536 
FOURTH BULLETIN OF 
Goats are also abundant. 
A large land tortoise is found on the mountains, some having the weight of 
thirty pounds. I also found a smaller kind weighing three or four pounds. Bot h 
kinds were excellent as food. They belong to different genera; the former to 
Testudo, the latter to Pyxis. 
The vegetables and animals being purchased at a low price, and fresh water 
being easily obtained a short distance up the river with little labor, has caused this 
port to be much frequented by whalers and ships going to the East Indies when in 
want of provisions. 
It would certainly be a great advantage to persons navigating the seas, and par¬ 
ticularly to those engaged in the whaling trade, to have the orange, banana, cocoa- 
nut, pine-apple, and other tropical fruits introduced here, which are so essential to 
health in tropical climates. Those fruits no doubt would flourish here, the climate 
and soil appearing very propitious, and the inhabitants are disposed to cultivation. 
It would be preferable to have them introduced from the Brazils, as the fruit of 
South America is much superior to that found on the eastern coast of Africa. 
The geological character of this vast island is yet but imperfectly known. The 
Europeans who have resided in the interior describe the formations as principally 
primitive, and containing ores of the mere important metals used in the arts . Of 
these, the most abundant are iron and copper, the ores of the former being very 
rich, and the only one of wh : ch the inhabitants have the knowledge of smelting. 
The cliffs of St. Augustin Bay are four or five hundred feet high, and are com¬ 
posed of a secondary limestone of not very ancient date. The strata are nearly 
horizontal; the inferior consists of a coarse conglomerate largely intermixed with a 
ferruginous sand, which readily decomposes ana yields to the force of the breakers. 
The superior strata of a firm white fine grained limestone, which would give excel¬ 
lent lime. From the terraced manner of the rocks, and their perforation by shells, 
now several feet above high tide, it is evident that there is a gradual upheaving of 
the land nere. No trace of ore has been discovered in this part of the island, but 
it is probable that coal may exist between the secondary formations here and those 
of the primitive of the opposite cost. The natives here manufacture spears, but 
the iron they obtain principally from whale ships. 
October, 1844.—The exceedingly short stay at Mozambique caused the observa¬ 
tions and collections to be but few. The island of--, in the harbor of 
Mozambique, is elevated about fifteen feet above high tide, and has sufficient soil in 
some places to support large trees. The rock on which it is based is a conglome¬ 
rated carbonate of lime formed of comminuted coral, madrepore shells, &c. The 
rock disintegrates very readily from the waves striking against the base, forming 
large caverns, which in time become unsupported and fall in, and thus the island at 
present is much smaller than formerly. 
Near the northern part of the island the water is very shallow, and the bottom is 
an entire bed of coral, upon which are found several species of asteria, echina, 
shells, and many other marine productions. 
Upon the island there grows in great abundance a species of salicarea and dios- 
corea; also the tree mentioned as growing at St. Augustin Bay is also found 
here. A small tree, native here, a species of acaccia, is planted in the city in 
yards as a shade tree. The plant called Argemene Mexicana is growing abun¬ 
dantly in the streets of the city, and no doubt was introduced by the Portuguese. 
This plant has a very wide distribution, being found in the United States, Mexico, 
West Indies, Brazil, Africa, and India. Its medicinal properties are much es¬ 
teemed in different countries. In the West Indies the seeds are used as a substi¬ 
tute for ipecacuanha. In Brazil it is called cardo santo, and the juice is there 
administered to persons bitten by serpents. In India it is used in opthalmia, being 
dropped into the eye ; and it is also used in venereal diseases. Ainsle says, it is 
purgative and deobstruent. 
Several trees of the Ficus Indica were growing in the city. 
But few vegetables, &c., could be obtained here, consisting of a few oranges, 
bananas, cocoa-nuts, mandioc, and cabbage, all of very inferior quality. 
A small quantity of Mocha coffee is cultivated here, for which was asked thirty 
three cents per pound. I was informed that a small quantity of gold dust was 
brought to market here, also a small quantity of ivory. The chief market for these 
