17?8. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. iT/5 



the wood made use of for building, and other ne- 

 cessary purposes ; for not a stick grows upon any 

 of the islands, nor upon the adjacent coast of the 

 continent. 



The learned tell us, that the seeds of plants are, 

 by various means, conveyed from one part of the 

 world to another ; even to islands in the midst of 

 great oceans, and far remote from any other land. 

 How comes it to pass that there are no trees growing 

 on this part of the continent of America, nor any 

 other of the islands lying near it ? They are certainly 

 as well situated for receiving seeds, by all the va- 

 rious ways I have heard o\\ as any of those coasts 

 that abound in wood. May not nature have denied 

 to some soil the power of raising trees without the 

 assistance of art ? As to the drift wood, upon the 

 shores of the islands, I have no doubt that it comes 

 from America. For although there may be none on 

 the neighbouring coast, enough may grow farther up 

 the country, which torrents in the spring may break 

 loose, and bring down to the sea. And not a little 

 may be conveyed from the woody coasts, though they 

 lie at a greater distance. 



There are a great variety of plants at Oonalashka ; 

 and most of them were in flower the latter end of 

 June. Several of them are such as we find in Europe, 

 and in other parts of America, particularly in New- 

 foundland ; and others of them, which are also met 

 with in Kamtschatka, are eat by the natives both 

 there and here. Of these KrasheninikofF has given 

 us descriptions. The principal one is the saranne, or 

 lily root ; which is about the size of a root of garlick, 

 round, made up of a number of small cloves, and 

 grains like groats. When boiled, it is somewhat like 

 saloop ; the taste is not disagreeable, and we found 

 means to make some good dishes with it. It does 

 not seem to be in great plenty, for we got none but 

 what Ismyloff gave us. 



