HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
108 
“ As soon as we had cleared as much ground as was necessary for our principal 
garden, we sowed our seeds, of which we had great abundance, and of various 
kinds; but those which were brought from Holland were spoiled by the sea air, as 
we had omitted to put them in bottles, and seal them close: we had, however, 
procured others at the Cape of Good Hope. There came up but five plants of the 
common melons, and no more of the water-melon; three of endive, the same number 
of wheat, with some artichokes, purslane, radishes, mustard, stocks, and trefoil. The 
stocks grew to be of a considerable size, but they did not bear flowers, and in a 
short time they all perished. The radishes were all destroyed by the worms before 
they were in a state to be eaten; but the melons required a very small degree of 
cultivation, and produced fruit of an uncommon size and exquisite flavour; and 
though eaten to excess, did not produce 'any unpleasant effect. They were 
in a continual state of production throughout the year; but we found from 
experience, that those which were planted in the shade, succeeded better than 
such as were entirely exposed to the sun. Among the five water-melon plants 
there were two kinds, the red and the white; and they sometimes grew to such a size, 
that the whole party found one of them too much for one repast. When we mixed 
a- few ashes with the earth in which they were sown, they produced an uncommon 
quantity, and acquired an higher degree of flavour.. The artichokes grew most 
luxuriantly, but they yielded a very small fruit; indeed we were disposed to suspect 
that they were of an inferior kind. The endive, purslane, and mustard, exceeded 
our expectations; but we could not, by any cultivation in our power, deprive them 
of a bitter taste. Of the three grains of wheat which were sown, we could preserve 
but one plant. That however put forth more than two hundred stems, and encouraged 
us to expect a proportionable harvest: but the plant soon degenerated, and at length 
produced a kind of tares : a circumstance which caused no common disappoint¬ 
ment, as it deprived us of the pleasing prospect of obtaining bread. 
,£ It is not however to be concluded, that the change of wheat into tares is 
a natural consequence in this island, because such a degeneration often happens in 
Europe; on the contrary, it may rather be supposed to have arisen from the incon¬ 
siderate manner in which the seed was sown. 
(i The air of Rodriguez is very pure and wholesome; and, as a proof of it, not 
one of us was sick during the two years we remained there, notwithstanding the 
great difference of climate and mode of nourishment. The worthy man whose 
remains we left behind us, lost his life in consequence of violent fatigue. The 
