58 RIO TO TERRA DEL FUEGO CHAP. III 
(Betula antarctica),' a beech (Fagus antarctic), and winter’s 
bark (Winterana aromatica),? are all worth mentioning, the 
two first for timber, the other for its excellent aromatic 
bark, so much valued by physicians. Of other plants we 
could not ascertain the virtues, not being able to converse 
with the Indians, who may have experienced them; but 
the scurvy grass, Cardamine antiscorbutica, and wild celery, 
Apium antarcticum, may easily be known to contain anti- 
scorbutic properties, capable of being of great service to 
ships which may in future touch here. Of these two, there- 
fore, I shall give a short description. Scurvy grass is found 
plentifully in damp places near springs, in general every- 
where near the beach, especially at the watering-place in 
the Bay of Good Success. When young and in its greatest 
perfection it lies flat on the ground, having many bright 
green leaves standing in pairs opposite each other, with an 
odd one, in general the fifth, at the end. When older it 
shoots up in stalks sometimes two feet high, at the top of 
which are small white blossoms, which are succeeded by 
long pods. The whole plant much resembles what is called 
Lady’s-smock in England, only that the flowers are much 
smaller. Wild celery greatly resembles the celery in our 
gardens, only that the leaves are of a deeper green; the 
flowers, as in ours, stand in small tufts at the top of the 
branches, and are white. It grows plentifully near the 
beach, generally on soil which is just above the spring tides, 
and is not easily mistaken, as the taste resembles celery or 
parsley, or rather is between both. These herbs we used 
plentifully while we stayed here, putting them in our soup, 
etc., and derived the benefit from them which seamen in 
general find from a vegetable diet after having been long 
deprived of it. 
The inhabitants we saw here seemed to be one small 
tribe of Indians, consisting of not more than fifty of all 
1 Both the beech and birch are species of beech (Fagus): one, F. betuloides, 
Mirb. (the birch of Banks), is an evergreen ; the other, F. antarctica, Forst, is 
deciduous-leaved. 
2 Drimys Winteri, Forst. 
