AFRICA CAPE VERDE ISLANDS The Cape Verde Islands, subject to Portugal, are a numerous group about 80 miles from Cape Verde. They obtained their name from the profusion of sea-weed found by the discoverers in the neighbouring ocean, giving it the appearance of a green meadow. They are also of volcanic Fernando Po, a very mountainous forest•covered is in the Bight of Biafra. The British settlement of Clarence Town was established in 1827, but afterwards abandoned. The island now belongs to Spain.

St Thomas, immediately under the equator, is a Portuguese settlement; as is also Prince's Island, in 2° N. lat. Annobon in 2' S. lat., belongs to the Spaniards.

Ascension, a small, arid, volcanic islet, was made a British port on the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte at St Helena, and since retained as a station, at which ships may touch for stores. Green Hill, the summit of the island, rises to the height of 2840 feet.

St Helena is a huge dark mass of rock, rising abruptly from the ocean to the height of 2692 feet. James' Town is the only town and port.

Madagascar, the largest island of Africa, and one of the largest in the world, is separated from the Mozambique coast by a channel of that name, about 250 miles wide. The area exceeds that of France.

The high interior of the island is generally very fertile, with magnificent forests and fine pastures watered by numerous rivers, but a belt of hot., swamp land with a deadly climate surrounds the coast.

The inhabitants are diverse races of Negro, Arab, and Malay origin. The Ovahs, a people of the central provinces, are now dominant. The principal town, Antananarivo, has about 80,000 inhabitants.

The French possess the islands of Sante Marie and Nossibe:on the coast of Madagascar, and Mayotta island in the Comoro group.