142 THE NATURALIST IN BERMUDA. 
entirely to wood; producing no fruit. The Strawberry bears 
sparingly. Melons thrive well, when the season is not too 
dry. The common sorts are very inferior. Water Melons, 
both round and oval, grow well. Cucumbers produce 
well, if sown early. The Bottle Gourd, introduced from 
Malta, by the 42nd Highlanders, grows remarkably well. 
Vegetables, of many kinds, viz.:—Onions, Potatoes,* 
(common and sweet), Pumpkins, Cabbages, Carrots, Turnips, 
Parsnips, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Radishes, Leeks, Challots, &c., 
do well, considering the climate, though the cabbage kinds 
are sadly perforated by grubs and caterpillars. Indian 
corn of several varieties is grown, chiefly for use as a vege- 
table, and Guinea corn for green fodder. Barley begins to 
ripen in April; and the small patches of this grain are 
sometimes harvested by women, who clip off the ears with 
scissors, and carry them in their aprons. Oats are seldom, if 
ever, known to produce seed. Wheat produces a large, 
indifferent, ill-filled, husky grain, and is not sown for crop. 
Hemp, sown in gardens, comes to perfection, and seeds 
well, much to the satisfaction of the red birds. Flax grows 
wild by the road side. 
The Yam (Dvioscorea alata), is not cultivated in the Ber- 
* Large quantities of onions and potatoes are annually exported from the 
Bermudas; the former, principally to the West Indies; the latter, to the 
United States. Good prices are usually obtained for these vegetables; and, 
doubtless, if labour were more abundant, and the landed proprietors could 
only be persuaded to till the best portions of the land, now covered with 
cedar and sage scrub, they would eventually become much richer men, for 
they have a ready market for both these easily cultivated roots. 
We forwarded a package of seeds of various kinds of English vegetables, 
about a year ago, to a friend resident in the Islands, and he gives us a very 
favourable account of their growth and yield; so we presume that in spite 
of drought, hurricanes, &c., most vegetables and fruits, whether boreal or 
tropical, will do well in the Bermudas. 
