THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 



519 



Oftober. 



The learned tell us, that the feeds of plants are, by va- "-s- 

 pious means, conveyed from one part of the world to ano- 

 ther; even to iflands in the midft of great oceans, and far 

 remote from any other land. How comes it to pafs, thac 

 there are no trees growing on this part of the continent of 

 America, nor any of the iflands lying near it .' They are 

 certainly as well fituated for receiving feeds, by all the va- 

 rious ways 1 have heard of, as any of thofc coafls are that 

 abound in wood. May not nature have denied to fome 

 foil the power of raifjng trees, without the allillancc of an > 

 As to the drift wood, upon ihe fhorcs of the iflands, I have 

 no doubt that it comes from America. For although there 

 may be none on the neighbouring coaft, enough may groW' 

 farther up the country, which torrents in the fpring may 

 breakloofe, and bring down to the fea. And not a little may 

 be conveyed from the woody coaCls, though they lie at a 

 greater diftance. 



There are a great variety of plants at Oonalafhka ; and 

 moft of them were in flower the latter end of June. Se- 

 veral of them arc fuch as we find in Europe, and in other 

 pans of America, particularly in Newfoundland ; and others 

 of them, which are alfo met with in Kamtfchatka, are eat 

 by the natives both there and here. Of thefe, Krafhenini- 

 koff has given us defcriptions. The principal one is the 

 J'araniie, or lily root ; which is about the fize of a root of gar- 

 lick, round, made up of a number of fmall cloves, and 

 grains like groats. When boiled, it is fomewhat like faloop; , 

 the talle is not difagreeable, and we found means to make 

 fome good diQics with it. It does not feem to be in great 

 plenty ; for we got none but what IfmylofF gave us. 



We muft reckon amongfl; the food of the natives, fome 

 other wild roots ; the ftalk of a plant refembling angelica; 



and 



