months in the year, and the Piton de Fournaise (11,500 feet), which has been in frequent action since 1785-and the whole island is of volcanic origin. The level tracts which stretch around the coast are very fertile, and the climate is heathy. The population numbers upwards of 173.000, two-thirds of whom are Creoles, the rest are Hindu and African coolies, and Malagasys. Sugar, vanilla, cloves, and coffee are the chief articles of produce. The chief town is St. Denis.

MAURITIUS.

The beautiful and fertile island of Mauritius,1 one of the most prosperous of all our colonies, lies in the Indian Ocean, about 500 miles east of Madagascar. With an area of only 705 square miles, it has a population of nearly 380,000, or 539 to the square mile, and a trade of between 5 and 6 millions sterling a year.

Mauritius is "famous for the wondrous beauty of the landscape, surpassing even that of Tahiti in the Pacific." Its surface exhibits a succession of hills and valleys; its volcanic soil was once covered by magnificent forests, which have been cleared and replaced by vast sugar plantations. The cultivation of the sugar-cane is the principal industry, and sugar forms fully three-fourths of the total exports. Rum, vanilla, aloe fibre, molasses, and coco-nut oil are also produced. The trade of Mauritius is carried on chiefly with the British Colonies of South Africa, Australia, and India, and with the United Kingdom.

The coast is fringed by coral reefs, in which there are only two permanent openings-one on the north-west coast, leading to the splendid harbour of PORT LOUIS (53), the capital of the colony, and the other on the opposite side of the island. leading to the harbour on which Mahebourg, the only other large town, is built.

DEPENDENCIES OF MAURITIUS: Of the numerous other islands administered by the Mauritius Government, the most important are the granitic islet of Rodriguez, 300 miles east of Mauritius, and the island of Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Archipelago. The latter has an excellent harbour, and is an important coaling station on the direct route from the Red Sea to Australia. The twin groups of the Seychelles and the Amirantes, about 600 miles north-east of Madagascar, and 1,100 miles east of Zanzibar, together with the scattered groups of coral islands in the Indian Ocean, have an area of 149 square miles, and a population of 20,000. The prosperous Seychelles, covered with a luxuriant vegetation, especially coco nut palms and date trees, are 940 miles north of Mauritius; the coralline Amirantes are about 100 miles south-west of Mahè, the largest island of the Seychelles group.

SOCOTRA.

SOCOTRA, a British Crown Colony, is a large island 150 miles east of Cape Guardafui. Its surface is broken by granitic mountains and limestone hills, and its sterile soil yields little beyond aloes and a few dates. Area, 1,382 square miles; population, about 12,000.

1. Mauritius was discovered in 1505 by the Portu- | France," and held it until 1810, when it was captured guese, but was first settled in 1598 by the Dutch, by an expedition under Sir Ralph Abercrom! v, sent who called it Mauritius, in honour of their Prince | out by the East India Company. In 1874, a terri Maurice. Being abandoned by the Dutch in 1712, hurricane which lasted four days, caused great it was taken by the French, who renamed it "lle de damage, so did another hurricane in 1892.

The inhabitants consist of a few thousand Arabs, and the island formerly belonged to the Sultan of Keshim, on the opposite coast of Arabia, by whom it was ceded to Great Britain in 1876, but it was not formally annexed until 1886. Socotra is important from its position at the entrance of the Gulf of Aden, on the direct route to India, and its consequent importance in case of war, and because it completes the cordon of British stations between England and India.

The islands described are all off the eastern coast of Africa ; off the western coast of the continent, named in order from north to south, are Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, in the North Atlantic; Fernando Po, St. Thomas, Prince's, and Annobon, in the Gulf of Guinea; and Ascension, St. Helena, and Tristan d'Acunha, in the South Atlantic.

MADEIRA.

The beautiful island of Madeira and its dependency, the little isle of Porto Santo, belong to Portugal, and are regarded as integral parts of 'el Reino de Portugal e Algarves.' They have, therefore, been described under “Portugal.”1

THE CANARY ISLANDS.

The Canary Islands, in the North Atlantic and about 60 miles from the African coast, are an integral part of the Spanish monarchy, and form one of the modern provinces into which Spain has been divided.

The Canaries-the " Fortunate Islands of the ancients, the abode of departed heroes, who here enjoyed everlasting life under a delightful climate, never chequered by storms or biting frosts"-consist of seven large and six small islands, arranged in two divisions-the western including Teneriffe, Gomera, Palma and Ferro, and the eastern group, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and Gran Canaria.

All the islands of the Canary group are mountainous and of volcanic formation. The Pico de Teyde, or Peak of Teneriffe, rises to the great altitude of 12,180 feet. They are for the most part fertile, well-watered, and productive islands, enjoying a warm and healthy climate. Corn, dates, figs, lemons, wine, sugar, tobacco, cochineal, and barilla are among their productions. The population (about 359,000) is wholly of Spanish descent. The chief towns are SANTA CRUZ, the principal port on the island of Teneriffe, and LAS PALMAS, the seat of government on Grand Canary.

1. See page 330.

westward point of the habitable globe, and was

2. The island of Ferro, the most westerly mem-therefore selected as the initial point whence to ber of the group, is remarkable from its having measure longitude. been long regarded by the ancients as the extreme

THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS.

The CAPE VERDE ISLANDS are an extensive group to the south of the Canary Islands, and 450 miles to the west of Cape Verde on the African coast.

These islands are 14 in number, the largest and most fertile of them, Santiago, having an area of 400 square miles. On the island of Fogo is an active volcano, which reaches upwards of 9,000 feet in height.

The Cape Verde Islands are less fertile than either Madeira or the Canary group, and they are indifferently supplied with water. Some cotton, however, is grown upon them, and also the sugar-cane, with oranges and other fruits, Salt is one of their chief articles of produce. The population of the entire group numbers about 150,000. The principal towns are Mindello, on the island of St. Vincent, and Porto Praya, the capital, on the island of Santiago. St. Vincent is important as a coaling station for the Atlantic steamers, and as a telegraph station of the Anglo-Brazilian line.

ISLANDS IN THE GULF OF GUINEA.

The four islands in the Gulf of Guinea-Fernando Po, Prince's Island, and St. Thomas to the north, and Annobon to the south, of the Equator-are of volcanic formation, and may be regarded as a continuation of the remarkable chain of volcanic peaks which extends from the Cameroons towards Lake Chad.

FERNANDO PO (830 square miles), the largest of these four islands, belongs to Spain. It is extremely fertile, producing sugar, coffee, cotton, tobacco, &c., but unhealthy. The magnificent cone of Clarence Peak rises to upwards of 10,000 feet, and its slopes are clothed with verdure from base to summit. The native inhabitants of Fernando Po are of a peculiar race-the Bubi, called Boobies by English sailors and traders. A few Europeans, with about 1,000 Negroes, form the population of the picturesque town of Clarence, the chief place on the island.

PRINCE'S ISLAND (60 square miles) and ST. THOMAS (370 square miles), both of which belong to Portugal, are inhabited chiefly by a native race, among whom are a few Portuguese traders. The town of San Antonio is built on the shores of a beautiful bay in this "volcanic flower-garden," as Prince's Island has been called.

ANNOBON, which belongs to Spain, has an area of only 7 square miles. It contains also a small native population, and, unlike the three larger islands, has a perfectly salubrious climate.

ASCENSION.

The British island of ASCENSION' is nearly 1,000 miles distant from Cape Palmas, the nearest point on the African coast. It is

1. Ascension was discovered by the Portuguese | ed uninhabited until 1815, when it was taken pos on Ascension Day, 1501, hence its name. It remain-session of by the British as a naval station.

only 35 square miles in area, and consists of a mass of volcanic rock, rising to a height of nearly 3,000 feet above the sea.

This solitary oceanic island, rugged and barren, with only one cultivable spot-a veritable oasis surrounded by old lava streams and scoria-has yet the driest and most salubrious climate in the world, and only requires more water and vegetation to become a delightful invalid resort and sanatorium. A large number of turtles are caught during the season, and rabbits abound. Ascension is under the control of the Admiralty; the governor is a naval officer, in command of a number of seamen and marines with their families, and a few Kroomen, about 120 in all. Georgetown, on the north-west of the island, is the only settlement.

ST. HELENA.

ST. HELENA,1another isolated island in the South Atlantic, 800 miles south of Ascension, and 1,200 miles from the nearest point of the African mainland, is a huge mass of rock, of volcanic origin, rising steeply out of the waters of the Atlantic, and reaching in its highest point-Diana's Peak, near the centre of the island-2,700 feet above the sea.

The coast of the island forms a perpendicular wall or cliff, the principal opening in which is on the north-western coast, where Jamestown, the capital, is situated. The interior exhibits a succession of hills and valleys, some of the latter very fertile and capable of producing vegetables and fruits in abundance. The climate is warm, but the position of the island, in the midst of a vast ocean, preserves it from the intense heat of the Torrid Zone. It has an area of 47 square miles and a population of about 3,500.

The chief interest attaching to St. Helena is derived from the fact of its having been, during the last six years of his life, the place of exile of Napoleon the Great, who died at Longwood in 1821. His body was removed to Paris in 1840. Large numbers of the Boer prisoners were kept here during the South African War.

St. Helena is a British Crown Colony, and a submarine cable station. The island, commercially unimportant since the opening of the Suez Canal and the use of large steamers, was formerly of value as a coaling sta ion for the British fleet, but it has now been practically abandoned by the Admiralty.

TRISTAN D'ACUNHA.

TRISTAN D'ACUNHA, which was garrisoned until the death of Napoleon I., is the largest of a group of three islands, lying west by south of the Cape of Good Hope, at a distance of nearly 1,700 miles.

Tristan D'Acunha is a barren volcanic rock, the highest point of which reaches 6,400 feet above the sea. The inhabitants, about 70 in number, have a few sheep and cattle, and grow potatoes, &c. Provisions are sent them, at intervals, by the British Government.

1. St. Helena was discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, on St. Helena's Day, hence its name. The English took possession of it in 1651.

AMERICA.

The great western continent, or the "New World,” as America1 is called, lies between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, and extends from the unknown regions about the North Pole, to within 2,350 miles of the South Pole, a distance of over 9,000 miles. The western or Pacific Coast of America is remarkably regular, but the eastern or Atlantic Coast is so deeply indented, that the two great masses, into which the continent is divided, are united only by a narrow isthmus the Isthmus of Panama.

Each of the two great divisions-North America and South America—are continental in point of magnitude, North America having an area of about 9 million square miles, and South America, 7 million square miles, and are thus regarded as forming two continents. The narrow isthmus-region between the two main masses is distinguished as Central America. The greater part of North America is west, and nearly all South America is east, of the 80th meridian of West longitude. Central America lies between the meridians of 70° and 100° West longitude.

The width of the American continent varies exceedingly, being 3,100 miles under the 45th parallel N. lat., 3,200 miles under the 5th parallel S. lat., while the intermediate isthmus is, at one part, only 28 miles across. To the north, the land stretches east and west along the 70th parallel N. lat. for 2,500 miles, exclusive of Greenland, while to the south it rapidly decreases in width, and terminates in a group of islands. Owing to this comparative narrowness, the New World is less than one-half the size of the Old World. Its total area16,000,000 square miles-is about 4 times the extent of Europe, and rather larger than that of Europe and Africa taken together.

The extreme points of the mainland are Murchison Peninsula (72° N. lat.) on the north; Cape Froward (53° 54' S. lat.) on the south; Cape Branco (34° 50 W. long.) on the east; and Cape Prince of Wales (168 W. long.) on the west.

Compared with the Old World, the greatest dimensions of America are from north to south, while those of the Old World are from east to west, and thus no part of the former is so distant from the sea as the central region of the latter. America also, notwithstanding its immense area, has no vast deserts like those which render so large a portion of the eastern continent barren and uninhabitable; and further, the almost unbroken continuity of the great ranges which skirt the western shores of America, has no parallel in the Old World.

NORTH AMERICA.

NORTH AMERICA is the northern division of the Western Continent, or the New World, and is much larger and far more important than South America, to which it is united by the narrow Isthmus of Panama.

1. America was named after Amerigo Vespuce, a Florentine who linde 1 on the north coast of South America in 1497 A.D., and, on his return to Europe, published an account of the New World. America was seen by Europeans long before the time of

Columbus. In the roth ce tury. Nereyen 1,8 Iceland settled in Greenland and afterwards dis covered, and perhaps colonized, the co Mryt southward, which they called Finland, of the country of the vine.