MONTSERRA T 3*7
north of west from Antigua, so that the volcanic
range of this island group is shorter at both ends
than the calcareous bulwark to the east. T he island
is nearly oval, twelve miles long and eight miles
wide at the most, and two thirds of its area is taken
up by volcanic mountains, which give slight evidence
of their wonted fires in puffs of sulphurous vapour
from L a Soufrière. The culminating peak of the
sierra is 3000 feet above the sea, and some of the
heights are inaccessible on account of sheer precipices
and impassable chasms. T h e eastern slopes
are steep and covered with forests, containing valuable
timber, but those of the west are gentler,^ and
in former times were covered with plantations,
mostly of sugar-cane.
A bit of enterprise in Montserrat has shown that
some things can be done as well as others. Some
thrifty Quakers back in the fifties began raising
limes and extracting the juice, and the new industry
has grown until it supplies the English
market with lime juice and citric acid. There are
large groves of lime trees, but there are also fields
of cotton and of arrowroot, and this is one of
the most densely peopled and prosperous of all
the islands, though that only signifies some 10,-
000 people, for the habitable area is small. Its one
town is Plymouth in the south-west, neatly built
and thriving, but with hardly two hundred white
residents. There is no harbour, and the place is
only visited by coasting vessels from St. John or
Basse-Terre. T h e climate is mild and healthful and
the scenery picturesque, and Montserrat has been
called the “ Montpelier of the W e s t ,”