142 VOYAGE IN SEARCH 



blown down by the violent fouth-eaft winds. 

 Thefe trees, the roots of which are nearly hori- 

 zontal, take little hold of the foil ; fometimcs 

 they occupy in their fall a large extent of ground, 

 which at a diftance exhibits all the appearances 

 of a wall railed by the hand of man. 



The rineil trees in this country are fpecies of 

 eucalyptus ; their ordinary thicknefs is fix meters ; 

 I meaiured fcveral of them that were not lefs 

 than eight meters and a half in circumference. 

 The fpungy bark of the eucalyptus re/Inifera, be- 

 come flippery from the humidity that conitantly 

 prevails in thefe thick forcfts, ftill augmented 

 the difficulty of penetrating into them. This 

 bark is detached with the greater! eafc in pieces 

 extremely pliant, which the natives make ufe 

 of to cover their cabins ; there are flrips, often 

 four decimeters in breadth, which fall off of them- 

 felves from the lower part of the trunk ; it is 

 not difficult to pull off pieces of eight or ten 

 meters in length. 



Moll of the large trees, near the fea, have 

 been excavated by fire towards their root. Thefe 

 apertures, which are for the mod part fituated 

 to the north-cad, form a fhelter againft the 

 fbuth-weft wind, which appears to be the moft 

 prevailing and the moll impetuous. There can 

 be no doubt but they are the work of man ; for 

 hey been (ct on fire by accident, as by the 



combuftion 



