OF LA PEROUSE. 347 



the waters which fome volcanic explofion have 

 agitated ; for earthquakes are frequent in thefe 

 feas, and the inhabitants ftill fpoke to us with 

 terror of one, which, twelve years before our ar- 

 rival in the ifland, caufed there the greateft ra- 

 vages ; the houfes were uninhabitable for feveral 

 days, and even fome of them fell in. 



In the ifland of Banda, which is at a little dis- 

 tance to the eaftward of Amboynci, there is an 

 open volcano. 



At Karuku, a fmall ifland a myriameter from 

 Amboyna, and alfo to the eaftward, there are to 

 be met with fprings, the heat of which is fo great, 

 that, according to the account of feveral Euro- 

 peans, they boil an egg hard in five minutes. 

 The burning vapour that iffues from thefe wa- 

 ters is not prejudicial to the trees which are con- 

 tinually warned by it : they difplay, on the con- 

 trary, a very vigorous vegetation. 



The fmall iiland of Karuku is chiefly devoted 

 to the culture of the clove-tree. 



I found in the gardens cultivated by the na-. 

 tives, a few nutmeg-trees, the largeit of which 

 did not exceed feven meters in height, their trunk 

 not being more than two thirds of a decimeter in 

 thicknefs. They were already fhewing a great 

 deal of fruit. The nutmeg delights in the fhade 

 of the large trees ; thefe were fheltered by the 

 canarium commune. It is alfo the tame tree that 



ferves 



