Page:The crater; or, Vulcan's peak.djvu/116

 i 10 THE CRATER; to the eyes, a pleasure to look upon. The young man understood the laws of vegetation well enough to be cer tain thai could the roots of grasses once insinuate them- sehes into the almost invisible crevices of the crust thai covered *he place, they would of themselves let in light, air and water enough for their own wants, and thus in crease the very fertility on which they subsisted. He did not fail, however, to aid nature, by scattering a fresh sup ply of guano all over the hill. While Mark was thus employed at home, Bob rowed out to the r^ef, bringing in his fish in such quantities that it occurred to Mark to convert them also into manure. A fresh half-acre was accordingly broken up, within the cra ter, the oool of the mornings and of the evenings being taken for the toil ; and, as soon as a bed was picked over, quantity, -j offish were buried in it, and left there to decay. Nor did Betts neglect the sea-weed the while. On several occasions he floated large bodies of it in, from the outer reefs, which were all safely landed and wheeled into the crater, here a long pile of it was formed, mingled with loam from Loarn Island, and guano. This work, however, gradually ceased, as the season advanced, and summer came in earnest. That season, however, did not prove by any means as formidable as Mark had anticipated, the sea- breezes keeping the place cool and refreshed. Our mari- neis now missed the rain, which was by no means as fre quent a it had been, though it fell in larger quantities when it lid come. The stock had to be watered for several weeks, the power of the sun causing all the water that lodged in the cavities of the rocks to evaporate almost im mediately. During the time it was too warm to venture out in the dingui, - .cept for half an hour of a morning, or for as long a period of an evening, Mark turned his attention to the ship again. Seizing suitable moments, each sail was loosened, thoroughly dried, unbent, and got below. An awning was got out, and spread, and the decks were wet down, norning and evening, both for the purposes of cleanliness, and to keep them from cheeking. The hold was now entered, and overhauled, for the first time since the accident. A great many useful things were found in