Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/505

Rh Good Hope, which, though by nature a mere desert, supplies abundantly refreshments to all nations who touch there, and this island highly favoured by nature, shows not unaptly the genius of the two nations for making colonies. Nor do I think I go too far in asserting that were the Cape now in the hands of the English it would be a desert, as St. Helena in the hands of the Dutch would as infallibly become a paradise.

Small as the island is, and not raised very much above the surface of the sea, it enjoys a variety of climates hardly to be believed. The cabbage-trees, as they are called, which grow on the highest ridges, can by no art be cultivated on the lower ones, where the red wood and gum wood both grow; these in their turn refuse the high ridges, and neither of the three are to be found in the valleys, which indeed are in general covered with European plants, or the more common ones of the Indies, in all probability originally brought here by ships. This is the more probable, as much the largest proportion of them are natives of England. Among them I may mention the meadow grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), which is the chief covering of their pastures, and to which I am much inclined to attribute the verdure of the island, far exceeding anything I have before seen in equally low latitudes. The furze also (Ulex Europeus), the seeds of which were brought over in the beginning of this century, thrives wonderfully, and is highly praised by the islanders as a great improvement, though they make no use of it except for heating their rooms. Barley was sown here about forty years ago, and produced sufficient to supply the island without any being sent from home. Its cultivation has, however, suddenly dropped, for what reason I could not find out, and since that time has never again been attempted. Yams, the same as are called cocos in the West Indies, are what they chiefly depend upon to supply their numerous slaves with provisions: these, however, are not cultivated in half the perfection that I have seen in the South Sea Islands; nor have they like the Indians several sorts, many of which are very palatable; but are confined to only one, and that one of the worst.