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



Dominica. In many parts, especially where the forest and bush 

 have been burnt, the hills are covered with tree-ferns, which 

 average, I should say, from twenty to thirty feet in height. The 

 capital is Roseau, on the leeward coast, where the steamer calls. 

 There is not a single mile of carriage-road in the whole island; 

 and although the town of Roseau is situated at the mouth of a 

 river of the same name, there is absolutely no bridge ; so that, 

 unless you are on horseback, you must strip and wade, if you 

 want to get across it. The reproach levelled at the town by Mr. 

 A. Trollope of having no pier or landing-place exists no longer, 

 thanks to the energy of the present Governor, who has had a 

 very good and convenient stone pier constructed, and is proceed- 

 ing to build a bridge also. The mountains of Dominica are the 

 highest of any in the whole chain of the Lesser Antilles : the high- 

 est peak of Morne Diablotin, in the centre of the island, reaches 

 a height of 5300 feet ; and Conliabon, near Roseau, exceeds 4500 

 feet. There is a large lake, of vast depth, up in the mountains, 

 at an elevation of over 3000 feet ; also a souffriere near the south 

 end of the island; and a lot of hot springs, which boil up, in 

 the Roseau valley, — all of which I visited. I found the same 

 three species of Humming-birds in Dominica as in Martinique ; 

 in Dominica, however, Eulampis holosericeus and Orthorhynchus 

 exilis were the most common, and were excessively abundant, 

 Eulampis jugularis being much less so. The island also abounds 

 in a very large species of Frog [Cystignathus ocellatus), much 

 larger than the North-American Bull-Frog; these are called by 

 the Creoles Crapauds, and are eaten and highly esteemed. I 

 can vouch, from experience, that they are excellent ; the flesh is 

 white, and tastes like that of a young rabbit. The Antillean 

 Boa [Boa diviniloqua) is also very common here; its Creole 

 name is Serpent tete-chien : I caught several of them, and 

 brought one alive to England. 



After leaving Dominica and crossing the channel, of about 

 twenty-five miles, which separates the islands, we come to the 

 French island, Guadaloupe, which is considerably the largest and 

 in many respects the most remarkable of the Lesser Antilles. 

 Guadaloupe is a double island : the leeward or western portion, 

 which is called Basseterre, is mountainous and volcanic, and 



