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XXXV. An Account of" The Sulphur;' or " Souffritre," 

 of the Island of Montserrnt. By Nicholas Nugent, 

 M.D. Honorary Member of the Geological Society*. 



v-/n my voyage last year (October 1810) from Antigua to 

 England,[the packet touched at Montscrrat, and my curiosity 

 having been excited by the accounis I received of a place iu 

 the island called " The Sulphur," and which, from the de- 

 scriptions of several persons, I conceived might be the crater 

 of an inconsiderable volcano, I determined to avail myself 

 of the stay of the packet to visit that place. 



The island of Montserrat, so called by the Spaniards from 

 a fancied resemblance to the celebrated mountain of Cata- 

 lonia, is every where extremely rugoed and mountainous, 

 and the only roads, except in one direction, are narrow 

 bridle-paths winding through the recesses of the mountains : 

 there is hardly a possibility of using wheeled carriages, and 

 the produce of the estates is brought lo the place of shipment 

 on the backs of mules. Accompanied by a friend, I accord- 

 ingly set out on horsenack from the town of Plymouth, which 

 is situated at the foot of the mountains on the sea shore. We 

 proceeded by a circuitous and steep route about six miles, 

 gradually ascending the mountain, which consisted entirely 

 of an uniform porphyrilic rock, broken every where into 

 fragments and large blocks, and which in many places was 

 so denuded of soil as to render it a matter of astonishment 

 how vegetation, and particularly that of the cane, should 

 thrive so well. The far greater part of the whole island is 

 made up of this porphyry, which by some systematics would 

 be considered as referable to the newest fioeiz trap forma- 

 tion, and by others would be regarded only as a variety of 

 lava. It is a compact and highlv indurated argillaceous 

 rock of a grey colour, replete with large and perfect crystals 

 of white felspar and black hornblende. Rocks of this de- 

 scription generally pass in the West Indies by the vague 

 denomination of fire-stone, from the useful property they 

 possess of resisting the operation of intense heat. A con- 

 siderable quantity of this stone is accordingly exported from 

 Montscrrat to the other islands which do not contain it, 

 being essential in forming the masonrv around the copper 

 boilers in sugar-works. We continued our ride a consi- 

 derable distance beyond the estate called " Galloway's," 

 (where we procured a guide,) till we came to the side of a 

 very deep ravine whicli extends in a winding direction the 



• From the Transactions of the Geological Society, vol. i. 



M 4 whole 



