ry; and perhaps might (independent of its wood) be
compared to Africa, about the Cape of Good Hope, though that lies ten
degrees farther northward, rather than to New Zealand, on its other
side, in the same latitude, where we find every valley, however small,
furnished with a considerable stream of water. The heat, too, appears to
be great, as the thermometer stood at 64, 70, and once at 74. And it was
remarked, that birds were seldom killed an hour or two, before they were
almost covered with small maggots, which I would rather attribute merely
to the heat; as we had not any reason to suppose there is a peculiar
disposition in the climate to render substances soon putrid."

"No mineral bodies, nor indeed stones of any other sort but the white
sand one already mentioned, were observed.

"Amongst the vegetable productions, there is not one, that we could
find, which afforded the smallest subsistence for man."

"The forest trees are all of one sort, growing to a great height, and in
general quite straight, branching but little, till toward the top. The
bark is white, which makes them appear, at a distance, as if they had
been peeled; it is also thick; and within it are sometimes collected,
pieces of a reddish transparent gum or rosin, which has an astringent
taste. The leaves of this tree are long, narrow, and pointed; and it
bears clusters of small white flowers, whose cups were, at this time,
plentifully scattered about the ground, with another sort resembling
them somewhat in shape, but much larger; which makes it probable that
there are two _species_ of this tree. The bark of the smaller branches,
fruit, and leaves, have an agreeable pungent taste, and aromatic smell,
not unlike peppermint; and in its nature, it has some affinity to the
_myrtus_ of botanists."

"The most common tree, next to this, is a small one about ten feet high,
branching pretty much, with narrow leaves, and a large, yellow,
cylindrical flower, consisting only of a vast number of filaments;
which, being shed, leave a fruit like a pine-top. Both the
above-mentioned trees are unknown in Europe."

"The underwood consists chiefly of a shrub somewhat resembling a myrtle,
and which seems to be the _leptospermum scoparium_, mentioned in Dr
Foster's _Char. Gen. Plant._; and, in some places, of another, rather
smaller, which is a new _species_ of the _melaleuca_ of Linnaeus."

"Of other plants, which are by no means numerous, there is a _species_
of