65 



No. X. 



Idand Mackashan^ the property of Neill Malcolm, 



Esq, 



This island is wholly surrounded by the sea, ex- 

 posed to, or rather standing in the Western Ocean, 

 within a few miles of the great gulf of Coryvreckan, 

 and the strait betwixt it and the main land is navi- 

 gable for large vessels. It is not my design to give a 

 description of the island, but only to show what a de- 

 gree of perfection trees can be brought to, even on the 

 most exposed situations. Here is an island, not only 

 without shelter, but exposed to every wind and blast 

 that blows ; so much so, that sometimes in a storm, the 

 sea spray is known to have been driven nearly over the 

 whole of it, — still trees will not only grow, but arrive 

 at maturity on this island. I need only call the atten- 

 tion of the reader to the trees at present on it as a 

 proof of this. There are a great number of plane trees, 

 and these too on nearly the most exposed part of the 

 island. The girth of one of these trees, at the smallest 

 place of the trunk, four feet from the ground, is eight 

 feet two inches ; there are many more nearly the 

 same size. It may be proper to mention, that these 

 have all been reared from the old stools, some of 

 them are beginning to decay, particularly the largest 

 one J but this is only at the root of the trunk, a little 

 above the surface of the ground; nothing but the 

 ravages of time has done this, for its top is as green 

 as ever in summer. The oak, the ash, the Scotch 

 elm, and plane are growing in great numbers through 

 the island j were it not that it is pastured with sheep 



