Deserts or 



suffice even for hardy evergreens, birches, and other small 

 trees, whose roots often grow in immediate contact with 

 the rock. But one thing is absolutely necessary. If the 

 soil be shallow, moisture must be abundant. 



The soil of St. Helena was rich, being formed by the 

 slow decay of volcanic rocks, but it was not deep, and 

 was only kept in place by the roots which held it fast. 

 The Portuguese brought goats to the island, and by these 

 destructive animals the luxuriant vegetation was in great 

 part destroyed, for they multiplied by thousands. There 

 was a wanton waste of wood, too, on the part of the 

 human inhabitants, though some were far-sighted enough 

 to predict that the island would be ruined when the 

 * 'great wood" was destroyed. And so, sure enough, it 

 was. 



Gradually the soil became more and more exposed, and 

 whenever this was the case, it was washed away by the 

 violent rains, leaving bare rock and utter barrenness 

 behind. Still the destruction was allowed to go on, until, 

 as the timber rapidly vanished, not only did the soil fol- 

 low, but the rain deserted it also, and the governor, taking 

 alarm, reported that the island, hitherto abundantly 

 watered, was beginning to suffer from drought. 



But the authorities — the island was then in the hands 

 of the Hon. E. I. C. — were not to be persuaded that 

 there was any connection between the loss of trees and 

 the want of rain, and returned for answer that the goats 

 were more valuable than the ebony-trees, and were not to 

 be destroyed. So the goats stayed, and the ebony-trees 

 went; and the general aspect of St. Helena became that 

 of a dreary, rocky desert. 



On the other hand, a change greatly for the better has 



