— llu — 



iiig rocks, iutermixeJ with trees ol: every lieight and 

 shade, from the gigantic Coco-de-nier, to the modest 

 Veloutier that borders the sandy beaches of the 

 numerous pretty bays with which these islands 

 abound. 



The sea-coast line of these bays is a beautiful 

 stripe of firm, smooth, stoneless sand, of: great purity, 

 mingled, in some places, with shells of every size and 

 form ; but broken in upon, at intervals of one or two 

 miles, where the streams from the mountains enter 

 the sea, after a sluggish, marshy course over the low 

 level land which stretches from the base of the moun- 

 tains to the ocean, and which is an unvarying feature 

 in most of these islands. All this level land, and high 

 Up the mountains, are covered with Cocoa-nut planta- 

 tions, and there the Bread-fruit tree, the Orange tree, 

 the Fruit-de-Cy there, the Citron and Lime tree, the 

 Vangasaye, &c., grow luxuriantly. 



Cocoa-nut oil is the principal produce of these 

 islands. 



At these openings, or " embouchures " of the 

 streams, for rivers they can hardly be called, the tide, 

 as it rises, Hows freely in, so that persons walking 

 along the shore have difficulty in passing, except at 

 ebb tide, and then, there being no bridges, they must 

 either wade, or get some one to carry them across. 



Notwithstanding the uncultivated marshy lands 

 referred to, Avhich might easily be converted into pro- 

 ductive gardens and Rice fields, the climate of these 



