60 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 
greenhouse if I had been able to transmit the cases so as to suit the 
arrival of the steam-ship. Certainly the Gorgades of the ancients are - 
among the most picturesque spots in the world, and their deep and 7 
closely-shut valleys, watered by narrow streams, presented to my de- 
lighted eyes all the riches of a tropical vegetation. But everywhere the 
sea-coast is one sandy desert, partially and scantily decked, during the — 
few weeks of rainy season, with transient verdure, chiefly consisting of 
Grasses and a few Leguminous plants of small dimensions. The more 
elevated situations assume somewhat of the character of the Canary 
Islands in their flora; but the species are neither numerous nor showy. - 
Many of the natural families have but one representative: such is the 
case with the Geraniaceæ, Amaryllidee, and Lycopodiacee. A single 
Allium, which, growing near gardens, was probably introduced, is the 
only bulbous plant which I discovered. There are no forests: either - 
they never existed, or the imprudence of the inhabitants or the ravages - 
caused by goats have destroyed them. The Euphorbia Tuckeyana 
grows by thousands, to the exclusion of almost every other shrub on - 
the mountains, which it covers with a dwarfed coppice; while here and 
there some Gum Dragon-trees adorn the crest of a lofty rock; and the 
sea-beach, near the mouths of torrents, produces the Tamaris Senega- 
lensis. Add to these the Jatropha Curcas and the Wild Fig-tree (Ficus 
Lichtensteinii), and you have the entire catalogue of the Dendrologia of 
the Cape de Verd Islands. Acacia Arabica and Dichrostachys nutans 
are nothing better than bushes. 
I might go on in the same strain, and prove to you how hard a step- 
mother Dame Nature has been to this Archipelago; but I will only say 
that if my voyage had been connected with any views of pecuniary Te- 
. muneration, it would have been an utter failure; but as this was not 
_ the case, I do not regret the time I spent at St. Nicholas and St. Vin- 
. cent. I was cheered by much kindness received at the hands of excel- - 
lent people, and I enjoyed perfect health. The herbarium which I col- 
. lected will enable me to add many species to those previously known. 
Still, considering the paucity of the flora, the extreme drought of the 
year, the short-lived character of the vegetation, and the scourges of 
fever and famine, which are perennial visitants of the Cape de Verd 
Islands, I determined on shortening my visit to them. Ten years 
would be required to investigate thoroughly the natural history of the. 5 
groupe; for the brief season of the annual rains is but too little to — 
