Azores, a-zo'res, a group of islands in the Atlantic, 800 miles off the coast of Portugal. Area, 922 square miles. Population, 256,291. The islands have long been a possession of Portugal. The name is derived from a Portuguese word meaning a hawk. The entire group is volcanic. Repeated eruptions and earthquake shocks are reported, the latest in 1867. It is interesting to know what plants and animals are found in these rugged islands so far out at sea. Of 478 species of plants, only four grow in America, forty are found nowhere but on the Azores, and over 400 are native to the mainland of Europe. Tropical fruits, such as the orange, lemon, and banana are raised to advantage. Hemp and the ordinary cereal grains are produced. Wine and figs are exported. Of wild animals, the rat, mouse, weasel, and ferret have followed civilization. Bats are found in the cliffs. The coasts swarm with fish. Several species of birds are so numerous as to injure the fields of small grain seriously. A bounty offered for their destruction includes the canary. The Britannica is our authority for a statement that the bounty for a single year represented a long list of 420,000 birds, including the bullfinch, chaffinch, redbreast, blackbird, and canary. The woodcock, partridge, quail, and snipe are found in the islands.