U E O E -
TVAjB I»
K I N G D O M
five Hopes, which- the natives, have-; known how- to turn to
advantage by culture; but as we never landed on that part, we-
Ihall confine ourfelves to the Southern ille, at each o f whofe extremities
we touched. T h e profpedt here conlifts o f feveral ranges
o f mountains, one higher than another, the higheft capt with
fnow: their fides- are fteep, their valleys narrow, and the whole
covered with immenfe forefts. T h e only difference between the
Northern and Southern-ends o f the ille, confifts in this.,, that the
latter Hill degenerates into, ruder rocks ; whilft the former in fomes
places has level fpots, clear o f wood, and covered with grades,,
rallies, & c . T h e climate o f this ille is-fo temperate,, that all forts.
of-European garden plants (which we had fown)' vegetated very luxuriantly,
in the midft o f winter-: the indigenous Flora is therefore
very prolific, and the variety o f genera and new fpecies confidera-
ble: but as the country has probably, never fince:its firft exiftencej.
undergone any, changes from the hand o f induftry: its forelb are
perfedt labyrinths, which innumerable climbers, briars,, and Ihrub-
beries, twining together, render . almoft wholly impenetrable,
whilft they in great meafure prevent every herbaceous plant from
coming up : thefe laft therefore, are only found on the beaches,
along the edge o f the valley, and are almoft entirely compofed 'of
antifeorbutics and pot-herbs.
T IE R R A
T I E R R A D E L F U E G O .
S t i l l , as we advance to the South, the appearance o f countries v e g e t
a b l e
becomes more and more barren. Tierra del Fuego, at the South k i n g d o m
extremity of America, always labours under the rigors o f cold, and
all its Weftern coafts are barren, rocky mountains, whofe tops are
continually covered with fnow. In a bay where we anchored to the
North-Weft o f Cape Horn, we found fcarce any traces o f vegetation,
except on fome low little -ifles, whofe thin turf,, which covered
the rock, was quite marfhy , and in the loweft bottoms o f
vallies, or the crevices o f mountains, where fome ill-lhaped,
wretched Ihrubberies were to be found, fcarce ever growing to fuch
a height, as to-deferve the name o f trees. A ll the higher parts of
the mountains are black rocks, perfeftly naked. In the final! catalogue
o f plants, we however find the celery, which Providence has
diftributed fo univerfally, as one o f the belt remedies againft the
fcurvy. T h e North-Eaft fide o f Tierra del Fuego, flopes into a
kind o f plain, and looks more rich in vegetables, but we did not
land upon it.
N E W G E O R G I A .
W hen we faw the barren fide of Tierra del Fuego, we had fcarce
an idea of a more wretched country exifting; but after ftanding
fometime to the Eaftward, we met with the ille of New-Georgia,
which,