Botany of Bermuda* 



To account for the origin of vegetable life 

 on isolated islands far distant from any other 

 land— islands such as Bermuda, St. Helena, 

 St. Paul, Aseoncion Island and others, is one 

 of the great problems that the botanist has 

 not yet solved in spite of all the theories put 

 forward. Such a thing as a special creation, 

 science does not acknowledge. The winds 

 could not carry seeds to these distances so 

 far from the mainland, and few, if any, could 

 retain vitality in the ocean drift so far. Birds 

 may carry undigested seeds that will germi- 

 nate under favourable conditions, but the 

 seeds of certain so-called indigenous plants 

 could hardly have been thus transported. It 

 must be borne in mind that the Bermudas 

 are not in the line of the direct flight of biid 

 migration, which lies far nearer to the main- 

 land coast, and it is only under stress of 

 weather or violent winds that flights of birds 

 are driven on these shores, and even then 

 only stragglers from the main body. The 

 only theory that seems to be practical is that 

 the Bermudas are the unsubmerged moun- 

 tain peak retaining plant life enough to re- 

 stock the new land as it gradually rose again 



