in a direction nearly S. W. and N. E, and on which Hamilton the chief Town of the Islands and the Seat of Government is situated; St. George's, about 3 miles long, on which is a Town of the same name, Garrisons, and the head-quarters of the Military; Somerset, 3 miles, united by a bridge to the main-land; Ireland's Island, 1 miles long. The others which are of any importance lie chiefly on the southern side of the group, at its north-eastern extremity. The whole islands are thus not more than 25 miles long by from 2 miles to a few yards, in some parts, broad. The land has the appearance from the sea of a range of low undulated hills, none of which rise to a higher elevation than 250 feet.

The geological formation of this group is somewhat peculiar. The lower strata of which it is composed, and upon which it has been built, is a hard calcareous sandstone. It is exposed chiefly on the south side of the main island at low water mark, and, in situ, it lies in an almost horizontal position. By the force of the swell which rolls in from the South, sometimes with fearful violence, large masses of this rock are torn from their beds, broken into fragments, and heaped up in distorted forms. The mass of rock superimposed upon this base is composed of what may be termed a corallinaceous sandstone of different degrees of induration and of fineness. Some parts, by reason of exposure to the atmosphere and other causes, have become extremely hard, and have resisted the action of the elements apparently for ages. This formation has a curiously twisted and irregular stratification, or rather it can scarcely be said to have any proper stratification at all. The section it is true presents us with lines of rock running through it at all angles of inclination and assuming the most fantastic appearances; but these give no sure index of the time of their deposition, but rather reveal the chemical processes by which the mass of calcareous sand has become gradually cemented and indurated. There does not appcar to be any distinct evidences in any part of the islands of volcanic action or of violent disturbances of nature. All that can be said is, that there may at one time have been a subsidence of the land and a considerable denudation and erosion of its rocks, with perhaps a subsequent elevation to some extent. Land-shells of the genus Helix are found embedded in the rock now covered by the sea at high water, and there are appearances of sea beaches considerably above the present rise of the tide; but these movements have apparently been effected

during the lapse of ages, without any disturbance or fracture of

the rock formations.

This land thus superimposed on the limestone rock of the Tertiary period has evidently been formed by the combined action of the sea and the wind-the sea eroding the Polypi corals, grinding their fragments into sand, and washing them up on the beach; and the strong winds which characterize the latitude of these islands drives with great force and to some distance the sands of the shore upon the higher lands. The sand thus forms great drifts, just as the snow does in our Canadian winter, and becoming cemented by some kind of chemical action, which may be witnessed in process at the present day, it gradually hardens into a granulated porous rock.

it

This being the general geological character of the Bermudas, may be supposed that there will be found around their coasts numerous bays and estuaries; being also of coral origin, it may be expected that they will present more or less the appearance of the Lagoons so common to the coral islands of the Pacific. It is well known that the Polypi, or coral animals, when floating free, attach themselves to any obstruction that lies in their path, and that around this they deposit their limey secretions; and these gradually accumulating and rising in the course of unnumbered generations, take the form of a ring or belt, more or less perfect, according to the form of the obstructing rock. Most of the reefs that are yet covered with water have this appearance, and rise frequently from a great depth, like a forest of calcarous trees in the sea. According to this principle of coralline life, we find the whole group of islands partaking of this general circular character; and, including the reefs which stretch out under water a distance of about 10 miles, the whole gronp assumes the form of an egg-shaped oval, which again we find divided into greater and lesser circles. In the south-west there is the Great Sound, a circular basin of water, with openings narrow and intricate to the north and west, and attached to it there are several smaller basins or harbours of the same general form. To the east of this there is Harrington Sound, a beautiful sheet of water about 2 miles in breadth, forming an almost complete circle, and very deep, with but a narrow entrance on the north side so narrow indeed as not to admit of the full rise and fall of the tide within the Sound. To the north-east of this again there are Castle Harbour and Saint George's Harbour, connected with each other by a narrow strait. These harbours have several

outlets to the north, the east, and the south; together they are about 3 miles in diameter, aud are each of them of a somewhat circular form. They are studded with innumerable islets, and the great number of shoals and reefs with which they are filled renders their navigation, as we sometimes found to our cost, a matter of some difficulty and requiring much skill. In the nooks, corners and bays formed by this extremely varied arrangement of land and water, to which the instincts and habits of the Polypi have given their peculiar and typical form, and in the salt marshes and little lakes which are formed in the valleys, we find the habitats of a great variety of most interesting Marine Fauna and Flora -a perfect paradise, in which an earnest Naturalist may luxuriate.

The climate of the Bermudas, from their position, may be termed sub-tropical. The Thermometer iu winter seldom falls below 56° Fah.-on a cool evening it may fall to 52°. In the summer months it ranges from 68° to about 90°. The atmosphere is at all times very humid, and frequently disagreeably so. Spring aud Autumn are most paradaisical seasons in Bermuda. The heavens, the earth and the sea then appear in their most gorgeous robes, and from the highest peak of the land, as from a noble and beautiful pedestal, they may be surveyed in every direction stretched out in all their solemn grandeur. In the flora of such a climate it may be expected that we shall find the productions of both the temperate and the tropical zones. Vegetation puts on here a decidedly Oriental garb. The beautiful fan-shaped Palmetto, the gracefully luxuriant Banana, the bright blood-red Pomegranate, the deep green umbrageous Fig, the Orange and the Lemon with their perfumed flowers and luscious fruit, the familiar Grape Vine, and the Oleander, the ornament of every garden, at once strike the eye. Besides these there are the Cedar, (Juniper Verginiana) which covers the islands with its dark ever-green foliage, and the sage bush with its tiny waxen flowers and pleasant odor-the most proliffic of weeds and the plague of the farmer. There are also a great abundance of Cacti among which we have seen the magnificent night-blooming Grandiflorus. Several fine species of Acacia and the curious fruit-bearing, reticulate-branched Calabash, also the pride of India-a deciduous tree famous for its summer shade the wrinkled Pawpaw and the graceful Coffee plant with its pretty flowers, all indigenous to the tropics, grow and flourish here. In the kitchen garden, melon, pumpkin, squash and cucumber vines, with tomatoes and sweet potatos, &c., grow in

great luxuriance. Of the temperate products the cereals hold an inconspicuous place. Formerly barley was much cultivated; now scarcely a patch is any where to be seen. Flour, the staple of life, is imported entirely from the United States. Formerly the chief wealth of a Bermudian planter consisted in his Cedar trees which were cared for and guarded with religious reverence. Now this kind of product is worth very little. It is only valuable for house and ship-building purposes on the islands, the export is now comparatively trifling. The result of this revolntion is that the land fit for cultivation is being gradually cleared, and the potato, the onion, and Indian Corn, together with the world-famons Arrow-root, are taking the place of the Cedar, and now constitute the chief wealth of the Bermudas. There is an annual spring exportation of potatoes, tomatoes, and onions to the United States of many thousand pounds value. Under proper management, with a little more enterprise and outlay of capital, these islands might also send to the States' market large quantities of sweet and bitter oranges, figs and grapes of the best quality, peaches, and even olives; but at present little or no care is taken in the cultivation of these fruits, and as they are exposed to so many hazards from which it requires skill and care to preserve them, they are for the most part neglected.

The land Fanna of these islands is comparatively limited, there being no permanently running fresh water streams; and with the exception of rats, mice, and a few rabbits, there are no quadrupeds worth noting. The only noxious animal that is found here is the Centipede, large individuals of which are frequently seen in old and damp houses. There are moths, butterflies, fire-flies and coleoptera in great abundance. The air in summer is vocal with the voice of the Cicadae. Cockroaches, millepe-les, spiders, ants, mosquitos, fleas, (Pulex iritans and P. penetrans, or the chige,) abound and are somewhat troublesome. The Entomologist may find here a rich field for investigation. A great variety of birds are to be met with in Bermuda. A list of eighty-three has been compiled, but most of them are but transient visitors. A few winter on the islands; the usual residents are few. With the exception of two accidental stragglers which have been seen from the eastern hemisphere, viz: The Wheatear (Saxicola Aenanthe) and the Corn Crake, (Crex Pratensis,) all the others are common to North America The constant residents are the Sylvia sialis or Blue Bird; the Orpheus Carolinensis, or Black Bird; the Pitylus Cardinalus, or

Red Bird; the Vireo Noveboracensis, or Chick of the Village; the Corvus Americanus, or American Crow; the Gallinula Chloroporus, or Common Moorhen; the Perdix Virginianus, or Virginia Quail, nearly extinct. It was abundant formerly when barley was more cultivated, but now it is probably a bird of passage. The summer residents are, the Phaeton Aetherius, or Longtail; the Sterna Dougallii, or Roseate Tern, and the S. Anglica, or Marsh Tern. There are, besides these, a large number of autumnal and winter visitants, some of which revisit the islands in spring on their way to the north. Among these are the American Swallow and the Bank Swallow, the Snowy Owl, the Cedar Waxwing, the Sandpiper, the American Woodcock, the Black-crowned Night Heron, the great White Heron and the Green Heron, the Canada Goose, nine species of the Duck tribe, several species of Gulls, and the Thalassidroma Wilsonii or Mother Carry's Chicken. To these may be added, the Cohow, a bird of historic note in the early Chronicles of Bermuda, but now nearly extinct. A few pairs were seen some years ago, but no specimens are known to exist, and the vague descriptions of fishermen do not afford any clue by which to determine the species of this nocturnal bird.

Having said so much about the earth and the air, the sea now claims our attention as not less, if not more, prolific of life than the others. In the lower forms of life, on the line which bounds the animal and vegetable kingdoms, there are several striking examples to be found in these islands. In the class Porifera or Sponges there are several curious varieties. The most frequently met with as well as the largest, is S. fistularis. In the Polypi or lowest class of the Radiate sub-kingdom, there are innumerable examples and a great variety of species. In the Anthozoa division especially, the Hydroida, Helianthoida and Asteroida, are numerous and beautiful. These are the great Contractors by which the islands have been erected without cost or trouble to the proprietors. Night and day, with unwearied activity, many species of this class are converting the inorganic elements of the sea into "this too solid earth." The Pharoahs who built the Pyramids had not such a host as these at their command. Already they have achieved a victory over the turbulent sea, and if the world lasts as long again as it has done, they are destined largely to alter the face of nature on the seas. Their beautiful forms, their graceful movements, and their curious habits are a source of infinite delight to those who love to contemplate the wealth of