Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/64

6 contented ourselves with collecting as much as we could in the neighbourhood of the town, never going above three miles from it during our whole stay.

The season of the year was undoubtedly the worst for both plants and insects, being that of the vintage, when nothing is green in the country, except just on the verge of small brooks, by which their vines are watered; we made shift, however, to collect specimens of several plants, etc.

The five days which we remained upon the island were spent so exactly in the same manner that it is by no means necessary to divide them. I shall therefore only say that in general we got up in the morning, went out on our researches, returned to dine, and went out again in the evening. On one day, however, we had a visit from the Governor, of which we had notice beforehand, and were obliged to stay at home; so that this unsought honour lost us very nearly the whole day, a very material part of the short time we were allowed to stay upon the island. We, however, contrived to revenge ourselves upon his Excellency by means of an electrical machine which we had on board; for, upon his expressing a desire to see it, we sent for it ashore, and shocked him fully as much as he chose.

While here we were much indebted to Dr. Heberden, the chief physician of the island, and brother to the physician of that name at London. He had for many years been an inhabitant of the Canaries, and of this island, and had made several observations, chiefly philosophical; some, however, were botanical, describing the trees of the island. Of these he immediately gave us a copy, together with such specimens as he had in his possession, and indeed spared no pains to get for us living specimens of such as could he procured in flower.

We tried here to learn what species of wood it is which has been imported into England, and is now known to cabinet-makers by the name of Madeira mahogany, but without much success, as we could not learn that any wood had been exported from the island by that name. The wood,