50 ST. HELENA 



the goats that ranged there, we thought it for your Honours' interest, 

 for the preservation of wood, and the welfare of the island, to order 

 the goats there to be killed. 



To this the Court replied : 



The goats are not to be destroyed, being more useful than ebony. 



But the most remarkable testimony to the existence of 

 huge forests is that of July 1709, when in conference it is 

 stated : 



Our necessity is so great for want of coals that we thought it 

 would put a full stop to our work, but do find that ebony wood 

 will burn lime extraordinary, and just by where the wood lies are 

 mountains of lime stone, and it will be cheaper to our honourable 

 Masters to bring lime from thence ready burnt (being light), than 

 to fetch that sort of wood (which is very heavy) and bring it to 

 Jamestown. 



This is clear evidence that the island abounded with trees, 

 but of those huge forests, alas, very little remains. Ebony, 

 redwood, white cedar and cotton were all indigenous ; the 

 principal trees were the gumwoods, which formed the lower 

 portion of the forest contiguous to the sea, and higher above 

 mingled with these were ebony and redwood. Above the 

 latter, succeeded the cabbage- trees, extending up the central 

 ridge to its summit, where they were joined as at present by 

 the tree-ferns. Few gumwoods now remain, except at 

 Longwood, where they were planted within an enclosure 

 by Government in 1780, when the decrease of wood had 

 occasioned great alarm. The ebony has become entirely 

 extinct, and is only found in small pieces on a few spots of 

 the island. The red wood narrowly escaped the same fate, 

 and is very scarce ; the honour of its preservation is due to 

 Governor Byfield, who, having accidentally met with two 

 young trees in 1730, caused them to be removed to planta- 

 tion grounds, and protected till they produced seed. 



The original Flora of St. Helena should be carefully dis- 

 tinguished from that which has been gradually formed on 

 the introduction of numerous plants from various countries. 

 The association of plants in this island will be found ex- 

 tremely curious, and the circumstances, which enable species 

 of very different habits to flourish equally well in the same 

 spot, notwithstanding their constitutional diversity, are 

 deserving of particular attention. Tree ferns are found 



