238 PROFESSOR SMITH’S JOURNAL. 
and we began to form a more favourable idea of the vege- 
tation of the island, than its first appearance from the 
vessel seemed to promise. The shore was covered with 
Convolvolus soldanella, resembling Ipomea; and half a 
dozen unknown plants, which were successively found 
growing among the palms, made us soon regret, in our joy, 
that we had so short a time to stay here. We took a view 
of the structure of the rocks, which on this side the town 
forma perpendicular precipice, and every where along the 
coast consist of five or six strata in the following order. 
Ist. Conglomerate. 2d.'Tufa of pumice-stone. 3d. Pu- 
mice-stone. 4th. A stratum consisting of an uniform and 
somewhat blistered substance. 5th. Basalt. 6th. The 
uppermost stratum, which is similar to the 4th, and by its 
concentric formation, globules &c. made it evident that it 
had been in a fluid state. It resembled the same corres- 
ponding stratum in the Canaries. We went into the town, 
which consists of a few rows of miserable huts, situated on 
a flat rock, about an English mile in circumference, and 
surrounded by the lower part of the valley of Trinidad. 
Most of the inhabitants here, as indeed on the whole island, 
are negroes. Although we discovered nothing but naked 
rocks and withered fields, wherever we turned our eyes, 
yet many different sorts of fruit, poultry, &c. were offered 
to our view, which proves, that the interior of the country 
must have a different appearance. We descended and 
crossed the other valley of palms, travelling over level and 
scorched plains, in grder to join our comrades of the fish- 
ing party. ‘The night was fast approaching. We made 
