388 cook's voyage to july, 



weather. When they blow fresher, the weather is 

 often cloudy, though open ; and, in such cases, there 

 is frequently rain. The wind sometimes veers to the 

 north-east, north north-east, or even north north- 

 west, but never lasts long, nor blows strong from 

 thence ; though it is commonly accompanied by 

 heavy rain, and close sultry weather. The quick 

 succession of vegetables has been already mentioned ; 

 but I am not certain that the changes of weather, 

 by which it is brought about, are considerable 

 enough to make them perceptible to the natives as 

 to their method of life, or rather that they should be 

 very sensible of the different seasons. This perhaps, 

 may be inferred from the state of their vegetable 

 productions, which are never so much affected, with 

 respect to the foliage, as to shed that all at once ; 

 for every leaf is succeeded by another, as fast as it 

 falls ; which causes that appearance of universal and 

 continual spring found here. 



" The basis of the island, as far as we know, is en- 

 tirely a coral rock, which is the only sort that pre- 

 sents itself on the shore. Nor did we see the least 

 appearance of any other stone, except a few small 

 blue pebbles strewed about the Jiato okas ; and the 

 smooth, solid black stone, something like the lapis 

 lydius, of which the natives make their hatchets. 

 But these may, probably, have been brought from 

 other islands in the neighbourhood ; for a piece of 

 slatey, iron-coloured stone was bought at one of 

 them, which was never seen here. Though the co- 

 ral projects in many places above the surface, the 

 soil is, in general, of a considerable depth. In all 

 cultivated places, it is commonly of a loose black 

 colour ; produced, seemingly, in a great measure, 

 from the rotten vegetables that are planted there. 

 Underneath which is, very probably, a clayey stra- 

 tum ; for a soil of that kind is often seen both in the 

 low, and in the rising grounds ; but especially in se- 

 veral places toward the shore, where it is of any 



