December kird. Of infedts too there was a great variety, and fome of
<— v— ' them very beautiful; but they were much more nimble than
thofe of Europe, efpecially the butterflies, moft of which flew
near the tops o f the trees, and were therefore very difficult
to be caught, except when the fea breeze blew freffi, which
kept them nearer to the ground.
The banks of the fea, and of the fmall brooks which
water this part of the country, are almoft covered with the
fmall crabs called Cancer varans; fome of thefe had one of the
claws, called by naturalifts the hand, very large ; others had
them both remarkably fmall, and of equal fize, a difference
which is fa id to diftinguilh the fexes, that with the large
claw being the male.
There is the appearance of but little cultivation; the
greater part of the land is wholly uncultivated, and very
little care and labour feem to have been bellowed upon the
reft; there are indeed little patches or gardens, in which
many kinds of European garden fluff are produced, particularly
cabbages, peas, beans, kidney-beans, turnips, and white
radifties, but all much inferior to our own: water melons
and pine apples are alfo produced in thefe fpots, and they
are the only fruits that we faw cultivated, though the country
produces mufk melons, oranges, limes, lemons, fweet
lemons, citrons, plantains, bananas, mangos, mamane apples,
acajou or cafhou apples and nuts ; jamboira of two
kinds, one of which bears a fmall black fru it; cocoa-nuts,
mangos, palm nuts of two kinds, one long, the other round;
and palm berries, all which were in feafon while we were
there.
Of thefe fruits the water melons and oranges are the beft
in their kind; the pine apples are much inferior to thofe
' that I have eaten in England; they are indeed more juicy
and
and fweet, but have no flavour; I believe them to be natives >768.
_ , . , . t i c * _ . . December.. of this country, though we heard or none that at this time >, - -
grow w ild ; they have, however, very little eare bellowed
upon them, the plants being fet between beds of any kind
of garden-fluff, and fuffered to take the chance of the feafon.
The melons are ftill worfe, at leaft thofe that we tailed,
which were mealy and infipid ; but the water melons are
excellent; they have a flavour, at leaft a degree of acidity,
which ours have mot. We faw alfo feveral fpecies of the
prickle pear, and fome European fruits, particularly the
apple and peach, both which were very mealy and infipid-
In thefe gardens alfo grow yams, and mandihoca, which
in the Weft Indies is called Caffada or Caffava, and to the
flour of which the people here, as I have before obfervedr
give the name of Farinha de Paa, which may not improperly
be tranflated, Powder of poll. The foil, though it produces,
tobacco and fugar, will not produce bread-corn; fo that the
people here have no wheat-flour, but what is brought from
Portugal, and fold at the rate of a Ihilling a pound, though
it is generally fpoiled by being heated in its paffage, Mr..
Banks is of opinion, that all the produdls of our Weft Indian
iflands would grow here; notwithftanding which, the inhabitants
import their coffee and chocolate from Lifbon.
Moft of the land, as far as we faw of the country, is laid;,
down in grafs, upon which cattle are paftured in great
plenty; but they are fo lean, that an Engliftiman will fcarcely
eat of their flelh: the herbage of thefe paftures confifts principally
of ereffes, and confequently is fo fliort, that though
it may afford a bite for horfes and Iheep, it can fcarcely be
grazed by horned cattle in a fufficient quantity to keep them
alive.
This country may poffibly produce many valuable drugs y
but we could not find any in the apothecaries {hops, except
4 pareira.