FLORA OF THE ISLAND OF ST. CROIX. 



CHARLES F. MILLSPAUGH, M.D. 



St. Croix is the largest of the three principal islands of the group 

 known as the Danish West Indies. It lies in latitude 17° 36' N. and 

 longitude 64° 36' W., about 40 miles south by east from St. 

 Thomas, from which it is separated by a depth of water varying from 

 1,100 to 2,450 fathoms. The island lies with its longest diameter of 

 21 miles nearly east and west, is about 5 miles wide at its broadest 

 part, and has an area of about 57 square miles. Its width in the 

 western half is nearly uniform. The northern and southern shores 

 gradually approach each other toward the eastern end, where they 

 meet in a rounded point, making the general outline of the island 

 somewhat like the head of a mechanic's hammer. The north side is 

 entirely hilly and broken, with but one well-defined valley — that of 

 the Salt River. The south side is low and slopes gradually to the 

 sea. The eastern end of the island is composed of hills 600 feet or 

 more in height and is surrounded by an extensive shoal 5 to 8 

 fathoms deep. The northwestern end is also hilly, with an abrupt 

 coast line nearly steep-to into a fathomage of from 600 to 800; while 

 the southwestern point extends into a low sand spit with shallow 

 water for some distance from the shore. 



Like most of the West Indian Islands, St. Croix has an early 

 histor}' of strife and governmental vacillation, its possession in turn 

 by the Caribs, Spain, England, France, Holland and Denmark giving 

 rise to various local names for its towns and physical features. The 

 two principal settlements are Fredericksted or West End, having a 

 population in 1890 of 3,683, and Christiansted or Bassin, 15 miles 

 to the east upon the north shore, with a population in 1890 of 5,499. 

 Fredericksted is commercially the most active, since it is the princi- 

 pal stopping place of steamship lines and large vessels; while 

 Christiansted, the capital city, though having a fine and protected 

 harbor, is accessible to small vessels only. The population of the 

 island is placed at 19,783 persons, of whom nine-tenths are black. 



The climate of the island is very favorable for agriculture. The 

 temperature is so uniform and high that there is never any hint of 



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