262 Dr. Webster on St. Michael 
peasants. Itis watered by many streams that wind throughs 
the plantations, till they unite to form a small river, called 
“ Ribeira Quinte,” or warm river. After a circuitous 
course the Ribeira Quinte flows through a deep ravine and 
empties itself into the sea on the southern side of the island 
at the base of Pico da Vigia. 
The mountains surrounding this valley are ri sie 
chiefly of pumice, but compact lava and rocks of the tra- 
_ chyte family are seen on the face of many of the precipices. 
The columnar structure and vertical arrangement of these 
rocks are quite distinct in some places; in others, beds of 
the porphyry and pumice appear to alternate. They are 
sometimes separated by layers of fine sand or ashes. A few 
pieces of slaggy lava and scoriz, are occasionally found at 
the foot of the mountains, but there are no large collections 
or beds of them. . 
*‘ The hot springs are continued towards one extremity 
of the valley, beyond a few cottages composing the village 
of 'Trunnas. They are not seen at any distance, being sur- 
rounded by small hills, some of which, there is great rea- 
son to believe, owe their origin in part, if not altogether, to 
the springs themselves. They are generally covered with 
short shrubs, butsome of them are wholly devoidof any traces 
of vegetation. They are composed of clay of different de- 
grees of compactness, which is variously, and often beau- 
tifully coloured by iron under different degrees of oxidation. 
The clay is intermixed with fine pumice and masses of 
siliceous sinter. As we pass along the narrow road from 
the village to this spot, the gradual change from a fertile to 
a barren soil is observed, and within a few yards of the hot 
springs nearly all traces of vegetation are lost. At the ex- 
tremity ofthe road the ground is almost snow white, and 
then acquires a reddish tinge ; this increases in intensity and 
brightness, and finally passes through an infinite variety of 
shades to a deep brown. Here and there patches and veins 
of a brilliant yellow and purple colour add to the singular 
aspect of this remarkable spot. The clay isin some places 
so much indurated as to retain an imperfect slaty charac- 
ter but most of it is soft and has an earthy aspect. It does 
not feel perfectly smooth when rubbed, but is full of hard 
grains, which are exceedingly minute; and when a mass 
of it is diffused in water, a quantity of fine siliceous parti- 
