440 
DRS. T. ANDERSON AND J. S. FLETT ON THE ERURTIONS OF THE 
have l)een due either to the undermiriiiig action of the stream, or to the uprise oi 
springs from lielow. On the wliole the latter seemed the more probable explanation. 
Similar cones, but less perfect, \Yere seen elsewhere in the same valley (see Plate 31. 
fig. 1, and Plate 28, fig. 2). 
The Slopes of the Mountain. 
The condition of the soutiiern fianks of the Soufriere presents in most respects a 
very comj^lete contrast to that of the Wallilju and Itabaka Talleys which lie beneath 
them, for while in these much deposition of new inaterial has taken place, and erosion, 
though rapid, has not yet been aide to bring the former surface to light, on the 
higher grounds the accuimdation has been slight, and erosion is proceeding at a very 
rapid rate. On the sharp knife-edged sjjurs and deep ravines of the south side of the 
mountain the washing action of the rains has had great eftect. Everywhere the 
surface of the new ash is furrowed witli raiii-rills, and where the slopes are steep 
the wet mud has often slipped bodily into tlie valley bottoms. The deposit must have 
been several feet deep on the lower part of the hill slopes, but exactly how deep it 
was can no longer be determined, as only a remnant of the original mass remains, 
cjuite insufficient to enable a judgment to be formed regarding its original thickness 
and disposition. 
The sides of the valleys incline at angles averaging 40° (which appears to be about 
the angle of repose of the taluses of weathei'ed ash), except where the edges of the few 
lava beds visible in this quarter form vertical clifts. On the gentler slopes the ash 
still hangs in festooned masses, the discontinuous i-emains of a sheet once spread 
over the whole surface. The rain has cut down to the old soil and laid bare the 
scorched vegetation, wliich, as its mots, being surrounded with dam]) earth, v^ere often 
not destroyed, is slowly recovering and sending up scattered leaves of fresh green 
amony the drearv wastes of mud. 
Tlie I'aiu scid])ture furnished a most interesting subject of study, for it presented a 
very great variety of forms which depended princi])al]y on the original slope and 
configuration of the surface on wliich it rested. Where the ground was steep the rills 
were many, narrow, and straiglit, with small furmws joining them on each side in a 
manner reminding one of the pinnules of a feathei’. They mu side by side down the 
slo])es, converging only slowly to unite to form a main channel of a higher order. The 
intervening ridges were 2 or 3 feet high, and perhaps twice as broad at their base, 
their summits gently rounded, their sides fiuted v'ith minor fuii'ows. Often one of 
these ridges had collapsed oi' slid down, and its mmains been washed away ; and this 
somewhat diversified the usual regularity of the features. As erosion advanced the 
furrows broadened, as the loose ash was more easily removed than the old rock beneath 
the soil, and the ridges between wasted away, getting thinner and thinner. 
On the more level ground the scul|)ture recalled rather the tributaries of a river, 
tortuous, irregular', converging arid frequently uniting to form a large main trunk. A 
