508 VEGETATION. 



should have changed names and masters so often, with 



O * 



such advantages in climate, situation, and productiveness. 

 It has been called Swan Island by the Portuguese, Mau- 

 ritius by the Dutch, and Isle of France by "La Grande 

 Nation," for each has held it in rotation, and now the 

 British Lion's paw is on it. In the general character of 

 its vegetation, Mauritius is somewhat similar to that of 

 the Cape in the number of succulent plants, Cactuses, 

 Spurges, Aloes, House-leeks, Fig-marigolds, &c. Many 

 plants from Europe, Africa, Madagascar, and India are ac- 

 climated, and flourish well. Among others I noticed the 

 Cycas circinalis, Chrysanthemum Indicum, and the Ar- 

 gemone Mexicana, which notwithstanding its name, is very 

 common, and when in flower, its large yellow petals and 

 glaucous prickly leaves have a very pretty appearance. 

 Shady groves of Mango and dense masses of Mimosa 

 are met with, in short, nearly every beautiful tree of the 

 tropics. While staying at Port Louis, I accompanied Sir 

 Edward Belcher and Sir David Barclay some miles into 

 the interior, and spent a very delightful day at Sir 

 David's country house, a pleasant villa situated half-way 

 up a mountain, and surrounded with beautiful grounds. 

 Numbers of flowers, natives both of India and Europe, 

 flourished luxuriantly in the garden; the dry, prickly- 

 leaved Euphorbia of Madagascar, with the succulent-leaved 

 Mesembry anthem urns of the African coast; the sweet 

 Rose of Persia, with the wild flowers peculiar to the 

 island. The Heliotrope in dense masses, and the sweet- 

 scented Verbena in hedges, were contrasted with Mimosas, 

 Cassias, and Palm-trees. A stream of clear water from 

 the mountains ran through a channel, and filled tanks in 



