Life in the Bahama Islands. 349 



assumption of any general or local elevation of the ocean 

 bottom. One sees on every hand, the evidence of solution, 

 cementing and comminution ; and these are the processes 

 which serve to explain the growth of coral islands. The waves, 

 dashing up, erode small cavities ; these are enlarged by the 

 retained sea-water, which has remarkable solvent power 

 over the calcium carbonate of which the whole key may be 

 said to be composed ; for it will be remembered that not 

 only are the coral skeletons made up of this substance, but 

 that the greater part of the hard remains of nearly all 

 invertebrates is likewise of the same composition. By the 

 cementing power of lime salts in solution, the shells of 

 mollusks, etc., may be seen glued, either entire or in frag- 

 ments, to the rocks of the key margins, so that a coral island 

 is in reality a conglomerate with a fairly uniform chemical 

 composition. It should be mentioned that on the shoals around 

 this small island (key) the "King Conch" (Strombus gigas) is 

 very abundant, and from the size and weight of its shell, it 

 must contribute more to the formation of the calcareous total 

 than could scores of other mollusks or of crustaceans. 



But leaving the water and seeking for land animals, one 

 may speedily dispose of the mammals, for there are none 

 on Green Turtle Key, except a few dogs, cats, pigs, and 

 probably rats and mice, though as to the latter I am 

 not certain. Almost as numerous as the grasshopper 

 with us is a small grayish-brown lizard of about 5-6 inches 

 in length, with a handsome orange throat. Of land snakes 

 there are none, I believe; turtles abound in the waters, and 

 are much sought for food, as are also, their eggs, laid in 

 the sand on the beach. 



The tree-frog is found, but there are, of course, no fresh 

 water ponds of any considerable size in which other tribes 

 of Amphibians might live ; if they exist here at all, their 

 numbers must be very small. Excepting the common fly, 

 the mosquito, spiders, centipedes, and cochroaches, land 

 Arthropods are not abundant. The spiders, centipedes and 

 cockroaches, however, attain an enormous size; and the 

 latter fly about at night to the great annoyance of the un- 

 happy mortal who is trying to fall asleep. The scorpion is 



