THE TROPICAL ZONE. 209 



an aspect as it does in the islands winch lie in these lati- 

 tudes, where the intense heat is tempered by vapours from 

 the sea. A description of one of the Ladrone Islands 

 Tinian may serve as a specimen, where " almost constant 

 cool breezes prevail, and copious dews and frequent gentle 

 showers refresh the earth." Throughout large tracts of the 

 island, alternate lawns, and woods of tall and spreading trees 

 adorn the hills and valleys. Amongst the list of trees we 

 find the Cocoa-palm, the Guava, the Orange, and the Lime 

 (Citrus Limetta), the fruit of which resembles Lemons or 

 Citrons. There is also a tree with which we shall before 

 very long become better acquainted, called the Breadfruit- 

 tree (Arlocarpus) . The Water Melon too appears to be a 

 native here. The soil is rather sandy, and to this perhaps 

 may be in great measure attributed the absence of that 

 rank vegetation which characterizes so many parts of this 

 zone. We even meet with many English names amongst 

 the herbaceous plants, such as the Dandelion (Taraxacum), 

 a kind of Purslane (Peplis), Scurvy-grass (Cochlearia) , Sorrel 

 (Rumex), and Mint (Mentha). 



Yet this beautiful island, this ' ' happy land," as it gene- 

 rally appears, is subject in summer to the most tremendous 

 hurricanes, which sometimes occur there during the time 



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