NOTES ON A VISIT TO EASTER ISLAND 7 



dyline iennhialis f:a).^ From the earliest descriptions is seen that the island 

 was never wooded; planted Eucalypts, Melia azedarach and other subtropical 

 trees do pretty well, however. 



In his »Informe» (Memorias del Ministerio de Relaciones esteriores, culto 

 i colonizacion, Santiago 1892), P. P. TORO says: »En otro tiempo formo (i. e. 

 the toromiro) sin duda bosques pues en diversas partes de la isla se ven todavia 

 innumerables i tupidos troncos secos de dos a tres metros de alto. Parece in- 

 dudable que esos bosques naturales han desaparecido, secandose la mayor parte 

 de los arboles a consecuencia principalmente de la introduccion de animales 

 vacunos i ovejunos que han quebrado las plantas o les han comido la corteza.» 



Thomson and especially Cooke also speak of the numerous groups of 

 trees of small dimensions: »In other parts of the island may be seen, in places 

 in considerable numbers, a hardwood tree, more properly bush or brush, called 

 by the natives toromiro, all or nearly all dead and decaying by reason of 

 being stripped of their bark by the flocks of sheep which roam at will all over 

 the island*. 



When Cook visited the place in 1774, he certainly did not come across 

 anything like a forest, for he expresses himself thus: »the country appeared 

 quite barren and without wood». Both ROGGEVEEN and FoRSTER (A voyage 

 round the world. London 1777, Vol. I) assert that there was nothing like a 

 forest on the island. FoRSTER gives a good description of the general appear- 

 ance of the place; he mentions about ten species of plants, among them paper 

 mulberry, Hibiscus populneus and Mimosa: whether Hibiscus still occurs^ I 

 cannot tell, but the Mimosa is certainly Sophora; this was the largest tree, 

 and a very small one: »there was n6t a tree upon the island, which exceeded 

 the height of ten feet». In some places, on the hills, Sophora seems to have 

 formed small shrubberies. FoRSTER did not estimate the flora to comprise 

 more than twenty species, including the cultivated plants. On board the »Ba- 

 quedano», Bishop EDWARDS showed me a letter from Brother EUGENIO Eyraud, 

 the missionary of the island, to his Superior General in Valparaiso, dated 

 December, 1864. He writes: »la vegetacion toda de yerbas y arbustos, fal- 

 tando los arboles y plantas elevadas». It is possible that Brother EUGENiO 

 includes the toromiro within his »arbustos». They cannot have been of any 

 considerable size, or he would not have pointed out that trees were missing. 

 A toromiro of 3 m. decidedly has the look of a small tree, not of a shrub, 

 especially in a place where there are no larger plants to compare it with. 

 TORO must be mistaken when he believes that there had grown forests on the 

 island not long before his arrival. Mr. CoOKE does not tell if he saw the 

 numerous trunks himself or if he was only told of their existence. 



^ In Anuario Hidrogr. de la Mar, de Chile (30) 1916, p. 55 C. De la Maza mentions a 

 small indigenous tree which he calls »tumahiti». »La madera del tumahiti es bastante dura y 

 mas o menos flexible. Lo utilizan los canacas para construir yugos, arados etc. Es el unico 

 arbol que crece libremente en toda la isla.» The fruit is described as oval-shaped, yellow, 

 I cm. long, with a stone within, and of bitter taste. There is, however, no tree growing freely 

 over the island. The description of the fruit suggests Melia, but this is called miotaijl (vide 

 F. FuENTES, Resefia botanica de la Isla de Pascua. Inst. Centr. Meteor, y geofi's. de Chile. 

 No. 4. Santiago 191 3). Tumahiti sounds like a corruption for te mahute, the paper mulberry, 

 which certainly cannot supply materials for the implements mentioned. 



