Characteristic coast scene of Bermuda. — The Bermuda Islands :iy in liiii.stiiin- tdiiuiMi through 

 the centuries by coral polyps; the islands rest on the top of a suboceanic volcano. This discovery 

 was made in deep well boring 



"The Flora of Bermuda": A Review' 



By JOHN W. H A R 8 H B E R G E R 



Professor of Botany, the University of Pennsylvania 



THE Bermuda Islands have long at- 

 tracted the American tourist because 

 of their accessibility to New York 

 City by a regular line of fast steamers. The 

 number of visitors has been reduced greatly 

 since the present war began, but there is 

 every reason to believe that the popularity 

 of these islands will be restored when the 

 final treaty of peace is signed. There are so 

 many attractions that it is hard to know 

 where to begin in enumerating them. The 

 blue sky and still bluer sea, rivaling the Bay 

 of Naples in depth of color, the coral reefs, 

 the bathing, the boating, the sailing, and the 

 deep-sea fishing have long been famous. The 

 geologist has been attracted by the interest- 

 ing matters connected with the formation 

 from the ground-up remains of corals and 

 calcareous seaweeds of the rocks, the sands, 

 the soil, and the limestone caverns with their 

 stalactites. The character of the sinks and 

 picturesque cliflfs has also appealed to him. 



^ The Flora of Bermvda, by Xathaniel Lord Britton, 

 718 



The recent discovery, described by Dr. Brit- 

 ton in the introduction of his book, that the 

 limestone cap lies on top of rocks of volcanic 

 origin, as revealed by deep well boring, is a 

 matter of intense interest. The visiting 

 geologist is informed that of the 1400 feet 

 penetrated by the boring, the first 360 feet 

 are in the limestones of the usual character 

 known in Bermuda. Below them for 200 

 feet, soft yellowish to brown, often clay-like 

 rocks are met, whose nature indicates that 

 they are more or less decomposed volcanic 

 tuffs. Below them blackish to gray compact 

 volcanic rocks are found, of andesitic and 

 basaltic appearance. The study of the sec- 

 tion made from a chip indicates that this is 

 a lava, and, though considerably altered, an 

 augite-andesite. This rock continues without 

 essential change in character for the remain- 

 ing 800 feet penetrated. The zoologist is 

 fascinated by the beautifully colored fishes, 

 by the sea anemones, the holothurians, the 



pp. xi, 585, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1918. 



