38 LARGE TREES—WOOD. Feb. 1827. 
ference.’* The Commodore may have been pleased by the 
appearance of these trees, but must have fancied their quality 
and dimensions such as he describes. ‘The largest are generally 
rotten at the heart, and all are more or less defective. Their 
wood is heavy, and far too brittle for masts: we could not 
use it even for boat-hook staves. It makes, however, tolerable 
plank for boat-building, and, when seasoned, might be used in 
ships. For common purposes, such as houses, or fences, it is 
very serviceable. 
We wandered about to examine the country ; but, except- 
ing the track of some quadruped, whose foot was small and 
cloven, rather like a pig’s, we saw nothing new. The traces 
of foxes were numerous every where. We found no fish of 
any description in the river. Geese and wild ducks were 
numerous, whose young were at this time scarcely fledged, and 
an easy prey. We also observed here, for the first time, the 
parroquet, which Bougainville described to be common in the 
Strait. He carried specimens home with him; but some 
naturalists of those days decided that there must have been a 
mistake, because, as they averred, parroquets did not exist in 
so high a latitude. Bougainville, however, made no mistake, 
for the species} is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Port 
Famine, and has been seen by us in all parts of the Strait. It 
feeds principally upon the seeds of the Winter’s-bark. The 
existence of this bird in ‘Tierra del Fuego is also mentioned by 
Cook and Narborough.* 
* Toc. 
+ Psittacus smaragdinus, Gmel. I have no doubt that the bird we 
saw is the same as Bougainville procured, and from which a description 
has been given in the Ency. Méth., art. Ornith. 139; although a material 
error is made, for they are not splendidé viridis, nor is the wropygium red ; 
in other points, however, the description is correct. See Buffon’s Hist. 
Nat. des Oiseaux, vi. 262. Pl. enl. n. 85, Perruche des Terres Magel- 
laniques, 
* Bougainville says, ‘we have likewise perceived some perrokeets ; 
the latter are not afraid of the cold.’ To which the English translator, 
T. R, Forster, who is incredulous of the correctness of Bougainville’s 
assertion, appends the following note : “ Perruches, probably sea-parrgts, 
or 
