498 
VOYAGE TO THE 
CHAP, boerhaavia, sceevola, tournefortia, and other trees and shrubs recall the 
Coral Islands of the tropical regions to our view, while the rosaceae, 
May, onagrariae, etc. remind us of the temperate shores of our own con- 
tinent. The remarkable genus of clerodendrum is here peculiarly 
abundant. Among the trees and shrubs which adorn the heights, the 
bamboo, hibiscus tiliaceus, thespesia popularia, hibiscus rosa sinensis, 
pandanus, piscidium, and several other trees and shrubs, some of 
which were new to us, were found uniting their graceful foliage ; while 
in the gardens we noticed plantain, banana, fig, and orange trees, though 
the latter were apparently very scarce. We were told that they 
had pomegranates, but that they had neither pine-apples, plums, nor 
le-ches, though they were perfectly acquainted with them aU. The 
le-che is a fruit which is said to be peculiar to China : indeed Pere 
J. B. Duhalde, in his Description de la Chine, vol. i. p. 104, says it grows 
only in two provinces of that great empire, Quang-tong, and Fokien. 
P^re Gaubil, however, affirms that it is in Loo Choo, and that they have 
also citrons, lemons, raisins, plums, apples, and pears, none of which 
we saw. 
We were informed that the tea plant was tolerably abundant, and 
that the mild and excellent tobacco which was brought on board was 
the growth of the island. Gaubil affirms they have ginger, and a wood 
which they burn as incense, as well as camphor trees, cedars, laurels, 
and pines. Among the vegetable productions the sweet potatoe ap- 
pears to be the most plentiful ; the climate seemed so favourable to its 
growth, that we observed the tops rising from a soil composed almost 
entirely of sand. Both the root and the leaf are eaten by the natives. 
The soil appears to be cultivated entirely with the hoe, and there 
are very few places on which this kind of labour has not been bestowed. 
Streams of water are not very abundant, and it is highly interesting to 
notice the manner in which the inhabitants have turned those which 
they possess to the greatest advantage, by conducting them in troughs 
from place to place, and at last allowing them to overflow flat places near 
the beach, for the purpose of raising rice and taro, which require a soil 
constantly wet. 
The principal animals which we saw at Loo Choo were bullocks. 
