204 cook's FIRST VOYAGE AUGUST* 



of the trees, and gum lac of the ground." The other 

 timber-tree is that which grows somewhat like our 

 pines, and has been particularly mentioned in the 

 account of Botany Bay. The wood of both these 

 trees, as I have before remarked, is extremely hard 

 and heavy. Besides these, here are trees covered 

 with a soft bark that is easily peeled off, and is the 

 same that in the East Indies is used for the calking 

 of ships. 



We found here the palm of three different sorts. 

 The first, which grows in great plenty to the south- 

 ward, has leaves that are platted like a fan : the cab- 

 bage of these is small, but exquisitely sweet; and the 

 nuts, which it bears in great abundance, are very 

 good food for hogs. The second sort bore a much 

 greater resemblance to the true cabbage-tree of the 

 West Indies ; its leaves were large and pinnated, like 

 those of the cocoa-nut ; and these also produced a 

 cabbage, which, though not so sweet as the other, 

 was much larger. The third sort, w 7 hich, like the se- 

 cond, was found only in the northern parts, was sel- 

 dom more than ten feet high, with small pinnated 

 leaves, resembling those of some kind of fern : it 

 bore no cabbage, but a plentiful crop of nuts, about 

 the size of a large chesnut, but rounder. As we found 

 the hulls of these scattered round the places where 

 the Indians had made their fires, we took for granted 

 that they were fit to eat ; those, however, who made 

 the experiment, paid dear for their knowledge of the 

 contrary, for they operated both as an emetic and 

 cathartic with great violence. Still, however, we 

 made no doubt but that they were eaten by the In- 

 dians ; and, judging that the constitution of the hogs 

 might be as strong as theirs, though our own had 

 proved to be so much inferior, we carried them to 

 the stye ; the hogs ate them indeed, and for some 

 time, we thought, without suffering any inconveni- 

 ence ; but in about a week they were so much dis- 

 ordered, that two of them died, and the rest were 



