ON THE ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY OF THE WEST INDIA ISLANDS. 463 



seven and a half broad, with an area of 114 square miles, and is moun- 

 tainous and picturesque, the maximum elevation being 1,800 feet. There 

 are no rivers nor streams navigable by even small boats, hence the virgin 

 forest of the central mountain ridge remains intact. It is estimated that 

 there are forty square miles of forest under valuable timber, and probably 

 thirty under wood, of no great value except as fuel. 



Botany. 



Meyer, G. L. A Botanist's House in Tobago. ' Gardeners' 

 Chronicle,' n. s. xiv. p. 456, with a view. A fragment. 



Little is known of the botany, but that little points to a luxuriant if 

 not a very varied flora. Mr. G. L. Meyer resided some months in the 

 island, but he was only able to dry a few plants that grew near his 

 dwelling ; yet out of thirty-two species two or three at least were 

 previously unknown. 



Zoology. 



Jardine, Sir W. Birds of Tobago. ' Ann. K H.' xviii. (1846), pp. 

 114^121 ; xix. (1847), pp. 78-83 ; and xx. (1847), pp. 328-334 and 370- 

 378. 



TORTOLA (see VIRGIN ISLANDS). 

 VIRGIN GORDA (see VIRGIN ISLANDS). 



VIRGIN ISLANDS. 



A cluster of islands lying to the east of Porto Rico, between 

 18= to 18° 50' N. lat. and 64° 20' and 65° 40' W. long. The principal 

 islands are Vieques and Culebra belonging to Spain, St. Croix, St. Thomas, 

 and St. Jan belonging to Denmark, and Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost 

 Van Dyke, Tortola, and Peter's Island belonging to England. The area 

 of the larger islands is only from sixteen to forty square miles, and the 

 greatest elevations are 1,780 feet in Tortola and 1,550 feet in St. Thomas, 

 St. Jan, or St. John, and Virgin Gorda being a little lower, whilst in the 

 western Culebra and Vieques the hills are only 500 to 600 feet high. 

 Anegada, as its Spanish name implies, is half submerged, or rather ele- 

 vated only a few feet above the level of the sea. 



St. Croix is much the largest island, and its natural history has been 

 separately discussed and contrasted with that of the smaller and more 

 contiguous islands (see p. 459). 



Among the smaller named islands of this group are Cockroach, 

 Savana, Tobago, Frenchman's Norman, Peter, Ginger, Guano, and 

 Camanoe. 



Botany. 



Knox, J. P. An historical account of St. Thomas, W. I., with 

 notices of St. Croix and St. John. New York. 1852. 271 pp. 



The chapter on zoology is very slight and unimportant, though there 

 is ' a complete list' of the plants of St, Thomas. 



