A. FE. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. 181 
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26.—Liffects of Deforesting. 
The rapidity, extent, and injurious effects of the early deforesting 
of the islands can best be understood by reference to the early 
records of ordinances, laws, proclamations, and official letters, and 
from the contemporary narratives that have come down to us. 
The shipwrecked company of the Sea Adventure first settled down 
near the eastern shore of St. George’s Island, and built there the 
larger vessel of cedar. The greater part of the 150 persons lived 
there during most of their stay of nine months, including the whole 
of the winter. As they had only huts of palmetto leaves, they 
doubtless burned large quantities of cedar wood for fuel. 
In fact, one writer speaks of the great fires that they kept con- 
tinually burning, probably for signals. They also cut down, as 
Strachy says, thousands of palmettoes for their cabbage-like heads, 
on which they mainly depended for vegetable food. Therefore the 
eastern part of St. George’s Island was the first place that was 
denuded of forest trees. Moreover, a large part of the early settlers, 
1612 to 1620, remained in that vicinity and continued to cut the 
cedars and palmettoes in the same way. 
In Governor Butler’s “ Historye,’ he mentions that in 1619 the 
Company assigned 400 acres of the “common lands,” on these same 
hills of St. George’s, for the support of the governor. But he says 
that even then the land here was of ‘no worth at all” for cultiva- 
tion, and could be used only for pasturing cattle. 
This shows how rapidly the forests had been destroyed here, 
during the first seven years of occupancy, and the marked decrease 
of fertility in the soil. 
It will be most convenient to discuss in detail the causes, extent, 
and effects of the deforesting, under the three principal trees 
involved, because each one has a different history, peculiar to itself. 
a.—The Bermuda Palmetto (Sabal Blackburniana Glazebrook) ; 
its History. 
FicuREs 4, 32, 39, 40; anp Puate LXIV; Ficure1. Pruare LXVII; Ficure 2. 
This very useful tree is one of the few plants that are peculiar to 
the Bermudas.* 
* This palmetto is pretty fully illustrated by Mr. W. B. Hemsley in the voyage 
of the Challenger, Botany, i, p. 70, plates vi to ix, 1885. The swamp variety is 
also figured in the ‘‘ Garden and Forest,” vol. iv, July, 1891, pp. 302, 307. 
Trans. Conn. Acap., Vou. XI. 38 May, 1902. 
