206 VOYAGE TO THE 



Coral islands of the tropical regions to our view, while 

 the rosacege, onagrariae, etc. remind us of the tempe- 

 rate shores of our own continent. The remarkable 

 genus of clerodendrum is here peculiarly abundant. 

 Among the trees and shrubs which adorn the. heights, 

 the bamboo, hibiscus tiliaceus, thespesia popularia, hi- 

 biscus rosa sinensis, pandanus, piscidium, and several 

 other trees and shrubs, some of which were new to 

 us, were found uniting their graceful foliage ; while in 

 the gardens we noticed plantain, banana, fig, and 

 orange trees, though the latter were apparently very 

 scarce. We were told that they had pomegranates, 

 but that they had neither pine-apples, plums, nor le- 

 ches, though they were perfectly acquainted with them 

 all. The le-che is a fruit which is said to be peculiar 

 to China : indeed Pere J. B. Duhalde, in his Descrip- 

 tion de la Chine, vol. i. p. 104, says it grows only in 

 two provinces of that great empire, Quang-tong, and 

 Fokien. Pere Gaubil, however, affirms that it is at Loo 

 Choo, and that there are also there citrons, lemons, rai- 

 sins, plums, apples, and pears, none of which we saw. 



We were informed that the tea plant was tolerably 

 abundant, and that the mild and excellent tobacco 

 which was brought on board was the growth of the 

 island. Gaubil affirms they have ginger, and a wood 

 which they burn as incense, as well as camphor trees, 

 cedars, laurels, and pines. Among the vegetable pro- 

 ductions the sweet potatoe appears to be the most 

 plentiful; the climate seemed so favourable to its 

 growth, that we observed the tops rising from a soil 

 composed almost entirely of sand. Both the root and 

 the leaf are eaten by the natives. 



The soil appears to be cultivated entirely with the 

 hoe, and there are very few places on which this kind 



