328 CUBA \M> POETO RICO 



group, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, and 

 St. Lucia. 



The climate of the Caribbee Islands is in general pleas- 

 ing, the equable temperature ranging from about (JG to 

 82 at the level of the sea, and slightly decreasing toward 

 tiif summits. The rainfall also varies with altitude and 

 locality relative to the trade-winds, the precipitation being 

 usually much greater on the leeward side. There is hardly 

 a day in the year when gentle rains fail to fall, and some- 

 times tremendous cloud-bursts occur, with disastrous 

 results. 



Geologically these islands are peculiar. They are of 

 volcanic origin, but not volcanoes, although a few craters 

 can be found, though invisible from the distance, nestled 

 in some of the lofty eroded summits. The islands are great 

 heaps of old volcanic debris piled up in the Tertiary period, 

 which have been carved by water into their present forms. 

 The rocks are all basalts or crumbling tuffs, which weather 

 into black soils of marvelous depth and richness. 



While not blessed with native mammals, these islands 

 abound in beautiful birds; each has a special fauna. 

 Of one hundred and twenty-eight birds collected by 

 Ober, seven species only are common to all the islands, 

 while as many as fifty-two of them occur in one island. 

 There are singularly few venomous reptiles or insects, 

 except on Martinique and St. Lucia, where are found the 

 fer-de-lance, a poisonous trigonocephalous snake, the most 

 venomous and deadly of the serpentine kind. 



The windward sides are quite different ; the open Atlan- 

 tic breaks with a terrible surf against the shores, and the 

 trade-winds sweep them with such ferocity that the vege- 

 tation all bends in a cringing position toward the land. 

 There are no ports along this side, and passing steamers 

 keep far from the shores. 



These islands, so allied by natural affinities into a kin- 

 dred group, are cursed by unnatural distribution among 

 the nationalities. Sailing down them you first meet Dutch 



