S3G Description of the Bermuda Llands, ^c. 



Upon coming out oF the quarry it is very white, and so ten- 

 der that it may be reduced to powder between the fingers; 

 uhcn exposed to the air it becomes of a deep gray and in- 

 durates. When seen through the microscope it appeared 

 to me as composed of a very fine sand and of shells. Two 

 t]uarrics are wrought near the town, in each of which eight 

 or ten negroes or mulattoes are emplovcd, who earn from a 

 piaster to a piaster and a half daily. Their labour is easy : 

 the stones when detached from the mass are sawn into pieces> 

 of about one or two feet broad by six or eight inches thick. 



Neither at St. George's island nor at any other of the 

 Bermudas are there any springs or rivulets, and experience 

 has shown that wells cannot be dug ; rain water, therefore, 

 is alone made use of, which, from the precautions used, is 

 not only sufficient for the inhabitants, but also for supply- 

 ing the ships of war which put in there for the purpose. 



About 100 yards from the sea, there are constructed 

 upon an inclined plane two immense terraces of a triangular 

 form, destined to receive the rain water, which flows into 

 cisterns, around which the empty casks are rolled, and lillcd 

 by means of hand pumps. 



The walls of these terraces are of mason work ; and al- 

 though each occupies a space of 450 or 500 fathoms, they 

 are not always sufficient for the &up[)ly of the shipping. 

 The distance of these government cisterns Irpm the town is 

 about a mile. The road to them is eight or ten feet broad, 

 and is shaded by cedar trees. vShips of v\'ar of the first and 

 second rate cannot enter the harbour, but arc anchored one 

 or two miles off. 



The town of St. George's has only 'ibO or 300 house?. It 

 is intersected by a dozen of narrow street? not paved, and 

 one of which only admits of a carriage to pass : the houses, 

 which mostlv consist ot only one story above the ground, 

 are generally coloured yellow. The wliolc are of stone, and 

 covered with tiles, with a gutter round the roof to receive 

 the rain water : this roof, which is painted white, reflects 

 the ravs of the sun so strongly as to be very injunous to the 

 eyesight. 



Several houses have small gardens^ the walls of which 



are 



