OF LA PEROUSE. 3O9 



employed in vifiting the different diflri(fl3 of 

 the ifland, which prefents every where a diver- 

 fified and very pidurefque afpedl. The fago- 

 palm is here very common ; it forms the prin- 

 cipal food of the inhabitants, and is even an ar- 

 ticle of exportation. There were large planta- 

 tions of it quite clofe to the Dutch fettlement, 

 in fome marlhes which render this abode very 

 infahibriouSj particularly on the approach of 

 fpring. 



I had no where feen teak-wood fo lofty. Be- 

 hind the town are planted two long avenues of 

 it, the trees of which are near forty meters in 

 heic-ht. In the Moluccas the Dutch build 

 fhips with this wood, which is the moft durable 

 that is known. The cayon pontee of the Malays 

 (melaleuca latifoHa) grows abundantly on the 

 hills. The refident fhewed us a large ftill, 

 which ferved him for diftilling the leaves of 

 this tree, from vv'hich he annually extracfled a 

 great deal of cajepnt oil. 



The Ifland of Bouro contains feveral kinds 

 of wood fit for cabinet work, which are in great 

 requefl: among the Chinefe, and a few others 

 proper for dyeing. Two Chinefe junks were 

 then aground on the mud to the north-weft of 

 the Dutch fort. The village near which this 

 fort is built is called Cayelee in the Malay lan- 

 guage. Such of the natives as follow the Ma- 



X 3 hometan 



