40 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



which extends in an easterly direction from Flamingo Cay along the 

 eastern curve of the bank towards the western extension of the central 

 spit of Long Island. These cays are well rounded and weathered, pre- 

 senting the usual features of cays forming the broken wall which now 

 denotes the former extension of the Ragged Cay and Flamingo Land 

 to the westward till it perhaps once formed part of the Andros, Lobos, 

 Orange, and Bernini Land. 



Some of the cliffs of the western face of Flamingo are high, separated 

 by small coral and seolian sand beaches. The high coral sand beach 

 opposite our anchorage formed the sea-wall of a small lagoon. The 

 southern end of the beach was formed by fragments of conchs of all 

 sizes up to nearly perfect shells, cemented together with seolian sand, 

 fragments of corals, and broken shells, forming a splendid breccia. The 

 shells in the lagoon of Flamingo Cay were very much smaller than 

 specimens of the same species thi-own up on the sea face of the beach. 



After passing Hawk's Bill Bank we came upon patches of corals and 

 Gorgonians, which became more extensive as we approached Flamingo 

 Cay, the water at the same time becoming somewhat deeper and clearer, 

 the bottom being less affected by the action of the seas due to the pre- 

 vailing winds. 



Flamingo Cay (Plate XXXV.) is comparatively well covered by vege- 

 tation ; there are many wild guava bushes and shrubs. The seolian 

 rocks, as seen on the two sides of the lauding beach, are gi'eatly eroded 

 by the action of both fresh and salt water, the whole surface of the 

 rounded reolian hills being pitted and honeycombed. The aeolian rocks 

 of Flamingo Cay are much harder than is usually the case with the 

 seolian rocks so close to the sea-shore. The cays to the south of Fla- 

 mingo are excellent specimens of seolian cays, with rounded summits 

 almost bare of vegetation, and with surfaces pitted and worn by the 

 action of the sea and rain upon them. Heavy seas could be seen break- 

 ing over those nearest the outer edge of the bank. The vertical cliffs 

 of Flamingo were riddled with cavities and fissures, as were also the 

 cliffs of the islands to the south of Flamingo, between it and Man-of- 

 War Channel. 



Steaming south from Flamingo Cay, we cross a series of bars running 

 apparently at right angles to the trend of the cays, having from two to 

 two and a half fathoms over the ridges, with numerous patches of coral 

 heads and of Gorgonians. Some of the cays to the south of Man-of-War 

 Channel were formerly inhabited : but since the destruction of the salt 

 trade on Great Ragged Cay they have been abandoned. All except 



