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sioiis to the Berry Islands lying on the northwest side of the N. 

 E. Providence channel, to the Biminis, the most westerly of the 

 Bahamas, to the east side of Andros and neighboring keys, and 

 to the Exuma and Ragged Island chain of keys, extending as far 

 as 21*^ 17' North and 75° 27' West. 



All the islands visited by me presented the same geological for- 

 mation, a cellular limestone varvinsj in its texture from a rock of 

 extreme hardness to a soft and friable sandstone, and composed 

 of materials thrown up by the action of the waves and winds, of 

 every shape and size, from madrepores of six feet in diameter to 

 the finest sand. In the larger keys the rocky surface is covered 

 with a thin layer of vegetable soil capable of supporting in some 

 places a thrifty vegetation. The majority of the smaller keys 

 are entirely witliout soil, though when not exposed to the action 

 of the waves they are covered with a thick growth of shrubs, 

 which, in many cases, belong principally to the Cactus family, and 

 are so thorny and tangled that they are almost impenetrable. I 

 saw nowhere the luxuriant vegetation and profuse animal life that 

 is naturally associated with the West Indies. Of native mammals 

 I procured but a single specimen, a species of bat. I was told 

 that at Andros there was a wild rabbit, but could not procure a 

 specimen. The number of sea birds in certain localities is pro- 

 digious, but at Nassau I saw but one gull and one pelican. 

 The species of land birds that breed upon the islands are few, 

 though the individuals of some of them are quite numerous. In 

 the class of reptiles, I found six species of lizards, four of ser- 

 pents, no land or freshwater turtles, and four batrachians. The 

 number and variety of fish are very great. Crustacea and radiata 

 abound. Land mollusks are very numerous, but only fourteen 

 species were seen. Insects, with the exception of lepidoptera and 

 a few species of diptera, were by no means common. 



Before visiting the Bahamas, I had supposed that those birds 

 of the United States, which in their annual migration follow the 

 Atlantic coast, crossed over to the Gulf of Mexico on arriving at 

 the Peninsula of Florida, and then followed that shore to Mexico, 

 Central America, &c. This opinion was formed from the fact 

 that while all of these birds are extremely abundant in Southern 

 Georgia, they are rarely seen in the neighborhood of Enterprise 

 and Indian River. From the number of these birds seen at the 



