xlii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



wliich is scarcely surpassed in any other vegetable production. In 

 all the ravines of the island duringthe months of rain, the growth 

 has been in proportion. It may therefore be inferred that two 

 crops a year might be produced from all those parts of the island 

 where it grows. These observations will tend to shew the large 

 quantities that might be manufactured if we had sufficient labour 

 for that purpose." 



P'rom Captain Pritchard's remarks, it appears that the ex- 

 pense of manufacturing, when soldiers are employed, is about 

 50 shillings a ton ; and if 10 shillings be added for contingent 

 charges of carriage, cooperage, &c, the whole may be reckoned 

 at ^3. The best Carthagena barilla has been sold at £o6. a ton. 

 If St. Helena barilla should prove of the value of only £oO. the 

 profit to the Honourable East India Company, if their soldiers 

 were employed in manufacturing it, would be very great : conse- 

 quently, this is an export particularly deserving their attention. 



My own observations upon the surprising growth from the 

 old stems and roots in various places, twelve months after the first 

 cutting, fully confirm the opinion given by Captain Pritchard. 

 The experiments made at that time in raising the salsola from the 

 seed are also very satisfactory, since they decidedly prove the 

 possibility of extending the number of plants ; and that by aid- 

 ing nature, and attending a little to the culture of the plant, 

 which might be done at a very trifling expense, the produce from 

 tins island, in the course of a few years, might be immense. 



I found some difficulty in ascertaining the period at which 

 the seed is in a perfect state of ripeness. This, however, might 

 very easily be determined, by gathering a few plants, at intervals 

 of three weeks from the time the blossom shews itself, until the 

 plant has changed its colour, from a pea-green to a yellowish 

 tint. The best season for cutting the salsola is in May, June, 



