SOUFEIERE, AND ON A VISIT TO MONTAGNE PELFE, IN 1902. 3(5 9 
end of the island, and is fairly common around Kingstown. It is only found on the low 
grounds which are covered with vegetation. There decomposition goes on rapidly, 
but erosion and deportation are least effective. 
A more satisfactory hypothesis is that this is a weathered rock rubbish, which has 
accumulated on the flatter grounds where the rain has little power of washing away 
fine fragments, especially as the roots of the vegetation serve to hold the soil 
together and j)revent its removal. When saturated with rain such incoherent 
materials will tend to slip under the action of gravity, and the slow creeping of the soil 
down the principal sloj^es may sometimes give it a roughly-bedded appearance. The 
bombs and crystalline blocks are the larger masses enclosed in the old tuffs from 
which the brown earth has mostly formed. In many respects it bears a strong 
resemblance to the “ head” which covers the rocks in Cornwall, only the appearance 
of bedding is more frequent. 
A fact of some importance in connection with the geographical development of 
Fig. 1. Map of the south-east corner of St. Vincent. A line is drawn to enclose depths of 2-1 to 26 
fathoms, indicating the submerged beach platform. The section at the base shows the coastal shelf. 
VOL. CC.-A. 3 B 
