n 
found the remains of large trees laid bare 
by the violence of some tempest, carry* 
ing away the strata which covered them* 
At present, however, no kind of wood can 
be made grow ; and it is found extremely 
difficult to cultivate even the lowest and 
most common shrub. This decrease of 
vegetation has not been satisfactorily ac¬ 
counted for. 
The nature of the soil is very different. 
In some places it consists of deep moss, 
with a sandy bottom ; in others the moss 
is only about a foot deep over a stratum 
of clay. The cultivated parts- consist 
generally of a mixture of clay and small 
stones. In some places there is abun¬ 
dance of tough clay, similar to that used 
in Britain in the manufacture of bricks 
or pottery. 
No coal has hitherto been discovered 
in these Islands, but in several of them 
are found limestone, freestone, rock- 
crystal, corals, white spar, iron ore, cop- 
