24 THE ATLANTIC. [ciiap. i. 



into magnificent ridges and pinnacles, and lias sometimes been 

 almost startled by the sudden unveiling of a majestic peak 

 through a rift in the clouds far up in the sky. 



As the islands draw nearer, the hazy blues and purples give 

 place to vivid shades of green, and these, at first blending and 

 indistinct, gradually resolve themselves into a rich and luxuri- 

 ant cultivation, filling up the valleys with dense woods of pine 

 and sweet chestnut, covering the sloj^es wherever it is possible 

 to work with orange-groves, vineyards, and fields of maize and 

 wheat ; and, even where work is scarcely possible, mitigating 

 the nearly precipitous cliffs, and rendering them available by 

 means of artificial terraces and slopes. 



The Agores are situated between lat. 39° 45' and 36° 50' K, 

 and long, 25° and 31° 20' W. They consist of three groups — 

 two small islands, Flores and Corvo, to the extreme north-west ; 

 Fayal and Pico, separated by a narrow and shallow channel and 

 forming geologically one elevation, in the centre ; and associated 

 with these, spreading to the north-eastward, San Jorge, Terceira 

 (the former seat of government), and Graciosa ; while the third 

 group, nearly a couple of hundred miles to the south-westward, 

 consists of San Miguel, the richest and most important of the 

 islands, and the seat of the present capital ; Santa Maria ; and 

 two curious little patches of naked rocks, the Formigas and Dol- 

 labarat. The climate of the Agores is mild and equable. In 

 summer they are touched by the south-east trades, or rather 

 they are just in the fine-weather edge of the variables. In win- 

 ter they are subject to heavy gales from the south-west. Their 

 climate is doubtless influenced to a certain extent by the south- 

 ern deflection of the Gulf-stream, and they are near the north- 

 ern border of the Sargasso Sea. The mean annual temperature 

 of Ponta Delgada, in San Miguel, is 17°-6T C, 0°-9 higher than 

 that of Palermo, 1°*4 lower than that of Malaga, and 0°*6 lower 

 than that of Fun dial. The mean winter temperature of Ponta 

 Delgada is 13°-05 C, l°-8 higher than that of Palermo, and 2°-7 



