HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
193 
above the shoulders of the cattle that are brought from Madagascar, and serve as a 
saddle to those who ride on them. One of these lumps will weigh from thirty to 
forty pounds, and upwards. Its grease, however, is very unpalatable, and instantly 
coagulates: hence it is that we prefer hog’s-lard and turtle oil, which never 
congeals. 
The water of the rivers appeared at first to be unwholesome, as it gave the 
cramp to the young ducks, and brought on the bloody-flux in those persons who 
drank them : a quality natural to all waters which are shaded by woods from the 
influence of the sun. For though it is injudicious to strip an hot country of its wood, 
it is dangerous to inhabit it when entirely covered with forests, particularly in the 
vicinity of water. 
• • The temperature of a country lately discovered, or newly inhabited, may be 
entirely changed by destroying the wood; though such a measure should be adopted 
with great .consideration^ according to the heat of the climate, and the nature of the 
soil. It would be necessary to leave the woods on the mountains, and a certain 
proportion of them on the plains, in order to attract the clouds, and to feed the 
sources of those streams, which, on quitting the shade, would be purified by the sun, 
before they arrive in those parts,.beneath the hills, which are generally preferred by 
new settlers for their habitations; they would then refresh the grounds which are 
prepared for pastures in the bottom of vallies. Meadow, as well as arable land, 
should be partially decorated with masses of wood, inclosing lines, or single trees: 
they should also be left or planted in such a manner that the air may freely circulate 
through them ; while at the same time they may protect the crops from destructive 
winds and parching heat. 
The woods which are felled must v necessarily be burned; and their ashes will 
not only fertilize the soil, but purify it from reptiles and insects. This plan how¬ 
ever will be adopted, with the exception of those trees which may be applied to useful 
purposes; and magazines of them must be formed, to prevent the future devastation 
of those parts where it may be necessary to preserve them. 
On the first settlement of any country, a regular and general plan should be formed, 
by which all future operations should be governed; and when fire is employed to 
clear the ground, and a small number of settlers have no other means of performing 
such an operation, the axe must be used to direct its course, and check its expansion 
beyond the limits submitted to its fury. A neglect of such precautions caused the 
Cc 
