98 
WANDERINGS IN 
SECOND 
JOURNEY. 
The Cock 
of the 
Rock. 
of a bowl reversed, with the buildings on the top of 
it, and you will have an idea of the appearance of 
La Gabrielle. You approach the house through a 
noble avenue, five hundred toises long, of the choicest 
tropical fruit-trees, planted with the greatest care and 
judgment; and should you chance to stray through 
it, after sunset, when the clove-trees are in blossom, 
you wmdd fancy yourself in the Idalian groves, or 
near the banks of the Nile, where they were burning 
the finest incense, as the queen of Egypt passed. 
On La Gabrielle there are twenty-two thousand 
clove-trees in full bearing. They are planted thirty 
feet asunder. Their lower branches touch the ground. 
In general the trees are topped at five and twenty 
feet high ; though you will see some here towering 
up above sixty. The black pepper, the cinnamon, 
and nutmeg are also in great abundance here, and 
very productive. 
While the stranger views the spicy groves of La 
Gabrielle, and tastes the most delicious fruits which 
have originally been imported hither from all parts 
of the tropical world, he will thank the government 
which has supported, and admire the talents of the 
gentleman who has raised to its present grandeur, 
this noble collection of useful fruits. There is a 
large nursery attached to La Gabrielle, where plants 
of all the different species are raised and distributed 
gratis to those colonists who wish to cultivate them. 
Not far from the banks of the river Oyapoc, to 
windward of Cayenne, is a mountain which contains 
an immense cavern. Here the Cock of the Rock is 
