THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 227.— November, 1895, 



AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. 

 By Hon. Cecil Baring and W. B. Ogilvie Grant.* 



Few probably are aware of the existence of the Salvage Islands,t 

 a small uninhabited group, situated, roughly speaking, between 

 Madeira and the Canaries, and about 160 miles distant from the 

 former,~and eighty-five from TenerifTe. 



According to the description given of them in the * North 

 Atlantic Memoir,' " the Salvages consist of an island named 

 the Ilha Grande, or the Great Salvage, a larger island named 

 Great Piton,and a smaller one called the Little Piton,together with 

 several rocks. The Great Salvage lies in lat. 30° 8', long. 15° 55'. 

 It is of very irregular shape, and has a number of rocks about it 

 within the distance of a mile. It is much intersected, and has 

 several deep inlets, the most accessible of which is on the east 

 side. It is covered with bushes, amongst which the thousands 

 of sea-fowl make their nests. It is surrounded on all sides 

 with dangers, most of which show, but many require all caution 

 in approaching. 



" The Great Piton lies at the distance of eight and a quarter 

 miles W.S.W., three-quarters W., from Ilha Grande. This islet 

 is two and three-eighths miles long, and has a hill or peak near 

 the centre. The Little Piton lies at a mile from the western side 



* From ' The Field,' of Sept. 21st and 28th, 1895. Communicated by the 

 authors. 



f From the Spanish, Selvajes — i.e. desert islands. 



ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL, XIX, NOV. 1895. 3 I 



