12 BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 



Thousands of years ago, these beautiful islands were represented 

 by the barren tops of submarine mountains, over which the waves 

 dashed in the fury of the hurricane, or the calm expanse of water 

 lay unbroken, hardly rippled by the gentle breezes of the tropics. 

 Generation after generation of coral insects lived and died, working 

 steadily, gradually raising the foundation of a future home for man- 

 kind. Ages passed, and their summits reached the surface, vege- 

 tation appeared, and now they stand, like oases in a desert, their 

 tall palms swaying in the breeze, teaching us still another lesson 

 in the beautiful work of creation. 



Although in many places the soil is exceeding scant, yet vege- 

 tation flourishes on the larger islands. The cedar, lignumvita?, 

 satin-wood, mahogany, and many other species abound. Among 

 the fruits, the banana, sapodilla, coffee -plant, tamarind, mango, 

 guava, orange, cocoanut, marmee, shattuck, grape-fruit, and many 

 others grow in profusion. Birds and fish abound, many of them 

 very beautiful ; but the zoology of the islands is limited. On some 

 of the larger ones, wild cattle and hogs are numerous, but they are 

 descendants of a few domestic representatives of their race which 

 were imported years ago. No other animals were observed, except 

 several species of mice and two species of bats. 



On Andros Island the Iguana is abundant, and the natives 

 consider it a great delicacy. Only one small one was seen by our 

 party. Both the green turtle and the tortoise are common, and the 

 shell of the latter forms an important item in the commerce of 

 the islands. Crustacea and radiata are numerous, as well as land 



