194 
HISTORY OF MAURITIUS- 
destruction of almost all the wood which covered the island of Madeira, on the first 
discovery of it. This conflagration, it is said, lasted seven years. 
In the Isle of France, the banks of the rivers were no sooner deprived of their 
shade, than the water became wholesome; but the destruction of all the wood in the 
environs of Port Louis, was a fatal error, as it is now exposed to the violence of 
the winds, as well as to the heat of the sun, and several of the neighbouring rivulets 
have been dried up.* 
At this moment (1740) an eighth part of the island is not yet cleared, so that 
it will be long before the population is equal to the extent. 
If, however, we are not rich in cattle, we possess a great abundance of fowl, 
as well as both land and sea turtle, which are not only a great resource for the sup¬ 
ply of our ordinary wants, but serve to barter with the crews of ships who put in 
here for refreshment in their voyage to India. 
The time of my arrival, which was the month of August, is the winter season 
in this island; if I may employ such an expression in a country where the houses 
are built without chimnies, except for the purposes of the kitchen. 
The summer is very dry, and the ground is in a state of aridity during that season. 
The warm rains then succeed, giving such vigour to vegetation, that the weeds 
frequently prevail over the regular crops, which are twofold in the course of the 
year. In this season is sown the maize, which serves as the food of the Negroes, 
as well as the rice, which the Creole ladies prefer to the finest bread, though simply 
boiled in water, and without the least seasoning: they however season their favourite 
dishes,.which they call Caris and Piets , with the hottest spices. 
In the months of May and June we sow our corn, which we reap at the end of 
September, as well as various kinds of beans, the greater part of which is sent to the 
magazines of the Company, to be ready for supplying the ships. Corn generally 
produces an hundred-fold. 
When the grass springs up in the rainy seasons, it is necessary to take care that 
the cattle do not gorge themselves with it, which would be attended with fatal con¬ 
sequences. This year has been marked with sterility, and our island is menaced 
with dearth: indeed, it has happened that the Negroes and labourers have been 
.necessarily sent to live by hunting in the woods, or the produce of the waters. 
* These inconveniences however are fully counterbalanced, if it be true, that the cessation of 
hurricanes, since the year 1789, has been caused by the great diminution of the woods. 
