BEITISH HONDUEAS. 197 



obstructed by sand, form natural reservoirs for fisb and turtles. Turneffe may 

 be regarded as a large island disposed in a line with the Chinchorro bank and 

 Cozumel Island in the Yucatan waters. It looks like a first instalment towards a 

 future beach, while yet another shore-line in course of development seems to be 

 indicated by the more distant Glover and Lighthouse rocks. 



Climate, Flora, Fauna. 



British Honduras, a mere political enclave at the neck of the Yucatan peninsula 

 between Mexico and Guatemala, differs little in its climate from these regions. 

 At Belize the mean temperature is about 78° or 80° Fahr., and although even 

 in summer it scarcely rises above 86°, the heat is very difficult to bear, owing to 

 the humidity of the atmosphere. In the town of Belize, surrounded by rivers, 

 lagoons and swamps, fogs are frequent and dews abundant ; hence the sky is 

 mostly overcast, and when the west wind blows, the mosquitoes arrive, with 

 intermittent agues caused by the exhalations from the neighbouring marshes. 

 Winter is the best season, when the northern winds prevail, and when the roar 

 of the breakers is heard on the chain of islands, under \\hose shelter the water 

 remains calm at Belize. 



The flora and fauna of British Honduras resemble those of Yucatan, but in 

 all the non-calcareous and well-watered valleys the forests are far more extensive 

 and leafy. In the interior the woodlands alternate with pastures such as those 

 of Peten, where hundreds of thousands of cattle might be raised, but where the 

 destructive nigua {pulex penetrans) has been introduced from the east. The 

 British Honduras waters are well stocked with fish, and here large numbers of 

 turtles are captured for the London market. 



Topography. 



The town, which under the Spanish form of Belize still bears the name of its 

 founder, the freebooter Wallace, lies on the west side of the inner lagoon, where 

 the scarcely emerged land is traversed by the Rio Yiejo (Mopan, or Belize). The 

 two quays of the port are connected by a wooden bridge which crosses the 

 mouth of the river. But the ground is so low that it has had to be artificially 

 raised with the balLast of vessels frequenting the harbour, with driftwood and 

 other flotsam ]S"evertheless a tide a little higher than the usual, which scarcely 

 exceeds twenty inches, would suffice to flood the houses. Most of these are built 

 of wood, or rest on piles, for stone or brick would soon sink into the spongy 

 soil. A few villas stand on the neighbouring islets, these being considered more 

 salubrious than the town, beyond which extends a marshy tract crossed by embank- 

 ments. The harbour shoals so gradually that it is accessible only to vessels of 

 light draught ; it is also exposed to the east winds, though the surf is broken by 

 the islands fringing the coast and by the more distant reefs. The only supplies 

 procurable on the spot are the fish and other produce of the neighbouiing waters ; 



