and paTtlculdrly the Island of St, George, 333 



its entrance is strongly barricadoed by the projecting point 

 of another island. It is edged round with blackish rocks, 

 varying in height from 5 to 25 feet. When viewed at a 

 distance, these rocks resemble a long hillock, the inequali- 

 ties in which constitute so many small valleys. Upon the 

 heights the soil is dry and sandy, and frequently ihe bare 

 rock is seen : in the low grounds, on the contrary, the earth 

 15 a brown clay slighily moistened, and its vigorous vegcta* 

 tion announces its extreme fertility. 



Three fourths of the island are covered Vvlth wood ; the 

 rest is partly cultivated, or so barren that it is not suscepti* 

 ble of cultivation. 



The plants peculiar to the island arc few in number : and 

 although my journeys through the island were very rapid, 

 I think I may safely affirm that the number of species does 

 not exceed 140 or loO. Among these plants we find seve- 

 ral bclonffincr to the antient continent, which do not sccni 

 to have been of a nature to occasion them to be tran.-jplantcd 

 here : these are, the verbascum thapsus, anagaUis arvensis, 

 mcrairialis annua, leontodon taraxacum^ pUnitago major, 

 urtica urcns^ gcntiana nana, oxalis acetosclla, Sec. We 

 also find here the great cabbage palm tree, chamccrops pal- 

 meto^ and the rhm toxicodendruvi of North America. As 

 to other plants, I could only ascertain a small number of 

 them ; but I collected seeds of all those which had been 

 preserved the year before, among others a strawberry plant, 

 the aromatic flowers of which resemble sage, and it is on 

 this account called sage-bask by the inliabitants ; a beautiful 

 species of veibcna, and a small medicago, each foot of which 

 scarcely occupies an inch of ground ; this is ihe most com* 

 nion plant in the country, forming almost the whole of the 

 verdure every where; the surface of the ground not beintr, as 

 in Europe and the United States, covered chieHy with the 

 grasses, of which last there are very few kinds in the Ber- 

 mudas. 



The juniperus Bermudiana, called by the inhabitants ce^ 

 dar, is the only forest tree in these islands : the whole arc 

 nearly covered vviih them ; and it is this tree which, when 

 seen in clumps at a distance, gives a dull and sombre ap-^ 



pearance 



