A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 487 



used by commercial vessels ; especially Hog-fisli Cut, for reaching 

 Elies Bay, or harbor ; some of them are still used by the fishermen. 



No doubt some of these could easily be improved and made into 

 safe channels for large vessels, if the British government thought it 

 expedient to do so. 



These channels have a special interest in connection with the 

 geology of the islands, and will, therefore, be discussed under 

 Geology ; most of them are shown on the map, (fig. 26, p. 480). 

 Some of them, which are not indicated on the Admiralty Charts as 

 extending through the reefs at all, are described by others as pass- 

 able for vessels, though narrow and irregular. Therefore I have 

 thought it best to quote the descriptions of most of them from another 

 work. On the map (fig. 26) the cuts are indicated by the Roman 

 numerals, VII-XV. 



The most important one is the main ship-channel, which is situated 

 at the eastern end of the reefs and near the northeastern end of St. 

 George's Island. It is sufficiently deep for large naval vessels, but 

 is narrow and crooked. It is, however, very carefully buoyed. (See 

 map, fig. 26, S. C. and p. 4 IS). 



In this place it will best serve my purpose to quote the descrip- 

 tions of most of the others, printed with his sailing directions, by 

 A. G. Findlay, 1870, who had personally examined them.* 



"Proceeding northward, the next channel is Mills' 1 Breaker Chan- 

 nel, the entrance to which is half a mile North of the Mills' Breaker. 

 Its direction inwards is S.W. towards the Narrows, and is only used 

 by Bermudian vessels in and out. (Fig. 26, XIV.) 



Continuing in the same direction, the north-eastern face of the 

 reef presents an impenetrable and continuous reef, often breaking, 

 until we come to the North Bock Channels, having a southerly 

 direction. [North Rocks are at N., on fig. 26.] 



There are two channels by the North Rock; that on the eastern side 

 of the Rock is called the Northeast, and the western, the Northwest 

 Channel. f 



* These descriptions are essentially the same in the various editions, down to 

 the 15th, in 1895, but with some verbal changes. 



f No passages through the reefs are indicated at the positions of either of 

 these two channels on the U. S. Hydrographic Office chart of 1877, corrected to 

 April, 1900, and based on the " most recent British Admiralty Surveys" (1874 

 and later). On the margin it is mentioned that extensive corrections were made 

 in 1895 and 1897. 



On that chart the outer parts of both cuts are indicated, as penetrating the 

 reefs, but the inner portions are shown completely interrupted and blocked by 



