BY CLIVl-: [.OUD, K.f-.S. 



17 



"planted, only one apple tree remains alive and in a healthy 

 "state, and perhaps being now habituated to the soil, may, if 

 "it escapes the accidents that are incidentally more than wind 



"and weather, provide fruit I have never seen 



"any reason to hope that the hojrs left by Captain Cook, or 

 "any breed of them, were alive. I am, however, sans^uine in 

 "my expectations that the cock and two hens I have now left 

 "will breed and become wild. Perhaps the most valuable 

 "of the articles I have this time planted are nine fine young 

 "oak plants, about 8 inches high. They were planted in East 

 "Cove, on the slope of the hill on the left-hand side of the 

 "flat as you land, about 200 or 300 yards from the water 

 "side. A little below the oaks are planted five fig trees, 

 "three pomegranates, three quinces, and twenty strawberry. 

 "On Penguin Island and Grass Point we sowed fir seed, apri- 

 "cot and peach stones." 



The above extract does not quite agree with a previous 

 entry in the log, as in the first instance the 'number of fig 

 trees planted is given as three, which was apparently the 

 correct number, for Labillardiere, in describing D'Entre- 

 casteaux's visit to Adventure Bay in February, 1793, just a 

 year after Bligh had left, states (1800, p. 324) :— "We saw 

 "three young fig trees, two pomegranate trees, and a quince 

 "tree they had planted, which had thriven very well, but it 

 "appeai'ed to us that one of the trees they had planted in 

 "this country had already perished, for the following in- 

 "scription, which v/e icund en the trunk of a large tree near, 

 "mentions seven: — Near this tree Captain William Bliyh 

 "planted seven Fruit Trees, 1792. Messrs. S. and W. Botan- 

 "ists. The other inscriptions were couched in similar terms." 



Bligh refers to the fact that the "wigwams," as he 

 term^ the rough shelters of the natives, had large heaps of 

 "muscle shells and some oysters and ci'awfish in them." 

 Comment is also made on the fact that no fish bones were 

 seen near the natives' feeding places, but Bligh was not 

 aware that the Tasmanian aborigines did not eat scale fish. 

 Reference is also made to the observation that the natives 

 appeared to avoid the sea waves as much as possible, and 

 when gathering shellfish along the shore they would quickly 

 retire before an advancing wave. Bligh considered that the 

 natives retired during the boisterous season of the year to 

 places not exposed to the sea winds, and fi'om the number 

 of fires seen inland, Bligh came to the conclusion that the 

 native population was larger than had been previously sup- 



