Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/116

58 (Betula antarctica), a beech (Fagus antarctica), and winter's bark (Winterana aromatica), are all worth mentioning, the two first for timber, the other for its excellent aromatic bark, so much valued by physicians. Of other plants we could not ascertain the virtues, not being able to converse with the Indians, who may have experienced them; but the scurvy grass, Cardamine antiscorbutica, and wild celery, Apium antarcticum, may easily be known to contain antiscorbutic properties, capable of being of great service to ships which may in future touch here. Of these two, therefore, I shall give a short description. Scurvy grass is found plentifully in damp places near springs, in general everywhere near the beach, especially at the watering-place in the Bay of Good Success. When young and in its greatest perfection it lies flat on the ground, having many bright green leaves standing in pairs opposite each other, with an odd one, in general the fifth, at the end. When older it shoots up in stalks sometimes two feet high, at the top of which are small white blossoms, which are succeeded by long pods. The whole plant much resembles what is called Lady's-smock in England, only that the flowers are much smaller. Wild celery greatly resembles the celery in our gardens, only that the leaves are of a deeper green; the flowers, as in ours, stand in small tufts at the top of the branches, and are white. It grows plentifully near the beach, generally on soil which is just above the spring tides, and is not easily mistaken, as the taste resembles celery or parsley, or rather is between both. These herbs we used plentifully while we stayed here, putting them in our soup, etc., and derived the benefit from them which seamen in general find from a vegetable diet after having been long deprived of it.

The inhabitants we saw here seemed to be one small tribe of Indians, consisting of not more than fifty of all