MAY 1770 PLANTS AND INSECTS 271 
into the country, and sent out a strong tide. Here we found 
a great variety of plants, several, however, the same as those 
we ourselves had before seen in the islands between the 
tropics, and others known to be natives of the East Indies, 
a sure mark that we were upon the point of leaving the 
southern temperate zone, and that for the future we must 
expect to meet with plants some of which, at least, had 
been before seen by Europeans. The soil in general was 
very sandy and dry; though it produced a large variety of 
plants, yet it was never covered with a thick verdure. Fresh 
water we saw none, but several swamps and bogs of salt ' 
water. In these, and upon the sides of the lagoons, grew 
many mangrove trees, in the branches of which were many 
nests of ants, of which one sort were quite green. These, 
when the branches were disturbed, came out in large numbers, 
and revenged themselves very sufficiently upon their dis- 
turbers, biting more sharply than any I have felt in Europe. 
The mangroves had also another trap which most of us fell 
into. This was a small kind of caterpillar, green and beset 
with many hairs, numbers of which sat together upon the 
leaves, ranged by the side of each other, like soldiers drawn up; 
twenty or thirty, perhaps, on one leaf. If these wrathful 
militia were touched ever so gently, they did not fail to 
make the person offending sensible of their anger, every 
hair in them stinging much as nettles do, but with a more 
acute, though less lasting, smart. 
Upon the sides of the hills were many of the trees yield- 
ing a gum like Sanguts draconis.. They differed, however, 
from those seen on the 1st of May, in having their leaves 
longer, and hanging down like those of the weeping willow. 
Notwithstanding that, I believe that they were of the same 
species. There was, however, much less gum upon them. 
Only one tree that I saw had any, contrary to all theory 
which teaches that the hotter a climate is the more gums 
exude. The same observation, however, held good in the 
plant yielding the yellow gum,’ of which, though we saw 
vast numbers, we did not see any that showed signs of gum 
1 EBucalypti. 2 Xanthorrhea : it has not been mentioned before. 
