localities whence Ebony was gathered for fuel, and Gumwood felled
for building purposes, where now no trace of either can be seen.
Persons 'living in the Island can also recollect losing their
way in the Gumwood forests at Longwood, where now grassy plains
with scarcely a tree exist.
Of the low-land plants, the Scrubwood is perhaps the most
abundant now remaining; and next to that the Frankenia. Most
of the others are found only as isolated individuals; but all
of these, which occupy the outer portion of the Island, are scarcer
than the Gumwood and the Rosemary, which are plants of mid-
.altitude ; and these latter in their turn are less plentiful than some
of the high-land species. The most abundant indigenous plant
at present is undoubtedly the Whitewood Cabbage-Tree; the Black-
wood is the nex t; while then in order of quantity comes the He-
Cabbage-Tree, followed by the She-Cabbage-Tree, with the Dogwood
perhaps taking the next position. Some species have dwindled
down to a single plant only; this is the case with the Psiadia
rotundifolia, which had almost been classed with the extinct species,
until, after long and patient search, I experienced the great delight
of discovering one tree of it in the Black field at Longwood Gate.
I t is an old tree, probably the only one alive anywhere, and
wood that is neerest to the ffort—viz., at the head of Sayne Valley. —MSS. Records,
1678. .
“ That one day in the week it employs all the Blacks to fetch wood from the Horse
pasture and Greatwood.”—S S S . Records, 1709.
“ Nearly all the Ebony wood was burnt up in providing 1000 or 1200 bushels of lime
for building the Castle on Munden’s Point."—MSS. Records, 1709.
“ We find ye place called the Great wood in a flourishing condition, full of young tree3,
where the Hoggs (Of w'1 there is a great abundance) do not come to root them up. But
ye Greatwood is miserably lessened and destroyed within our memories, and is not near the
circuit and length it was. But we believe it does not contain less now than fifteen hundred
acres of fine woodland and good ground, hut no springs of water but what is salt or brackish,
w°h we take to he the reason that that part was not inhabited when ye people first chose
out their Settlem** and made Plantations; hut if wells could he sunk, which ye Govemr sayes
he will attempt when we have more hands, we should then think it ye most pleasant and
healthiest part of ye Island. Bnt as to healthiness we don’t think ’twill hold so, if the wood
y* keeps ye land warme were destroyed, for then ye rains w°k are violent here would carry
away ye upper soil, and it being a clay marie underneath would produce but little; as it is,
we think in case it were enclosed it might he greatly improved." . . . “ When once this
wood is gone the Island will soon he ruin’d.” . . . “We viewed the wood’s end which joyns
to the Honb18 Compys Plantation called the Hutts, but the wood is so destroyed that the
,beginning of the Great wood is now a whole mile beyond that place, and all the soil between
being washt away that distance is now entirely barren.”—MSS. Records, 1716.
“ Several persons, in contempt and defiance of the ancient laws made for the preservation
of The Greatwood, have nevertheless lately felled and caryed away several young trees
from that part called The Flagstaff and Deadwood.”—MSS. Records, 1727.
likely soon to follow the fate of the Ebony and Stringwood, both
of which, after much careful seeking for them, I am inclined to
believe exist no longer.
I saw the Ebony once about twenty years ago ; it was growing
in a garden on the high land, one miserable little plant, only six
inches in height, and yet it blossomed. Further than this, I have
only seen the crooked, hard old stems disentombed from the surface
soil in the locality of Lot’s Wife, and similar barren spots. Dr.
Roxburgh, in recording this plant as “ a native of the barren rocks
near the sea, and not far from Sandy Bay, on the south side of the-
Island,” says that he saw it in two gardens only, where it had in.
many years grown to the height of two to three feet, with many
longer branches spreading flat on the ground, well decorated with
abundance of foliage and large beautiful flowers, which are white
when they first expand, but become pink or rosy by age. The few
trees that were then alive (1813) in their native soil and situation
are described by him as “ being 10 to 15 feet high, their
trunks crooked, and about as thick as a man’s th ig h ; the branches
very numerous, spreading,” &c. &c. I t is fortunate that Dr.
Burchell made a drawing of this p lan t; and with the kind permission
of Dr. Hooker it has been copied. With this exception,
and that of the Stringwood, which has been taken from a dried-
specimen, and also the blossom of Pelargonium cotyledonis, which has-
been kindly supplied by Miss Hooker, from the figure given of it in
r/Heritier’s Geraniacese, the drawings have been made and coloured
from living specimens of the plants.
The beautiful little Stringwood, I last saw about fourteen years
ago, growing as a carefully tended plant in the garden at Oakbank.
I t was only about 18 inches high, but flowering freely.
With its semi-temperate, semi-tropical climate, the Island is
perhaps as well adapted as any spot on the surface of the globe for
an acclimatization station. In this point of view it has, throughout
the last century, been regarded by many persons, including the
Governors, Generals Beatson and Walker, who introduced many new
plants, and did much to extend and improve the exotic vegetation;
but little or no practical use has been made of it for acclimatization
purposes. Through the exertions of these gentlemen and others, the
exotic flora has been gradually enlarged until it reaches about 971
species, which have found their way thither from all parts of the