Mr. E. C. Taylor on the Birds of the West Indies. 161 



stayed a fortnight. This is, next to Guadaloupe, the largest of 

 the Windward Islands, being about a third larger than Sta Lucia 

 or Dominica. It is far more prosperous, better cultivated, and 

 more inhabited than any of the English islands, except Barba- 

 does. Sugar is its chief if not its only produce, but of this it 

 manages to produce a great quantity. The steamer calls at St. 

 Pierre, the commercial capital, which is the largest town, I 

 believe, in the West Indies, except Havana. The seat of govern- 

 ment, however, is at Fort de France, formerly Fort Royal, which 

 has the advantage over St. Pierre of possessing a good harbour. 

 Fort de France is the first port of call of the new French line of 

 West Indian steamers which run from St. Nazaire here, and 

 hence on to St. Jago de Cuba and Mexico. It is a much smaller 

 town than St. Pierre, but far cooler and pleasanter. Martinique 

 most certainly does not abound in birds : I could make a larger 

 collection in Trinidad in a week than here in a couple of mouths. 

 I was told that four species of Humming-bird were found in 

 Martinique; but I only saw three, viz. Orthorhynchus exilis, 

 Eulampis jugularis, and E. holusericeus, of which the first is 

 the most abundant, and the last the least common. I made 

 several excursions into various parts of the island ; the most in- 

 teresting was to a mineral-bath establishment, about two hours* 

 ride from Fort de France, situated on the slope of a group of 

 beautiful volcanic mountains called Les Pitons de Carbet, where 

 I stayed for a day or two. This was the best locality for birds 

 that I discovered in Martinique. The highest mountain in the 

 island is the extinct volcano called La Montagne Pelee, situated 

 a few miles N.E. of St. Pierre, which attains an elevation of 

 about 4500 feet. 



Next to Martinique comes Dominica, the most beautiful, 

 the wildest, and the least cultivated and inhabited of any of 

 these islands, where I stayed a fortnight, the happy guest of his 

 Excellency Thomas Price, Esq., the Governor. The island of 

 Dominica is about thirty miles long by fifteen miles wdde, and is 

 simply a mass of mountains rising abruptly, and in many parts 

 perpendicularly, out of the sea, and clothed from base to summit 

 with the greenest and most luxuriant vegetation. As palms and 

 silk-cotton trees are the specialite of Trinidad, so are tree-ferns of 



