THE MUTINEERS AT riTCAIRN 173 



comrades were murdered by the latter, who in their turn were 

 killed by the remaining four Europeans. One of these men 

 discovered the art of distilling an intoxicating liquor from a 

 root, and thus introduced a new element of discord among the 

 romnants of the unhappy band. He died the victim of his own 

 invention, by precipitating himself in a fit of delirium tremens 

 into the sea; another of the four was shot in self-defence by 

 ^'oung and Adams, the only two that were destined to die of a 

 natural death ; and thus in this case also we see the ancient 

 truth confirmed, that none but bitter fruits proceed from crime. 



The wonderful luxuriance of tropical vegetation is perhaps 

 nowhere more conspicuous and surprising than in the magnificent 

 ]\lusaceae, the banana (Musa sapientuni), and the plantain 

 (\fusa paradisiaca), whose fruits most probably nourished 

 mankind long before the gifts of Ceres became known. 

 A succulent shaft or stem, rising to the height of fifteen or 

 twenty feet, and frequently two feet in diameter, is formed of 

 the sheath-like leaf-stalks rolled one over the other, and ter- 

 minating in enormous light-green and glossy blades, ten feet 

 long and two feet broad, of so delicate a tissue that the slightest 

 wind suffices to tear them transversely as far as the middle 

 rib. A stout foot-stalk, arising from the centre of the leaves, 

 and reclining over one side of the trunk, supports numerous 



i clusters of flowers, and subsequently a great weight of several 

 hundred fruits about the size and shape of full-grown cucumbers. 

 On seeing the stately plant, one might suppose that many years 

 had been required for its growth; and yet only eight or ten 

 months were necessary for its full developement. 



Each shaft produces its fruit but once, when it withers and 

 dies ; but new shoots spring forth from the root, and before the 

 year has elapsed unfold themselves with the same luxuriance. 

 Thus, without any other labour than now and then weeding the 

 field, fruit follows upon fruit and harvest upon harvest. A 

 single bunch of bananas often weighs from sixty to seventy 

 pounds, and Humboldt has calculated that thirty-three pounds 

 of wheat and ninety-nine pounds of potatoes require the same 



^ space of ground to grow upon as will produce 4000 pounds of 

 bananas. 



