosphere is humid during southerly winds, which are the most prevalent. This moisture, however, maintains a fine green short turf which covers the ground, and the trees never lose their foliage. Tempests, thunderstorms, and hurricanes are frequent, especially in autumn. Snow seldom falls, and rains are not frequent, though they are very heavy. The climate is considered healthy on the whole. Almost all the vegetables

of England are cultivated. Bananas succeéd very well, and there are groves of citron, orange, lime, and palm-trees. Coffee, sugar, tobacco, and indigo were formerly grown, but at present only a little indigo is raised. The surface of the islands is estimated at about 12,000 acres, of which only 456 are under cultivation, and 3070 acres are used as pasture. The remainder is still covered with trees, among which the cedar is predominant, and is well adapted for ship-building, on account of its durability. In 1832 ten small vessels of the aggregate burthen of 804 tons were built of this wood. The sea abounds with various kinds of fish and turtle, and many whales are taken on the south side of the islands. Live stock, salt meat, and flour are imported from the United States and other parts of North America. The islands are without fresh water, and rain collected in tanks is the only water that is used. St. George's town is built on the south-east side of the island of the same name, on a gentle declivity which fronts the harbour: it contains about 500 houses, built of free-stone, and 2800 inhabitants. In Bermuda there are several small inlets which form harbours, and are surrounded by low hills; the most important is Hamilton Harbour. On Ireland Island there is a naval establishment, with a well-stored dockyard, which has of late been strongly fortified. The population of the islands, in 1832, consisted of 4181 whites and 5217 slaves, free blacks, and coloured people. The exports were a small quantity of arrow-root and hides, white free-stone, which is exported to the West Indies, and colonial produce, previously brought from the West Indies. The imports consist of British manufactures, lumber, ships' stores, and provisions. The total value of imports in 1832 was 102,7427., and of exports 13,7841. In 1832, 155 vessels, of 16,251 tonnage, entered the ports, and 163 vessels, of 16,441 tonnage, cleared out. The great majority of these vessels came from the British colonies in America and the United States.

These islands are said to have been discovered by Juan Bermudez, a Spaniard, in 1522, from whom their name is derived. In 1609, Sir George Sommers, on his voyage to Virginia, was shipwrecked on them. In 1612 they were settled by the English, and their population and cultivation rapidly increased, especially during the civil wars in England. The islands have never been taken from the English. About 1620 a provincial constitution was established, consisting of a governor, council, and legislative assembly. No measure which has passed in the assembly has the force of law till it is confirmed by the governor. The council is composed of eight members and a president, who are chosen by the governor. The House of Assembly consists of thirty-six members, who are returned by the nine parishes into which the islands are divided. They are chosen by persons possessed of landed property of the value of 401. currency (301. sterling) per annum, and the members must possess landed property worth 2007. currency per annum. All laws originate in the House of Assembly.

GENERAL VIEW OF NORTH AMERICA.

1. Situation, Extent, Area, and Population. 2. Natural Divisions. 3. Chippewyan, or Rocky Mountains, south of the mountain knot of Sierra Verde (40° and 42° N. lat.), and the countries enbosomed by them; Rio del Norte, Rio Colorado. 4. Chippewyan, or Rocky Mountains, north of the mountain knot of Sierra Verde. 5. Gulf of California, California Mountains, and the countries west of the Chippewyan Mountains, and south of 42° N. lat. 6. Columbia River, and the countries south of it. 7. Countries north of the Columbia River, to the Icy Sea and the Chippewyan Mountains. S. The Great Plain, east of the Chippewyan Mountains. 9. Highest part of the Plain running west and east, between 45° and 49° N. lat. Canadian Seas and St. Lawrence River. 10. Southern portion of the Plain, Ozark Mountains, the Hilly Country, the Prairies, the Desert, the southern declivity of the Plain, the Peninsula of Florida. 11. The Appalachian Mountains, and the countries between them and the Atlantic. 12. The Acadian Mountains, and the countries between them and the Atlantic. Nova Scotia. Fundy Bay. 13. The northern part of the great Plain. 14. The Highlands of Labrador. Newfoundland. Hudson's Bay. The Arctic Highlands. The Barren Grounds. 15. The Arctic Archipelago. Baffin's Bay. Greenland. Discovery of the Arctic Archipelago. 16. Political Divisions of North America.

1. NORTH AMERICA borders on the south on the Mexican Isthmus. The boundary-line between them is distinctly marked by nature, and is formed on the west by an extensive plain, and on the east by the wide valley of the Rio del Norte. The plain extends from the most northern recess of the Gulf of California eastward on both sides of the Rio Gila to 106° W. long., and between 32° and 34° N. lat.: this plain separates the mountain-ranges of the Mexican Isthmus from those of North America, and occupies between them a space about 150 miles wide. At the eastern extremity of the plain, and not far from the Rio del Norte, there is an isolated mountain-ridge, called Sierra del Florido. Between 106° W. long. and the Gulf of Mexico the wide valley of the Rio del Norte separates the southern extremities of the Chippewyan mountains from the lower ranges which form the northern border of the table-lands of Mexico. On the north, North America reaches to the Icy Sea: the most northern point which is known is Cape Barrow (71° 25' N. lat.), but a portion of the shore along the Icy Sea, between