Am,  Jour.  Pharm.\ 
November,  1903.  j 
A  Trip  to  Bermuda. 
523 
century  the  Bermudas  were  a  possession  o,f  the  Virginia  company. 
It  is  now  a  British  colony  and  a  naval  coaling  station  for  the  West 
India  squadrons,  whose  ships  congregate  there  in  the  winter.  The 
harbor  is  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  entire  British  fleet,  and 
the  natives  look  forward  to  the  coming  of  the  vessels  with  their 
gayeties  and  circulation  of  money. 
Bermuda  is  reached  in  two  and  one-half  days  after  leaving  New 
York.  The  Quebec  steamship  line  practically  controls  navigation. 
To  make  a  picturesque  impression  upon  the  tourist  it  is  claimed 
that  there  is  an  island  for  every  day  in  the  year,  or,  in  other  words, 
they  have  365  islands.  I  found  it  somewhat  difficult  to  concur  in 
this  count,  but  as  latitude  is  allowed  to  every  poet  it  is  possible  that 
you  will  arrive  at  that  number  if  you  count  every  knoll  or  little  rock 
projecting  from  the  water  and  covered  by  a  few  shrubs. 
The  largest  of  these  islands  is  Great  Bermuda  or  Long  Island, 
inclosing  on  the  east  Harrington  or  Little  Sound  and  on  the  west 
Great  Sound  and  protected  on  the  north  by  the  islands  of  Somerset, 
Boaz  and  Inland.  The  remaining  islands  of  the  group,  St.  George's, 
Paget's,  Smith's,  St.  David's,  etc.,  lie  to  the  east  and  form  a  semi- 
circle around  Castle  Harbor.  The  reefs  project  some  20  miles  out 
into  the  sea  and  are  a  source  of  constant  danger  to  the  navigator. 
The  entrance  to  the  harbor  is  very  difficult  and  approaching  vessels 
have  to  make  almost  a  complete  circle  around  the  islands  before 
entering  it.  The  entrance  to  the  harbor  is  so  narrow  that  you  can 
almost  touch  the  rocky  shore  from  each  side  of  the  vessel. 
The  islands  are  composed  of  a  white  granular  limestone,  which  is 
tvery  light  and  of  various  degrees  of  hardness.  A  great  many  caves 
are  found  as  usual  in  limestone  formations,  many  of  them  running 
far  into  the  land  and  displaying  a  variety  of  stalagmites  and  stalac- 
tites. Streams  and  wells  are  noted  by  their  entire  absence,  and  the 
natives  depend  upon  rain  water  for  their  supply. 
The  houses  are  built  of  this  lime  or  coral  rock  and  are  one-storied, 
as  a  rule,  with  flat  corrugated  roofs,  each  corrugation,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  is  a  little  gutter,  which  catches  the  rain  and  turns  it  off  into 
a  larger  gutter  leading  into  tanks.  Architecture  is  very  primitive 
and  ornamental  buildings  do  not  exist.  When  a  Bermudian  wants 
to  build  a  house  he  goes  into  an  open  lot,  saws  off  a  number  of 
blocks  of  this  stone,  and  by  cementing  them  obtains  a  structure 
which  is  said  to  be  of  perpetual  durability.    In  time  the  exposure 
