THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 217 
canals among the plantations. A multitude of little 
islets are scattered around on the surface of the sea, 
on many of which the cattle are grazing on the rich 
and succulent pasture. Some of them, however, 
are little more than accumulations of sand, formed 
of powdered coral and sea-shells, and affording sup- 
port only to some coarse sedges, and to mangrove- 
trees. The latter, indeed, delights in such situa- 
tions, flourishing at the very edge of the sea, and 
even where the ground is continually liable to 
inundation. The contorted roots of this tree grow 
to a considerable extent above the soil, so that the 
base of the trunk is elevated on acone of matted 
roots, through which the water washes, while from 
the branches young twigs are perpetually shooting 
downward, till, reaching the soil, they take root, 
and send forth other shoots: thus, in a few years, 
asingle plant will spread into a grove, and cover 
a large space of land. As we_sail with tortuous 
course through these delightful groups of ever- 
verdant isles, fresh scenes of beauty are continually 
rising before us. Now a conical hill, of regular 
form, arrests the attention, clothed with thick foliage 
from the w:ter's edge to the summit, where the white 
clouds appear to rest: then we admire the irregular 
surface of another isle, whose dark ravines seem 
to acquire additional gloom from the glowing sun- 
light that plays upon the surrounding eminences: 
here a little islet of bright green looks in the blue 
sea like an emerald set in sapphire; there the bold 
cliffs and black precipices of a larger island an- 
nounce a very different formation. Now and then 
T 
