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TRACTS

RELATIVE TO

THE ISLAND OF ST. HELENA;

^VRITTEN DURING A RESIDENCE OF FIVE YEARS.

BY

MAJOR-GENERAL ALEXANDER BEATSON, .

/ <

LATE GOVERNOR, &c. &c. &c.

ILLUSTRATED WITH VIEWS

ENGRAVED BY MR. WILLIAM DANIELL, FROM THE DRAWINGS

OF SAMUEL T) AVIS, ESQ. I

LONDON

PRlNTliD BV W. BULMER AND C(t. CLEVEL AND-RO W ;

AND SOLD BY G. AND W. NICOL, BOOKSELLERS TO HJS MAJESTY,

PALL-MALL ; AND J. BOOTH, DUKE-STREET, PORTLAND-PLACE.

1816.

^^

,30

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/

TO

THE HONOURABLE

THE COURT OF DIRECTORS

FOR

THE AFFAIRS OF THE UNITED EAST INDIA COMPANY,

THE FOLLOWING TRACTS,

RELATIVE TO THE ISLAND OF ST. HELENA,

ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,

BY THEIR MOST FAITHFUL AND DEVOTED

1
HUMBLE SERVANT,

ALEXANDER BEATSON.

London :
\st January, 1816.

PREFACE.

It had long been very generally supposed that St. Helena was
a rocky and unproductive island ; mostly devoid of soil ; scantily
supplied with water ; subject to severe and unusual droughts ;
abounding with rats, and wholly incapable of extensive cultiva-
tion, or improvement.

Whether these notions have originated with early writers, or
in hearsay information of passing visitors, or in wilful misrepre-
sentation to answer particular ends, it is unnecessary in this place
to enquire. It will be sufficient to observe, that they were very
prevalent, both in England and at St. Helena, at the period of
my appointment to the Government ; and that soon after my
arrival, having reason to believe they were neither supported by
facts nor appearances, I considered it my duty fully to inves-
tigate the whole ; so as to ascertain whether or not those obstacles ">
to improvement really did exist.

The means that were pursued will be found interspersed
throughout the first part of this Work. The results have been
most satisfactory ; for they have not only exposed the fallacy of
all such notions, but have most clearly demonstrated that many
parts of St. Helena, so far from being desolate and barren, are
pre-eminently fertile ; that the island, in general, is capable of

viii PREFACE.

the highest improvements, both in the cultivation of corn, and
all sorts of vegetables ; and in raising valuable plantations of
fruit and timber trees.

Being aware that investigations of this nature could only be
interesting to a few, and that there are certain points on which
information will naturally be expected in a work treating of
St. Helena, I have therefore endeavoured to adapt it to a more
general class of readers. Accordingly, I have prefixed an Intro-
ductory Chapter, which comprises Geological Facts, tending to
illustrate the primary formation of the island ; Observations on
its Mineral and Vegetable Productions ; Soil and Climate, and
Seasons ; capabilities of Improvement, and on its singular
Strength and Security as a Military Station.

These additional subjects, together with a detailed account of
the Mutiny in 1811 (the only historical event deserving notice
since the year 1808), and a List of Indigenous and Exotic Plants
growing at St. Helena, and some other matters contained in the
Appendix, will put the reader in full possession of every mate-
rial fact that has come to my knowledge, or that has occurred,
during my residence of tive years. The whole is illustrated by
'Six Views of the most interesting parts, and by a Geological Plan
and Elevation. I therefore indulge a hope, that this attempt to
convey to the public more just ideas of this extraordinary
island, may prove acceptable.

The List of Plants, or a Flora of the island, was communicated
by my deceased friend Doctor Roxburgh, a few days before his
death. It is therefore the last work of that indefatigable botanist ;
whose meritorions exertions in improving botanical science, and

PREFACE. ix

in applying it to useful economical purposes, are well known to
the public.

The Views are engraved by that excellent artist Mr, W.
Daniell, from the drawings of my friend Samuel Davis, Esq.
They are most faithful representations, and are peculiarly valu-
able, as illustrations of the geological and military observations.

The Plan and Elevation of the Island are compiled from the
Survey, and the measurement of heights, taken by Major
Rennell ; and from some other documents.

In a book entitled " Tracts," I did not deem it necessary to
touch upon the history of St. Helena : I wished also to preserve
uniformity, by confining this work ^thollij to subjects that have
never yet appeared before the public ; and to prevent enlarging
it beyond the bounds I had prescribed. To those who are
desirous of information upon the localities of the island, from
the period of its discovery to the year 1807, I beg to recommend
to their perusal Mr. Brooke's History of St. Helena, published in
1808 ; which is drawn from the most authentic sources, and is
replete with accurate information.

In attempting to introduce improvements upon an island
where the arts of agriculture were little understood ; where lands
were cultivated by manual labour, without the aid of animals ;
and where prejudices in favour of old customs were strong, it
was obvious there could be no hope of amendment without the
evidence of successful examples.

It was therefore necessary to have recourse to experiments.
Ploughs, and other implements were introduced ; the labouring-
population was increased by the introduction of about three hun-
dred Chinese ; and an improved system of husbandry was carried

* b

X PREFACE.

on, under the direction of an experienced Norfolk farmer. But
it was a long time before the generality of the islanders would
even look at these improvements.* They regarded them as
"mere foolishness;" said " they might do very well in Eng-
" land ; but that in a mountainous country the plough could
" never answer ; that their forefathers had done very well with the
" hoe, and they saw no use or necessity for these new things."

At length, however, when they did perceive the facility with
which extensive fields were broken up ; the rapidity with which
they were prepared by the plough, and the excellent crops of
potatoes and corn that were raised, they acknowledged the supe-
riority of English farming ; and many of the most respectable
soon afterwards followed the example.

Besides giving examples in the use of the plough, and in the
new culture of potatoes, and of corn, it was deemed proper to
explain the principles, and to point out the advantages of the
new husbandry. With this view, I prepared short agricultural
essays, (detailing the progress and results of the experiments)
which were printed, for general information, in the St. Helena
Monthly Register. Thirty of those essays have been selected for
the First Part of this Work. They are placed in the order in
which they were written. The Table of Contents points out the
sections wherein the several subjects are at first discussed, or
afterwards resumed ; so that no inconvenience can arise from
this arrangement : on the contrary, it was the only mode of
shewing the progressive steps that were taken to convjgy useful
information to the landholders ; and to excite amongst them a
spirit of emulation in cultivation and planting.

* Section Xlll. p. SI.

PREFACE. li

The complete success which has attended my eftbrts to im-
prove the husbandry of St. Helena ; and, above all, to substitute
the plough for the spade and hoe, are circumstances not unde-
serving the attention of those who have valuable estates in the
West India islands. According to Mr. Bryan Edwards's state-
ment, founded upon his own experience, it appears, that by
using the plough, in the operation oi holing a sugar plantation,
the labour of slaves is only about one-twentieth part of that
which is required when the same work is performed by the hoe.
In breaking up lands, and preparing them for corn and potatoe
crops at St. Helena, it might easily be proved, that the reduction
of manual labour, by the use of the plough, has been in a much
greater proportion.

If, then, the plough were employed wherever the nature of
the lands will admit, in all those countries where the hoe i« .^n
general use, and consequently where the demand for manual
labour is excessive, it seems reasonable to infer, that such a
change would be productive of infinite advantage. The neces-
sity for manual labour would thereby be reduced, and the bodily
fatigue of the unfortunate slaves would be lessened ; which
would, in all probability, lead to a greater increase of the
present stock. By such means, all those inconveniences, whe-
ther real or imaginary, that are apprehended from the abolition
of the Slave Trade, might, in the course of a iew years, be effec-
tually removed.

Since the abolition of slavery at St. Helena, which took place
in the year 1792, there has been an augmentation in the black
population, which consists of three classes : the slaves of indivi-

xii PREFACE.

duals ; the Company's slaves ; and free blacks. It was intended
to have shewn the actual augmentation during a period of nine-
teen years, that is, since 1793 : but, upon examining the lists in
my possession, it was found that, until the year 1803, the Com-
pany's slaves and free blacks were excluded. On this account I
have been obliged to confine the comparison to the period be-
tween the years 1803 and 1812 ; by which there appears to have
been an increase of 148 from a stock of 1539 men, women, and
children. {See Appendix II.)

/

I

CONTENTS.

Introductory Chapter. — Comprising Geological facts, tending to illus-
trate the Primary Formation of the Island ; Observations on its Mineral
and Vegetable Productions, Soil and Climate; Capabilities of Improve-
ment ; and on its singular Strength and Security as a Military Station,

page i to Ixxxvii.
PART I.

Section I. — St. Helena once a ivoody Island — cause of its Denudation —
Plans proposed for restoring Wood, and extending Cultivation — the
Institution of Goat ranges injurious — Extermination of the Goats
recommended, - _ _ - page 1

Skction II. — Experiments in the Culture of Potatoes — Comparisons of
Manures — extraordinary Power of Guana, or Sea-foul Dung, as a Top-
dressing — Hints to Proprietors of Islands and Rocks in Scotland, 10

Section III. — Easy mode of Thrashing , Cleaning and Preserving all Sorts
of Grain, as practised in India, and various Parts of Europe, recom-
mended in the Infancy of St. Helena Farming, - - ^5

Section IV. — Experiments illustrating the beneficial Effect of frequently
stirring the Soil, _ _ - - - 28

Section V. — Feeding Chickens — an Exposition of the unreasonable and
exorbitant Prices of Poultry at St. Helena, in 1811, - 31

Section VI — On Planting Trees — Groicth of Pineasters — remarkable

Change in the Quality of Fir Timber in St. Helena — extensive Plantations

of Pinensters recommended — Mimosa Myrtifolia [or Botany Bay Willow,)

its rapid groicth — yields innumerable Pods, containing a sort of Pulse fit

for feeding Poultry- — its Culture recommended, - - 32

* c

xiv CONTENTS.

Section VII. — On Potatoes — two Crops in the Year — extensive Culture
recommended— solid Nourishment of, compared with Flour— Culture of
Corn recommended as a green or dry Fodder for Cattle— former heavy
Losses in Cattle ascribed to improvident management- Notices of dry
Seasons and Losses in Cattle from the year 1724 to 1792. — Seasons of
Drought produced by the Operation of some general Cause — severe
Drought at St. Helena in 1791-2 pervaded the Peninsula of India ; and
felt at Montserrat in the West Indies, . - . page 36

Section VIII. — Modes proposed to the Landholders for averting the Evils
incident to Seasons of Drought, - - - 44

^ncTio^YK.— On Pin easter Trees, - - - - 47

Section X. — On Guana, or Sea-fotcl Dung — and Experiments in the
Culture of Mangel IVurzel, - - - 50

Section XI. — On naked Barley or Barley Wheat — Report and Opinions
of Warren Hastings, Esq., and of Sir Hugh Inglis, on the Utility and
Importance of this valuable Corn — Singular Account of its Introduction
at St. Helena, - - - _ _ 59

Section XII. — On clearing Lands of Grubs — Detail of a Set of Experi-
ments, by which is ascertained an effectual Mode of clearing Lands of
those destructive Insects, - _ _ _ - 68

Section XIII. — Notes of Experiments in the Culture of Wheat, Barley,
and Oats — green Crops of Fodder recommended — Suggestions for the

I Improvement of the Pasture Lands — Evil Effects of Feeding a Population
— Comparison of Exports from the Farms in 1789 and 1809. — Plans
suggested for improving the Island, - - _ 77

Section XIV. — Observations upon the Rainy Seasons, from the year 1711
to 1811 — Notices onthe Fall of heavy Rains , Jine Shotcers, and drizzling
Rain, from the \st of January 1806, to the Slst December, 1811 — erro-
neous Notions upon the Effects of heavy Rains at St. Helena; sometimes
damage the low Grounds, but always favourable to cultivated and
pasture Lands. Ahtttract of the Fall of Rain from February 1811 fc/
February 1812, - - - - - - ^^8

CONTENTS. XV

Section XV. — On the Culture of Barley Wheat — Produce, per Acre —
The tenth Part nf an Acre, dibbled, yielded 405 for 1 — Deductions
which prove that from 5\ Ounces of Seed, 900 Bushels of Corn might be
'produced in nine Months at St. Helena — successful Experiment in Malting
and Brewing from Island Barley Wheat, - - _ page 96

Section XVI. — General Observations on Green-fodder Crops — ivoidd
prevent Losses of Cattle in Seasons of Drought — One Acre equivalent to
Fotirteen Acres of the best Pastures — Indian Corn, or Maize, cultivated
in France, and at the Cape of Good Hope, as Cattle Fodder — Its pro-
duce at St. Helena, in less than Four Months from the period of Sotcing,
was Thirty Tons per Acre. Remarks on the Culture of Kidney Beans
— Green-fodder Crops of these recommended, _ , 99

Section XVII. — On Adherence to Old Customs, - - HI

Section XVIII. — Calculators Confessir^ns ; and his Opinions on the new
Husbandry at St. Helena, - - - - II5

Section XIX. — On the Importance ofintmducing Agriculture on the Island
— Erroneous Notions regarding Rats ; not more numerous at the Farms
than in England — successful Method of destroying them, - 124

Section XX. — On Transplanting Wheat— further Remarks ou Grubs —
and on Barley Wheat, _ _ _ - - 134

Section XXI. — On Terracing Lands, and preparing the Sides of Hills for
Cultivation, - - - - - - 141

Section XXII.— Useful Notices on Husbandry at St. Helena — Crops liable
to Attacks of Caterpillars and Aphides — Crops not liable to Lijury from
those Insects — Lord Bacons Idea cf the Generation of Caterpillars
apparently substantiated — .Method tried to prevent their Generation —
the Haulm of Potatoes suggested as an auxiliary Food for Cattle — Expe-
riments to determine the Produce of Coss Lettuce — yields, in three Months
from the period of Sowing, about 15 Tons per Acre — an excellent Food

, for Hogs, - - - - - 146

^ECT'OV X.Xlll.-~ Homefolding of Sheep recommended, ~ 159

xvi CONTENTS.

Section XXIV. — Progress of Agricultural Improvement in 1810-12 —
beneficial Effects of extending Cultivation — the Government commend
the Exertions of some, and animadvert on the Obstinacy and Idleness of
others— flourishing State of St. Helena in the year 1675, - page 161

Section XXV. — Feeding Sheep with Potatoes, and Soiling Cattle recom-
mended, _-_---- 165

Section XXVI. — Doctor Berry's official Letter to Governor Beatson —
suggests the Culture of Kew Nnpal and Cactus Tuna, the Arabian Date,
and Guinea Grass — Doctor Berry's fermenting Balls an excellent
Substitute for Yeast— Captain Haig's Report on Nopal — a nutritious and
valuable Antiscorbutic, - - - _ 168

Section XXVII. — Reply to Doctor Berry s Letter — English Husbandry
acknowledged by St. Helena Farmers superior to their Oivn— Soil and
Climate peculiarly favourable to Cultivation— Accounts received of tJie
spreading Property and Re-production of Potatoes upon Islands in the
South Seas — Experiments to ascertain these Points — Lead to a Singular
and Advantageous Mode of Potatoe Culture in tropical Climates. —
Potatoes a good Preparation for Corn Crops, — Fishery at St. Helena

formerly Productive — Evils of the present System — Improvements sug-
gested.— Establishment of Chinese at St. Helena — Diff'ers from that
generally adopted — Tlieir Pay, Rations, and Occupations. — Trees attract
Moisture and Rain — Cultivated Land has a similar Tendency. — Expe-
^' riment in reaping Barley Wheat — Yields per Acre 10^ Tons of green
Fodder, in two Months from the Time ofSotcing — Loss of Weight when
hayed 100 Pounds in 146. — Hints suggested for ascertaining the relative
Moisture imbibed by cultivated and uncultivated Land. — Nurseries of
Trees established at St. Helena. — Pineasters preferable to Arabian Date

for Clothing the Summit of the Hills. — Favourable Report if Doctor
Berry s Fermenting Balls, - - - 176

Section XXVIII. — Mr. Miller's Directions for rearing Scotch Pine are
applicable to the Pineaster — St. Helena Pineasler Wood described —
weightier than common Fir — thrives upon poor Soil — average Growth

I

CONTENTS. xvii

about two Feet in the Year — sometimes grows more than three Feet.
Plantations of Fi^s at St. Helena more profitable than in Europe —
Compulation of their Value in twenty Years. Negligence and Inattention
to the planting Law much to be regretted — The fittest Trees for St.
Helena Plantations enumerated — Further Notices upon the Growth of
Trees — and upon the necessity of extirpating Goats, and tending
Sheep, - _ - - - page 191

Section XXIX. — 3Ieans of collecting Water on the driest Parts of the
Island, and Observations on the Advantages resulting from this Practice,

198

Section XXX. — Further Observations on the Importance of planting Trees
at St. Helena, 201

PART II.

Narrative of the Mutiny, in December, \S\\, . - - 207

Appendix. — An Alphabetical List of Plants, seen by Dr. Roxburgh growing
on the Island of St. Helena, in 1813-14, - - 295

Appendix II. — Abstract of the Population and Cattle on the Island of St.
Helena from the year 1683 to 1812, extracted from the Records, 327

Appendix III. — The largest Produce of Corn obtained at the Company's
Farwi^m 1814, - - . - 32^^

Appendix IV, — List of Seventy-six different Species of Fish at St. Helena, ^'

ib.

will

DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER, AND DESCRIPTION

OF THE PLATES.

I James Town, St. Helena, to face the Tillepage.

On the left is Rupert's Hill, at the base of which are seen several
buildiiiffs on the wharf. Towards the centre is the fleur d'eaii batterv,
behind which stands the Governor's town residence, called the
Castle. To the right of the castle is the church and other buildings in
the town. The mountain on the right is Ladder Hill, surmounted by
fortifications ; which completely command the town and anchorage.

II. ... James Town and Ladder Hill, to face the first page of the

Introductory Chapter.

This View is taken from the wharf. It also represents the fleur
d'eau battery, and the same buildings behind it, as in No. I. ; together
with the commanding fort of Ladder Hill, and the zig-zag roads
leading to it from the town. The white object on the right, a little
way up the hill, and just above the bow of the boat, is Pattons
Battery.

III. The Lines across the Front of James Town, to face page Ixxxviii.

"', This View is taken from the west extreme of the lines. The declina-
tion of the strata of Rupert's Hill is accurately represented, which
could not be shewn in the two preceding Views, owing to the farther
parts of the hills receding from the point of sight. On the left
extreme is Munden's Battery, with a flag upon it ; and along the
wharf is nearly a front view of the several houses, store-rooms, and
cranes.

IV. James Town viewed from the Road to hoT^a'WOOii^to face page 5S.

This View conveys a perfect idea of the position of James Town,
situated in a narrow valley between two hills. On the left is Ladder
Hill, with its fortifications, opposite to which is Rupert's Hill. The

DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER, &c. xix

whole of the path, which leads from the town, is completely com-
manded by the cannon of Ladder Hill, Saddle Baltery, and High
Knoll. The last fort is not seen, but it is situated about 400 yards
on the left of the point from which this View is taken.

V. The Waterfall at the Head of James's Valley, to face page 110.

This is a beautiful object close to, and within sight of the Briars, at
present the residence of William Balcombe, Esq. The mountain of
High Knoll, rising abruptly at the distance of about four hundred
yards from the Briars, and the opposite craggy hill, give a wildness
and grandeur to this scenery which surpasses every other on this
romantic island.

VI View towards Sandy Bay, to face page 200.

In the fore-ground is Mount Pleasant, the country residence of W.
W. Doveton, Esq. On the left of his dwelling is a singular perpen-
dicular rock of great height, named Lott. The back-ground of this
view is composed of rugged and barren hills, totally denuded,
although it appears by the official records, that in former times they
abounded with ebony trees. It is remarkable that on the summit of
Lott, some trees remain which have escaped the depredations of the
goats.
VIF. Geological Plan and Elevation of St. Helena, to face page 292,
The Plan is compiled from Major Rennell's Survey, and other docu-
ments. The elevation represents the altitudes, above the sea,iac-
cording to his measurements ; which are as follows. "^^

Diana's Peak - - 2700 feet.

Cuckold's Point - - 2672

Halley's Mount - - - 2467
Flag Staff - - 2272

The Barn - - - 2015

Alarm House - - I960

High Knoll - - - - I903
Long Wood House - - 1762

*l

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

1 HE Island of St. Helena being extremely remote from all con-
tinental land and other islands,* and so very singular in its
appearance and structure, has been justly considered a proper
subject for philosophic investigation.

Of its primary formation different opinions are entertained.
Some ascribe its elevation above the surface of the ocean, wholly
to subterranean operations : whilst others contend, from the
striking dissimilarity between the exterior and interior parts,
that it is the remnant of a large island, of which the greater part
has been sunk under water by the force of earthquakes and
volcanoes.

Although conjectures of this sort are sometimes founded upon
rather a superficial view of things, and without that knowledge
of facts which can alone lead to probable conclusions, yet, froi^
all I have observed, during a residence of five years, it seems to
me that the last of these conjectures, which is that adopted by
Mr. Forster, is the most plausible.

If this conjecture could by any means be satisfactorily verified
from the facts I am about to relate (some of which have hitherto
wholly escaped notice) it seems to me that it would be highly

* St. Helena is distant 1200 miles from the Coast of Africa; 1800 /rom South America ;
600 from the Isle of Ascension j and 1200 from Tristan d'Acunha and Gough's island.

b

ii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

important in the progress of geology. It is well known that
islands have emerged from the sea ;* but we have no record (ex-
cepting the tradition of the Atlantiea Insula) of the immersion
of any large portion of land by the effects of volcanoes and
earthquakes.

In viewing the hills on the east and west sides of James's
Town from the anchorage, particularly the north end of Ladder
Hill, we observe numerous strata rising from the base to the
summit (600 feet above the level of the sea) which bear evident
marks that the whole of this huge mass, extending several hun-
dred yards to the westward, has been formed by a long series of
floating lava.

The extreme ends of the strata on the coast, are placed hori-
zontally : but upon examining the sides of the hills, the lava
seems to have descended, at a depression of about 20 degrees,
and apparently from a crater somewhere about the site of the
waterfall, t

Of this crater no positive vestige remains : yet there are some
appearances which might lead to a supposition that the present
waterfall may have been its southern edge, or extremity — that it
was bounded on the north-west by High Knoll, and that sub-
sequently to the formation of that mountain and Ladder Hill,
sof^e tremendous explosion opened a chasm, extending from the
sea to the waterfall, and at the same moment, by tearing away,

* In the year 1707 three or four islands were, by some violent convulsion, produced in
the most southerly part of the Archipelago. The largest of these is called Santorini, and
is as large as St. Helena, being ten leagues in circumference : but in rther respects it
seems totally different, being a rock of pumice stone, covered with only nine or twelve
inches of earth.

t An exact representation of the waterfall is given in Plate II. The summit is 1250
feet above the level of the sea. The stream descends uninterruptedly, 260 feet.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. iii

and precipitating, a large portion of High Knoll into the crater,
may have extinguished it.

This conjecture is at least plausible (if not clearly verified) by
the appearance of High Knoll. The western side is sloping, and
the base of that part (extending more than 1200 yards from north
to south) rests upon the surface of Ladder Hill ; whilst the eastern
side is a stupendous precipitous cliff, the foot of which stands in
James's Valley, at least 260 feet lower than the opposite base on
Ladder Hill. In short, High Knoll, which rises 1903 feet above the
level of the sea, is decidedly but a fragmentof what it has originally
been. One third at least of this mountain has been precipitated
to the eastward, apparently close to the water-fall, and into that
very spot whence the eruptions of lava seem to have proceeded,
and afterwards descended, even to the northern extremity of
Ladder Hill : a distance of 3000 yards. The disruption of High
Knoll has exposed to view many layers of lava, from the base
almost to the summit, which may be traced throughout the whole
distance to the north extreme of Ladder Hill. Hence it seems
reasonable to infer that High Knoll was raised by the eruptions
of a volcano.

The strata on the east side of Ladder Hill point directly to
High Knoll and the waterfall : and it is remarkable that there are
several layers near to High Knoll, high up the cliiFs, from whicK
salt springs ooze, and more especially during the rainy seasons.
These layers have the same declination as the other strata.

There is moreover a very singular vein of red clay on the eastern
side, and near the summit of Ladder Hill (two hundred yards
above the level of the sea) which corresponds in dimensions, ele-
vation, and colour, with another vein on the opposite hill. Several
.strata of slimy mud, very strongly impregnated with marine salt,
are also to be seen on the same face of Ladder Hill ; one at the

iv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

perpendicular height of 30, and another at 300 feet. Hence it
may be inferred, more especially from the correspondency of the
veins of red clay, that some violent convulsion has laid open the
chasm which is now called James's Valley.

Although, from all these circumstances, it seems almost demon-
stratively certain that the hills on each side of James's Valley
have been gradually raised by eruptions from a volcano, succeeded
some time after by tremendous shocks, yet upon viewing many
other parts of the coast, and the interior of the island, we find no
such decisive indications from which a similar deduction can be
formed : but there are many indubitable proofs of considerable
agitations, or changes, apparently unaccompanied with volcanic
eruption.

The most plausible arguments in support of Mr. Forster's
opinion, " that St. Helena has undergone a great and total
" change from a volcano and earthquake, tvhich perhaps sunk the
" greatest part of it in the sea," may be adduced from the cir-
cumstances of the Great Wood ; now called the Plain of Long-
Wood and Dead Wood.

This plain, comprising 1500 acres of fine land, is elevated
2000 feet above the sea, and slopes gently towards the south-
east. In former times it was covered with wood, and was there-
fore called " The Great Wood." So late as ih<tr year 1716, there
were many trees upon it : but in 1724 the old trees had mostly
falleu ; and, as goats and hogs were at that time suffered to range,
all the young trees were devoured. It appears also by the
official records that the trees were, unexpectedly, some years after,
succeeded by indigenous wire grass ;* which now spreads over
its whole extent.

* On the consultation dated the 4th March, 1724, it is stated that grass was well grown
on the Great Wood — and the Government ordered cattle to be pastured there : but on

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. v

How this extensive and beautiful plain could have escaped in
a general devastation, is a question not easily to be solved. Its
gentle slope, and smooth and even surface, and its fertility,
present so striking a contrast to all the surrounding parts, that
one might be disposed to believe it a remnant of primitive land,
which has rem.nned, untouched and unshaken, amidst all those
dreadful convulsions which have agitated and overturned every
thing in its vicinity : or it might, with some plausibility, be con-
sidered a part of" those countries where the earth appears in a
" rude state — where every place capable of producing trees is
" totally covered with wood." f

About a mile and a half to the eastward of Long Wood House,
there are the reuiains of many gum-wood trees. Nothing is left
but the roots and a few inches of bark. Wherefore, it seems
highly probable that the Great Wood may have been of much
larger extent ; and that it also covered the flat piece of land be-
tween Long Wood and the sea : in this case, the whole of the
Great Wood must have occupied a space of not less than two
thousand acres.

It seenis to me that the circumstances of this plain may be of
some importance to the science of geology ; because it affords a
curious and singular contrast, and comparison, with every other
part of the island If such a comparison were undertaken by a
skilful geologist, it might lead to some valuable discoveries ; or,
at least, plausible deductions — not merely concerning the original
formation ot St. Helena, but of islands in general.

the llth of tlie same month it is further stated that this information was not correct — and
the cattle were accordingly or.lered to be removed. These are curious facts, since they
trace the changi- which this remarkable spot of land has undergone : for now, this for-
merly naked plain Rafter the trees had fallen) is covered with a fine sward, and is become
the finest piece of pasture on the island. t M. Buffon,

vi INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

The first notice on record of this plain, is by Governor Roberts ;
who, in a minute of consultation, dated the 9th of April, 1711,
denominates it, " that glorious plain — the finest I ever saw in
" my life, any where."

It is afterwards more particularly described by the Governor
and Council on the 16th October, 1716, in their minutes of a
consultation held upon the spot.

" The Governor and Council met here by appointment. We
" find the place, called the Great Wood, in a flourishing condi-
" tion, full of young trees, where the hogs (of which there is a
" great abundance) do not come to root them up : but the Great
" Wood is miserably lessened and destroyed within our memories;
" and is not near the circuit and length it was. We believe it
" does not contain less now than fifteen hundred acres of fine
" wood land and good ground ; there are no springs of water
" but what are salt or brackish ; which we take to be the reason
" that this part was not inhabited when the people first chose out
" their settlements and made plantations : but if wells could be
" sunk,* which the Governor says he will attempt when we have
" more hands, we should then think it the most pleasant, and
" healthiest part of the island. But as to healthiness we don't
" think 'twill hold so, if the wood that keeps the land warm were
"destroyed; for then the rains, which are violent here, would
" carry away the upper soil ; and it being a clay marlef under-
" neath it would produce but little.J As it is, we think in case

* The sloping surface of Dead Wood is peculiarly favourable for collecting water into
tanks or reservoirs. The means of collectinj^ it in the driest parts of the island are ex-
plained in Section XXIX. page 198.

t This is a mistake : there is no sort of marie on the island.

J This conjecture has proved to be erroneous ; the grass binds the soil, whicli is not 'n\
the least affected by the heaviest rains.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. vii

*' it were enclosed, it might be greatly improved ; but doing that
" would require many hands, the stone, most of it being to be
" brought a good distance,* — but the ground being near to a
" level for above five hundred acres of it, carts may be used. The
" enclosing the whole, we think, would be too great an attempt
" to begin at once ; yet we think nothing more proper than to
" enclose some of the best part, for when once this wood is gone
" the island will soon be ruined."

No traces of lava nor shells are to be seen on this plain, nor
under its surface : throughout its whole extent there is seldom to
be found a stone, of any sort, larger than a walnut: but in dig-
ging ditches for the fences at Long Wood, we lately discovered
considerable beds of small stones resembling gravel. They are,
however, a sort of soft iron stone, easily pulverised : some are
close to the surface, others a foot or two underneath ; and it has
been observed that the crops are always more exuberant where
the soil is intermixed with these stones.

The plough might therefore range over at least 1200 acres of
this plain, without meeting with the smallest impediment. The
soil is excellent, and, in many places, of great depth. This was
ascertained by the Lieutenant Governor, who resided there some
years ago, in making an unsuccessful attempt to find water. In
a ravine, many feet below the surface of the plain, he dug a pit
80 feet deep : in which nothing was found but the same fine soil,
composed of mould and friable clay.

Indeed, if we may judge from a deep ravine, which partly
divides the plains of Long Wood and Dead Wood, the soil and
substratum of friable clay in this part of the island may very

* It is remarkable that upon the eastern side of this " rocky island," there are no good
quarries : tlie only stone to be found, and that is a mile to the westward of Long Wood,
is a kind of indurated clay.

iii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

possibly be several hundred feet deep. This ravine has evidently
been formed by torrents of rain, which, in the course of ages have
opened a large hollow, more than 500 feet across, and about 150
deep ; the sides of this hollow expose to view an infinite number
and variety of beautiful layers of coloured earths, which are
supposed to be of volcanic origin. I am, however, inclined to
believe that the colours are only superficial : this will be noticed
hereafter.

But, it is not merely in this eastern part of the island that
there is soil of extraordinary depth. At the Plantation House,
the country residence of the Governor, which is 1700 feet above
the sea, and four miles west from Long Wood, I ascertained to the
depth of 25 feet, that the soil is uniformly of the same fine quality
as the upper stratum ; and probably it may be so to a far greater
depth.

These accounts of the depth of soil, and of the fine plain of
Long Wood and Dead Wood, will no doubt surprise many who
have been taught to believe, that " St. Helena is a barren and
" unproductive rock :" indeed it will be seen by many facts stated
in the first part of this work, that its lands, of which 2 or -'3000
acres might be ploughed with the greatest facility (and even
much more brought into cultivation) are not infierior in the pro-
duction of wheat and every other grain, and of potatoes and all
sorts of esculents, to the very best lands in Europe.* The annual
produce is indeed mvich greater, on account of the certainty of
two seasons of rain, and two harvests in th«j year.

From what has been noticed of the depth of soil, it seems at
least probable that neither the plain of Long Wood and Dead
Wood, nor the lands in the vicinity of Plantation House, have
ever been touched by volcanic eruptions : otherwise some traces

* See Appendix III.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. ix

would at this day have remained ; and notwitlistanding there be
evident marks of some parts of the exterior boundary <>f St.
Helena having- been formed by lava, and afterwards rent open
and changed by subterraneous convulsion, yet, upon the whole,
there appears to be strong grounds for supposing that the finest
parts of the interior are the remnants of primitive land.

Although the plain above-mentioned appears to have escaped
in the general devastation, yet in its vicinity are evident traces
of the most terrib.^ agitations. The Devil's Punch Bowl,* on
the west — numerous dreary and barren conical hills on the north,
between the plain and the sea, and the deep chasms at Turk's
Cap, and Prosperous Bay, are indubitable proofs that all those
parts have been violently convulsed : but perhaps the most un-
accountable of the whole is, that amidst so much disorder and
confusion there should remain a piece of level land which measures
200 acres.

This remarkable spot is situated a little to the south of the
Great Wood, and half a mile west from the promontory on which
the Prosperous Bay telegraph is erected. It is elevated 5 or 600
feet above the level of the sea ; and is encompassed by low hills
on the south and east, and rather open towards the other points.
The soil is mud, and very strongly impregnated with salt : nothing
grows upon it but marine plants. A water-spout which deluged
the island in March 1786, left a sheetof water, which lay upon this
flat for five or six days afterwards. How so large a portion
of land could have been raised to so great an elevation, without

• The Devil's Punch Bowl extends nearly from Halley's mount to Long Wood. It is
an immense hollow which, in certain points of view, assumes a circular appearance ; and
hence its name. It is 1000 yards from east to west, 700 across, and about 250 yards in
depth. The sides are steep, excepting on the west, where there is some projecting land,
on which stand a house and garden. It is the head of Rupert's Valley.

C

X INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

deranging its original level seems to be more inexplicable than the
formation of all the surrounding parts. These are indeed nothing
more than what is common to many islands, and to many other
parts of the terrestrial globe. The corresponding strata of the
opposite shores of Britain and France, leave no room to doubt but
they were once united. The stratum of shells and mud on the
hills at Agrigentum, three miles from the harbour, and 1200 feet
above the sea, the oyster-shells found on the high mountains in
Jamaica, the fossil bones of elephants found by Mr. Humboldt,
on the Andes, 3280 yards above the level of the sea, and many
other instances that might be adduced, serve only to furnish most
incontestable proof that this globe has undergone many surpris-
ing changes since it was first created.

There are some other circumstances which seem to have escaped
the notice of those who have written upon St. Helena, arising
probably from having taken too short a time to explore it ; or
from not being able to obtain information. Their accounts have
certainly led to several erroneous impressions.

For my own part, I perfectly recollect the idea I had formed of
this place before I resided upon it. I considered it merely as a
rocky island, rising' ahimptly out of the ocean, and having an
iinfathomable depth all around it ; excepting at James's Bay and
Sandy Bay, where the anchorage grounds, as I then imagined,
had been formed by the deposition of soil washed down by the
rains.

Such were my own ideas from the accounts I had read and
heard ; and as I have very strong reason to believe that this is the
general notion of St. Helena, at the present time, it is proper I
should enter a little more into its local and physical circumstances.

That part of St. Helena, which is elevated above water, measures
lOf miles long, 6| broad, and is 28 miles in circumference. The

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xi

coast is on all sides formed by stupendous and almost perpendi-
cular cliffs, rising to the height of from six to more than twelve
hundred feet. The principal accessible inlets are at James's
Town, Rupert's Bay, Lemon Valley and Sandy Bay : all these
have been strongly fortified. Several reefs of rocks, called ledges.
Jut out, to the distance of two to four miles ; others are detached,
some commencing at half a mile or more ; and there is one in
particular called " New Ledge Fishing Bank," whose outer
edge, or extremity, is said to be not less than nine miles distant
from the coast. The soundings, at the farthest part, are 45 to
70 fathoms.

Besides these Ledges there are several detached rocks or small
islands at a little distance ; of which the principal are E^g- Island,
Speery, and George's Island. All these, excepting the last,
which is on the south-east, are situated to the west or south-west ;
and as the New Ledge, which is the largest of the Ledges, or fish-
ing banks, trends in that direction, it may be presumed that this
is also the direction of the higher part of the projecting base of
the island under water.

In respect to the depth of water on the south and east, I have
no particular information — perhaps being to windward of the
island, and not so convenient to the fishing boats, may be thp
reason that those parts have not been hitherto explored.

According to a minute survey, taken by Captain Austin of the
Royal Navy, along the northern face of the island, the bottom of
the sea, extending from Flag-stafi" Bay to Horse-pasture Point,
comprising about IG square miles, shelves very gradually. Three
miles north of the coast at Flag-staffiheve is ground at 82 fathoms ;
and at three-quarters of a mile from Horse-pasture, there are 3Q
fathoms. It appears also by this survey that the bottom is in
general, smooth and even ; consisting of mud, mud and shells.

xii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

sand with specks, here and there coral, and at one or two places,
rock. But; in sounding to the westward the surface was found
by Captains Cowan and Beville* more irregular ; and apparently
resembling the surface of the island, consisting of hollows and
ridges-

Hence it is evident that this island, resting upon a base, which
extends at least 25 miles from east to west, is not " a rock rising
" abruptly," as had been erroneously supposed ; but is rather the
pinnacle of a prominence in the bed of the ocean, gradually
ascending, from unfathomable depths, to 2700 feet above water :
which is the elevation of Diana's Peak, the highest mountain on
the island.

This deduction seems consonant to the opinions of some theo-
rists, who have considered " islands as the tops of lofty mountains ;
" the eminences of a great continent, converted into islands by a
" tremendous concussion of nature :"t but whether the circum-
stances, above stated, may be in any way useful to geologists, or
whether they may throw further light upon the origin and for-
mation of islands, or lead to new conjectures upon the probable
site of the Atlantica Insula, mentioned by Plato, to have been
partially destroyed by an earthquake and deluge, I shall not
presume to say.

If, however, any large island ever did exist in the part of the
Atlantic under consideration, it might be inferred, according to
those theorists, that the islands of St. Helena, Ascension, Sax-
cmberg, Tristan d'Acunha, and Gough's Island, may have been
its " lofty mountains and eminences ;" and that the whole space
within that chain of islands, which is 1800 miles in length, and
about 500 in breadth, has been sunk into the sea.

* Commanders of the Camperdowii cutter,
■f- L'Abb^ Raynal, L'Abbe Pluche, and others.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xiii

It is very remarkable, and well deserving the attention of
naturalists, that a species of gum-wood tree (Conyza gummifera),
whicli is indigenous to the climate of St. Helena, and which has
not, I believe, been discovered upon the opposite continent of
Africa, has been found upon Gough's Island and Tristan
d'Acunha. I have in my possession a sketch of the Island of
Saxemberg, upon which some trees are also represented ; of
what sort I am not informed. But, if it should be ascertained
hereafter, that they are of the same species as those on the other
three islands, this might be an additional reason for supposing
that all those islands, and perhaps Ascension, which has now no
trees upon it, may have been, at some remote period, united.

If the possibility of this connection be, for a moment, admitted,
the question of immersion, according to M. Buifon's hypothesis,
might readily be solved. " History," says this celebrated natu-
ralist, " informs us of inundations and deluges of an extensive
" nature. Ought not all this to convince us, that the surface of
" the earth has experienced very great revolutions? Let us sup-
" pose, for example, that the old and new worlds were formerly
*' but one continent ; and that, by an earthquake, the ancient
" Atlantis of Plato was sunk ; the consequence of this mighty
" revolution must necessarily be, that the sea would rush in from
*' all quarters, and form what is now called the Atlantic Ocean.''

Having now adverted to such circumstances as appear to sub-
stantiate tlie opinion entertained by Mr. Forster, that St. Helena
must have existed above water, before it had a volcano, and was
afterwards violently changed, and partly subverted by subterra-
neous tire, it I' ay be proper to shew iu what manner this writer
supports and illustrates that opinion by the appearances of Ascen-
sion and St. Helena.

" The dreariness of Ascension," says Mr. Forster, " surpassed

xiv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

" all the horrors of Easter Island, and Terra del Fuego, even

" without the assistance of snow. It was a ruinous heap of rocks,

" changed by the fire of a volcano. Nearly in the cent:'e of the

" island, rises a broad, white mountain of great height, on which

" we discovered some verdure by the help of our glasses, from

" whence it has obtained the name of Green Mountain. On land-

" ing, we ascended among heaps of black cavernous stone, which

" perfectly resembles the most common lavas of Vesuvius and

" Iceland; and of which the broken pieces looked as if they had

" been accumulated by art. The lava currents, cooling very

" suddenly, may easily be imagined to produce such an effect.

" Having ascended about fifteen yards perpendicular, we found

" ourselves on a great level plain of six or eight miles in circuit ;

" in one corner of which, we observed a large hill of an exact

" conical shape, and of a reddish colour, standing perfectly

" insulated. Part of the plain between those hills was covered

" with great numbers of smaller hillocks, consisting of the same

" wild and rugged lava as that near the sea, and ringing like

" glass, when two pieces are knocked together. The ground

" between the heaps of lava was covered with black earth ; but

" where these heaps did not appear, the whole was red earth.

'' The conic hills consisted of a very different sort of lava, which

*' was red, soft, and crumbling into earth. We concluded, that

" the plain on which we stood was once the crater, or seat of a

" volcano, by the accumulation of whose cinders and pumice-

" stones, the conic hills had been gradually formed ; and that

" the currents of lava, which we now saw, divided into many

" heaps, had perhaps been gradually buried in fresh cinders and

" ashes ; and the waters coming down from the interior moun-

" tains, in the rainy season, had smoothened every thing in their

"way, and filled up by degrees the cavity of the crater. The

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xv

" rocky black lava was the residence of numberless man-of-war
" birds and boobies, which sat on their eggs, and suffered us to
" come close to them. On all this rocky ground, we only met
" with ten shrivelled plants, which were of two sorts, a species of
" spurge and a bind weed.

" Having climbed over an extensive and tremendous current
-' of lava, more solid than that near the shore, we came to the foot
*' of the Green 3Iountam, which even from the ship, we had
*' plainly distinguished to be of a different nature from the rest
" of the country. The lava which surrounded it, was covered
" with a prodigious quantity of purslane and a kind of new fern.
" The great mountain is divided in its extremities, by various
" clifts into several bodies ; but in the centre they all unite and
" form one broad mass of great height. The whole appears to
'• consist of a gritty tophaceous lime-stone, which has never been
" attacked by the volcano, but probably existed prior to its
" eruption.

" St. Helena has on its outside, especially where the ships lie
" at anchor, an appearance, if possible, more dreadful and dreary
*' than Ascension : but the further you advance, the less desolate
" the country appears, and the most interior parts are always
'• covered with plants, trees, and verdure. However, there are
" every where the most evident marks of its having undergone a
" great and total change, from a volcano and earthquake, which
" perhaps sunk the greatest part of it in the sea.

" We visited (says the same author) isles that had still volca-
*' noes burning ; others that had only elevation, and marks of
•' being formed in remote ages by a volcano ; and lastly, we
" found isles that had no remains of a volcano, but strong and
" undoubted vestiges of having been violently changed and partly
-' overturned by an earthquake, subterraneous Jire, and a volcano.

xvi INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

" I cannot help referring- Easter Island, St. Helena, owA Ascen-
" sion, to the last."

The circumstances which have been noticed concerning- the
strata of Ladder Hill and High Knoll, cannot, I presnme, admit
of a donbt, that those parts have undergone a great change since
the island was formed ; and that this change has been effected by
eruptions from a volcano, succeeded by an earthquake. But,
whether those other changes, which are visible in many other
parts have been produced by similar causes, or subterraneous fire,
it is perhaps wholly impossible to ascertain : nor does it even
seem probable, that the effects from either, or from all these
causes, could have left the island in the state it now is.

There is a central ridge, as will be seen by the annexed sketch,
which, running east and west, divides the island into, nearly, two
equal portions. In no part of this ridge (which is elevated 2000
feet above the level of the sea) is there a single chasm or opening.
It seems, therefore, wholly unaccountable that it should have
escaped being broken and shattered, if eaith quakes, or subterra-
nean fires, had occasioned the " overturnings." This ridge is
narrow on tlie top ; and very abrupt on the south, especially
between Diana's Peak and Manatee Bay. It continues eastward
to the Devil's Punch Bowl, where it again narrows, and then
spreads out and forms the Great Wood Plain. At the Punch
Bowl it becomes so narrow that it seems nearly to have been
broken : yet the whole extent, including the Great Wood, has
stood fast, in spite of all appearances of disruption on either
side.

When the island was discovered (three hundred and thirteen
years ago), it is said, there were no living animals upon it ; and
that seals, sea-lions, turtle, and sea-fowl, occasionally frequented
its shores. All this is perfectly reconcileable to the idea that

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xvii

St. Helena is a new land, raised from the bed of the ocean. But
if we admit this to be the fact, how are we to account for the
origin of the present insect tribe ; which are pretty numerous,
consisting of various sorts of beetles, grubs, and worms? If these
did not exist at the period of discovery, there seems to be no other
mode of explaining their present existence, than by reviving the
exploded doctrine of equivocal or spontaneous generation. Under
this difficulty, it may possibly be inferred, that these sorts of
insects actually must have existed : and, hence it would follow,
as a natural consequence, that subterraneous fire, and volcanic
eruption, have not been the sole causes of formation : because,
in either case, no creature whatever could have remained alive.

The introduction of quadrupeds, domestic fowls, and birds,
remaining at present, may be easily conceived.* There is, how-
ever, a species of land bird, inhabiting the interior, and found in
considerable numbers, of which, I believe, no notice has ever
been taken by any writer on St. Helena. It is of that descrip-
tion not likely to be brought there by shipping, and seems for
this reason particularly to deserve attention. It is not a bird of
passage, for it is seen throughout the year: indeed none of that
description have ever found their way to St. Helena. In appear-
ance, and size, and in some of its habits, it resembles the common
sand-lark frequently seen on the shores of Europe. It is called
the " Wire-Bird ;" probably from its very long legs, resem-
bling wires, which enable it to run with uncommon swift-
ness. The legs are of a greenish colour ; the body and wings

* Domestic fowls of all countries thrive at St. Helena. Besides these, there are
peacocks, guinea-fowls, pheasants, partridges, doves, parroquets, Java sparrows, canaries,
and averdavats. All these have evi«3ently been imported by shipping. There are also
some rabbits, but no hares. The wire-bird, alone, is of tliat description which cannot
be supposed to have been imported.

d

xriii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

gray ; the breast white ; eyes large, and the bill moderately
long. In its nature it is rather shy ; and as it does not seem to
possess those powers of flight which could have brought it from
America or Africa, it seems, therefore, not unreasonable to con-
clude, that it is indigenous to the island. If so, it may be con-
sidered as an additional fact, favourable to the conjecture that
St. Helena is a fragment of a larger island.

I have already mentioned, upon the authority of Captain
Heywood, who commanded his Majesty's ship Nereus, that the
indigenous gum-wood trees of St. Helena are the same as on
Tristan d'Acunha and Gough's Island. It would be of impor-
tance to ascertain with accuracy this fact ; and whether the wire-
bird be also a native of those islands, and of Ascension and
Saxemberg. If all these points should be verified, trifling as they
may appear, they would be important to the cause of geology.

The mountainous ridge which divides the island by its greatest
length, appears chiefly to consist of indurated clay, in some parts
surmounted, and in others mixed, with shattered rock ; which,
being of a brittle nature and easily broken, has never been per-
fected into solid stone. This clay may possibly appear to be the
material which composes the greater part of the stones found on
the island. It has no visible intermixture of sand, and is not
tenacious, but friable. It is easily excavated in the form of
buildings, with interior upright walls; and in this manner it is
wsed for cait sheds, &c.

Towards the western extremity, within a mile of the coast, the
ridge assumes a different appearance: it is there very abrupt,
and craggy, on the south, and slopes gently to the north : here
are solid rocks, from which large fragments have been detached
and lie scattered on the surface. The most remarkable of these
are at the west extreme of the ridge ; where a great number.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xix

standing on end, occupy a flat of about three acres. From their
striking resemblance to tomb-stones, this place is called " the
church-yard." I examined it with attention, and was led to
conclude that its very singular appearance has been occasioned
by a water-spout, descending with fury ; and by dashing out the
soil and washing it down the adjacent ravine, has thus entirely
uncovered the stones.

An attempt was made to form some of the stones, taken from
the vicinity of the church-yard, into mill-stones: but being
brittle and laminated, and withal extremely hard, it was found
impossible to manufacture them. This sort of stone, when struck,
emits an agreeable sound.

The sea-coast is generally bordered with rocks ; and in its
vicinity as well as in some parts of the interior, are excellent
quarries of honeycomb stone and basaltes. The former being of
a softer and tougher texture than the latter, is therefore esteemed
by far the best ori the island for buildings. Both, however, are
evidently composed of the same material ; that is, of the clay
above-mentioned.

It seeuis to me that basaltes is changed into honeycomb by
coming iu contact with fire ; for I have observed in many quar-
ries an exterior coating of honeycomb passing so insensibly into
an interior basaltic bed, and so intimately blended with it, that it
was impossible to discover at what point the honeycomb ended,
or the basaltes began.

The most remarkable quarry which I observed of this sort, is
on the high road between High Knoll and Plantation-house.
Here, upon viewing the exterior, it was expected to find a valua-
ble quarry ; but after penetrating a few feet into the hill, it was
found that the hone^'comb was insensibly blended with the
basaltic stone. This fact seems to correspond with what is stated
by Sir William Hamilton, " that basaltes is fusible /^er se ; that

XX INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

' it agrees almost entirely with lava in elementary principles, in
" its grain, and in all the diversities of its textnre." And it seems
also to afford a demonstration, that after St. Helena was formed,
fires must have rushed through chasms and openings, and scori-
fied the clays, and the vertical rocks of basaltes, in their primi-
tive state.

Of the honeycomb stone at Ladder Hill, and near the Planta-
tion-house, the Chinese, who are expert stone-cutters, have
manufactured troughs, bowls, urns, pestles and mortars, and
hand-mills. These last answer the purpose extremely well,
leaving no grit in the flour. Wherefore, it may be presumed,
that mill-stones in abundance, and of the largest dimensions,
might be furnished from this island.

Honeycomb stone is likewise found in various other parts. At
Halley's Mount, and in its vicinity, are two quarries of an imper-
fect kind. The one is on the eastern face of the mount, and the
other on the ridge which forms the south-west edge of the Devil's
Punch-bowl. The stones, particularly in the latter, have not
attained the solidity of the more perfect sorts. At Halley's mount,
amongst the cracks and fissures, are sometimes discovered bits
of spar, and thin, hard, flaky substances, having small protu-
berances on their surfaces, exhibiting a variety of colours. It is
remarkable, that on the western face of Halley's mount the rocks
are of the sa^e raw, shattered, and brittle sort, as those on the
central ridge. Some indeed are of a consistence between clay
and stone : and as there are no appearances of their having been
touched with fire, it may be inferred that the Punch-bowl itself
has been a crater, and that the flames issuing from it have
scorched the eastern face of Halley's mount and formed the
honeycomb stone, whilst the western face was in a manner hid
from the flames ; and thereby the stone and clay have been pre-
served in their primitive state. It is also deserving notice, that to

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xxi

the eastward of the Piinch-bowl, and in the vicinity of the Great
Wood plain, there is not to be found a stone, of any sort what-
ever, fit for the purpose of building-. This seems to furnish a
further proof, that all that portion of the island is of a different
formation from the other parts.

On the surface of Ladder Hill are some beds of basaltes, pro-
ducing flaky stones of extreme hardness. These lie horizontally,
and when quarried, yield flags of from six to twelve superficial
feet, and from four to ten inches in thickness. They are also
sonorous; and as they require only to be squared, they are
admirably adapted to the flooring of warehouses, granaries,
and other buildings. In blasting some of the basaltic beds on
Ladder Hill, both sides of the septa, or cracks, were sometimes
covered with figures, apparently of metal ; of a bright silver
colour, , beautifully representing trees and other objects of
landscape.

On the western side of High Knoll there are quarries of a very
different description. They produce a stone very much resem-
bling the Tufa I have seen in Sicily. Indeed this stone, and the
small pieces of very light pumice which are scattered at the
northern base of High Knoll, and upon many parts of Ladder
Hill, are the only sorts that bear the smallest resemblance to the)
productions of Etna, Strombolo, and Vesuvius. I had a com- -
plete collection of these in my possession, which enabled me to
make the comparison.

The tufa, or red-stone of St. Helena, is of a brownish red
colour. It is rather soft when taken out of the quarry, but
hardens by exposure to the air, It has been used successfully
in building ; and in forming a water-course for supplying the
garrison of Ladder Hill, from the springs at Plantation-house ;
and from the tank at High Knoll.*

* Parti. Sec. XXIX. page 199,

xxii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

There is moreover a very extensive quarry of pozzolana on the
eastern side of James's valley, about a mile from the sea. In the
year 1807, my predecessor, Governor Patton, to whose talents
and indefatigable exertions the island is much indebted, first in-
troduced this valuable ingredient in mortar cements. It v»^as
pointed out to his notice by M. Joinville, who had been attached
to the suite of the Honourable Frederick North at Ceylon. This
pozzolana, mixed Avith one-third of Sandy Bay lime, hardens in
sea-water, and has withstood the beating of the waves for several
years without being in the least degree diminished or affected.
Even when used without any admixture of lime, or water, but
merely after spreading it dry, and beating it well together, it
soon consolidates after being moistened with rain into a mass
almost resembling stone. In some parts of James's Town it has
been used as a substitute for paving, and has been found to
answer that purpose, not being liable to crack ; nor is it in the
least affected by the heaviest wheel carriages.

Limestone of excellent quality is in the greatest abundance.*
It is said to be a concretion of shells and sand, and sometimes of
clay. In consistence it is not harder than a sugar loaf, and is there-
fore easily calcined ; one bushel of coals producing ten of lime.
The mountains close to Sandy Bay, and not far above the level of
the sea, are chiefly composed of it. Lot's Wife Beach, adjoining
those mountains, is covered with a white sand, which consists
almost wholly of small fragments of limestone. On the opposite
side of the island, lime has also been discovered, particularly
near Banks's Battery, and at Rupert's Bay, and, it is said,
in Breakneck Valley. But there are neither shells, nor lime, nor
any calcareous matter in the interior of the island.

At Rupert's Bay the limestone rocks project into the sea. It
would seem that sea-water has a tendency to harden, or perhaps

* Part 1. Sec. I. page 2.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

xxm

to form, this concretion ; for upon tracing this vein^ we found
that it gradually and insensibly softens as it recedes from the
beach : so that at the distance of thirty yards it assumes the ap-
pearance, and is in fact, a limestone sand.

Calcareous clays are found in James's valley and Friar's valley ;
and a calcareous spar, together with small oblong round stones,
corresponding witli the description of plaster of Paris, are found
in considerable quantity in the hills adjoining Turk's Cap Bay,
and Prosperous Bay. Here also has been discovered a variety of
pebbles extremely hard, which bear a fine polish, and have been
made into seals and ornaments.*

Calcareous spar is also found in the body of very hard and
ponderous stone at Munden's Cove and Sandy Bay ; and even
in the interior of the island : and it is said, that on George's
Island might be collected a considerable quantity of gypsum.

The following are the analyses, by the late Doctor Adam
Baildon, of the lime quarries already opened. The specimens of
plaster of Paris have not yet been analysed.

Calcare-

1 Banks's Lime . - -

ous Earth.

Clay.

Sand,

41

6

53

2 Rupert's hard sort

74

1

25;
36 i

Too close to the

3 Ditto. Soft ditto

63

1

Sea for working.

4 James's Valley - - - -

54

42

4

5 Friar's Valley

58

42

—

6 Sandy Bay - _ -

70

1

29

Exhausted.

7 Lot's Wife Beach

75

3

22

8 Potatoe Ray . _ -

71

1

28

In abundance.

9 Turk's Cap Spar

98

—

2

10 Ditto. Plaster of Paris

—

—

—

Not analysed.

* Specimens of all these stones were forwarded to the Honourable the Court of
Directors in December 1810.

xxiv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

A species of natural cement is found on several parts of the coast
of St. Helena, which seems to resemble that seen by M. Peron*
on the coasts of the isles of Kangaroos, St. Peter, and St. Francis.
This writer ascribes its formation, at these places, to numerous
shells rolled incessantly by the action of the waves on the neigh-
bouring shores ; which being broken into very minute fragments,
and mixed with cjuartzose sand, speedily constitute the principle of
calcareous cement of a superior quality. The finest specimen I
observed at St. Helena, is between Egg Island and Union Cove.
The rocks bear evident marks of the action of fire. They resemble
the refuse of iron at smelting places. There are also numerous
pumice stones, and a sort of shingle scattered over the surface of
these rocks. Some very hard stones are so firmly bedded in this
cement, that, in attempting to take them out, they broke in pieces.
If such a cement could artificially be made, it would undoubtedly
be far superior to the Roman, or any other cement hitherto
invented.

It seems to me that a likely mode of ascertaining the process
of formation would be to imitate that which appears to have
been the process of nature ; that is, to collect a certain quantity of
powdered St. Helena limestone, to mix it with small fragments of
basaltic stone, the size of coarse sand, varying the proportions ;
then to sprinkle the mixtures occasionally with sea water, and leave
them to dry in the sun. If these ingredients should not consolidate
at first, the sprinkling of sea water should be continued ; and pos-
sibly in the course of time, the consolidation might take place.
This appears to have been the process of nature ; for the natural
cement bears an exact resemblance to mortar made with white
lime, and an admixture of coarse black sand : but, as there is no
sand on the coast, nor in the interior of the island, it may be

• Jour, de Phys. Vol. LIX.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xxv

presnmed that those black specks in the cement are merely frag-
ments of basaltic, or pumice stones If, however, the mixture I
have suggested should not consolidate, there might then be reason
to infer, that the calcareous matter laying on the rocks near Egg
island, may have undergone calcination, at the time the rocks
were in a state of fusion.

Along the coast of St. Helena are many deep excavations,
forming caves, some of which are raised several feet above the
high water mark, and afford commodious retreats for fishermen
in rainy weather ; others are under the level of the lowest tides ;
consequently, there is a continual flux and reflux of water, occa-
sioned by the swell of the sea, which in the course of time has
penetrated very far into the base of the island.

It would be impossible to explore these cavernous holes, be-
cause the swell rises, at every ingress, to the top of the entrance ;
which of course excludes all external air ; and the internal air
being powerfully compressed by the rushing in of the water,
produces, by its re-action, a very singular effect. On the perpen-
dicular cliff, forming the coast opposite to Egg Island, there are
two or three very curious jets d'eau. By the compression of air
within the caverns, where they are probably more enlarged than
at the exterior openings, it appears that the waters must have
gradually perforated amongst the cracks and fissures, vertical, or
more probably, oblique, and irregular passages within, and
behind, the exterior rocks. The orifices of those passages appear
on the face of the cliff at the height of 60 or 70 feet above the
sea ; from which I observed the water to spout, exactly like the
blowing of a whale, and, at intervals, corresponding with the
times of the rise and fall of the swell.

On the northern coast, at Munden's cove, and also to the east-
"ward of Rupert's Valley, at a considerable height above the sea,

e

xxvi INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

is found a sort of saponaceous argil, which is used by the soldiers
as a substitute for soap in washing. It is secreted in either small
elliptical cavities, or partly occupies longitudinal vacancies in the
rock. Formed into a lump, I have used it as as a wash-ball, by
way of experiment: it lathered in a small degree like soap ; but
left a prickling sensation on my hands, something resembling
that which is occasioned by soap when overcharged with alkali :
it dissolves entirely in water, and forms a smooth liquid mass,
without the smallest grit, of the consistence of cream, of a reddish
colour ; and when left to dry, it cracked ; but still retained a sort
of unctuous finality. Of this production there has been as yet no
analysis. I am therefore not informed whether it possess the
same properties of steatites, which, according to the analysis of
Bergman, contain in 100 parts, 80 of silex, 17 of mild magnesia,
2 of argillaceous earth, and nearly 1 of iron, in a semi-oxydated
state.

Various coloured earths or clays abound in many parts of St.
Helena. Upon the hills towards the sea they are discovered,
only here and there, in thin veins, bedded between layers of rock.
In the interior, particularly about a mile to the eastward of
Long Wood House, the deep and sloping sides of some of the
ravines, which are of great extent, are clothed with a variety of
beautiful tints of white, blue, grey, and red. Of the brilliance
of these earths, when the sun shines upon them, no words, nor
even the finest touches of the pencil, could convey an adequate
idea.

Whether those colours penetrate to any great depth within the
surface, appears to me doubtful ; because, in digging the ditches
for the new fences at Long Wood, at a short distance from the
ravines, we rarely found any sort of coloured earth ; and this was
generally of a reddish tint. We know, that by frequently stirring

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER, xxvii

and exposing common earth to the influence of the air and atmo-
sphere, that a pale brown soil is changed to a much darker hue.
We observe, that as flowers gradually open, and are exposed to the
air, the}' throw ofl" their old colom-, and acquire a new one ; but,
whether certain component parts of earth or clay, are capable of
being changed into any other colours than dark brown, or black,
by a long exposure to the sun, air and moisture, I shall leave to
the decision of those who are skilled in the sciences of natural
philosophy and chemistry.*

I have jiow endeavoured to explain the most striking facts,
connected with the Geology and Mineralogy of St. Helena, which
have come under my personal inspection. Having done so, I
must here claim the indulgence of the reader, not only on account
of the preceding observations having been made in a casual
manner, but because they relate to sciences of which'I do not
profess to have any skill or knowledge. I should indeed have
contented myself with barely stating facts, and have left it to
more, able hands to form conclusions : but in adhering to this
mode, I was fearful I should have rendered the subject less in-
telligible. It is for this reason I have been induced, occasionally,
to draw conclusions, or to offer conjectures : but as these are given
at all times with diffidence, I beg they maybe received merely as
suggestions ; in which shape they may be of use to those who

* Cronstedt is of opinion " that common clay, especially the blue, grey, and red
" kinds, may derive their origin from mud ; and as the mud proceeds from vegetables, it
" will thence follow, that the varieties of clay just mentioned, are notliing else but the
" common mould altered, after a length of time, by means of water."

Some of the white clays of St. Helena appear to be a species of lithotnarga, or stone-
marrow, being as fat and slippery as soap. Possibly the white are the primitive clays of
the eastern part of the island, which have, in the course of ages, been changed into a
variety of colours by some unsearchable cause in nature.

xxviii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

may hereafter be disposed to contemplate the physical circum-
stances of this extraordinary place.

Although I am apprehensive, it may be considered that the
preceding remarks are already extended to too great a length,
yet there is a subject adverted to in the early records of the island,
which appears to deserve particular notice ; not only, as being
connected with the mineralogy of the island, but as it may here-
after, if more fully investigated, lead to the most important
results.

In a letter from the Governor and Council to the Honourable
the Court of Directors, dated the 1st of December, 1715, it is
stated that two Spanish gentlemen, one a priest, the other an
engineer, had arrived at the island. These persons having resided
a considerable time at Mexico and Peru, professed to have a
perfect knowledge of those appearances which are the sure indi-
cations of the existence of rich mines. After having examined
some parts of the island, they declared their opinion that, "there
" are certainly some rich mines of metal here." The Governor,
hearing of their conjectures, sent for them, and shewed them
several places, where " there is a stoney soil that looks like ore,"
and they assured him that these are the signals of rich mines of
metal: one of them indeed asserted his opinion, that what he
saw " was the signal of a gold mine." *

It would seem, that those Spaniards resided several months on
the island, and that Mons. Oliviero was principally consulted ;
for, bj a second letter on this subject, we find that Governor
Pyke, who appears to have been a man of excellent understanding,

* " The Governor sent for tliem and shewed tliem several parts of the island where
" we have a stony soil that looks like ore ; and they have assured us tliat these are the
" signals of rich mines of metal ; and, that one of them they take to be the signal of a
" gold mine." Offieial Letter, 1st December, 1715.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xxix

was still employed in his researches, with a view to the discovery
of this precious metal. He does not seem to abandon the idea
after five months perseverance ; but he complains that a want of
labour prevented him from penetrating to a sufScient depth.
The last record of this expected gold mine is in an official letter,
addressed to the Court of Directors, dated the 15th June, 1716,
in the following words :

" The Governor has employed most of his time, since the
' arrival of the Heathcote here, with Monsieur Oliviero, a
' Spaniard, who has dwelt a considerable time both in Mexico
' and Peru, among the Spanish mines, and has set some of your
' Honour's slaves to work at digging on the N. E. part of this
' island, near a place called the Turk's Cap ; where we have
' found a sort of mineral earth, that the same Spaniard tells us
' is a sure signal of a mine of metal. We have sent home musters
' of it by the ship Heathcote, and are assured by the same Mon-
' sieur Oliviero, that as we go deeper, we shall find clearer and
' more evident proofs of metal ; these being none other than
' signals of ore, which, he says, all who understand mining, will
' affirm as well as himself. We wish we had hands to spare,
' that we might keep some employed in digging on this occasion,
' because we desire nothing more than to make the island yield
' to your Honours some reasonable recompense for the great
' expense and trouble you have been at to improve this (hitherto)
' unprofitable place."

My attention was naturally attracted by those passages in the
records, to the place pointed out by Governor Pyke. I there-
fore employed three men, under the direction of Captain Plenry
Pritchard, a very intelligent officer, to examine the hills in the
vicinity of Turk's Cap Bay ; and to dig in those places that
appeared the most likely to be productive of ore. No certain

XXX INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

indications of gold have hitherto been discovered ; but, as
Captain Pritchard mentions the " appearances of a silver ore
" found in a soft yellow stone ;" and as the whole of his observ-
ations are interesting, and may be of use hereafter, I will here
record them in his own words.

1810, September 11. "I have this moment returned from
" Turk's Cap Valley, in which I observe abundance of calcare-
" ous spar, and various stones of extreme hardness. Being fully
" satisfied with our first attempt to explore this valley, I have
" every reason to believe that we shall soon come to ore of per-
" haps the most valuable description. September 21. I have
" sanguine hopes of the productions of Turk's Cap Valley ;
*' having, since my last communication on this subject, collected
" some valuable information. Mr. Thomson, who has a con.si-
" derable knowledge in mineralogy, has promised to assist in
" analysing whatever we may find : he is decidedly of opinion,
" from the specimens I have shewn him, that we shall find metal,
" of various kinds, in Turk's Cap Valley.

September 27. " We have not proceeded so fast as could be
" wished, by reason a large flake of blue-stone presenting itself,
" which we have partly removed. There is a yellow earth, which
" I washed, but found nothing deserving remark ; although its
" appearance (according to what I read in Chambers' Diction-
" ary) is very favourable. I send a piece of opake agate, in which
" gold is found in South America. I hope for a true copy of
" that original from the pit that is now opened.

October 21. "I send a collection of stones found at the depth
" of 26 feet in our present pit. They are certainly valuable in
" themselves; and more so in the indications they ofter of ap-
" proaching mineral earth. The dust in which they are found
" (for they are all separate as you see them) contains particles of

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xxxi

' shining metal, extremely minute. This is, I presume, suffi-
' cient to encourage perseverance.

" I would propose, after having penetrated to the depth of 50
' or 60 feet, and after carefully examining every strata of earth,
' &c. to commence cutting directly down the ravine, (as our pit
'is on the top of a hill 250 feet high),* by which means we
' shall be able to explore with great exactness the properties of
' the interior. This, and a scrupulous examination of the matter
' that may be found, would consume several weeks: but such
' an examination cannot be accomplished in any other way."

3d November, 1810. — Accompanying this I send specimens of
' .stones found at 27 feet deep. Most of them have veins of ore
' running horizontally ; and at this depth the vein of stone has
' changed to the red sort. It is capable of a very high polish.
' The earth with which they are incrusted is .soft and yellow ;
' but I do not perceive any indications of metal ; although they
' still correspond with some memoranda I have in my possession.

* I therefore trust we may soon be satisfied as to the existence
' of valuable ore in this spot."

16th November, 1810. — " By the accompanying specimens,
' you will readily perceive I have been very successful in making
' the experiments you desired. I send the calcareous spar of
' Turk's Cap Valley in three different stages : the first is in
' powder, and dry ; the second, slaked ; and the third, mixed
' with water to the consistency of common mortar : when dried,

* it is susceptible of the highest polish.

" The last specimen of ore that I got from the pit is by far the
' most promising; for upon bruising a soft yellow stone, the
' whole of the veins produced an ore of a silver appearance. I

* It is probable that these researches might have been more successful, if the pit, or
shaft, had commenced at the foot of tlie hill, instead of the summit.

xxxii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

" am very certain, that if a proper process were adopted, it would
" afford a satisfactory result — that ore is contained in the pit we
" are now employed at/'

20th November, 1810. " Some of the accompanying stones
" are the most curious we have yet arrived at in digging the pit :
*' they afford strong indications of metal." *

" I have also sent some of the plaster of Paris which is found
" near Prosperous Bay. Of this a large quantity might easily be
" procured, as it is dug up from the rocks, not more than a foot
" from the surface. It is very easily reduced to a powder, and
" makes a beautiful shining white, when properly laid on as a
" wash, and a still more beautiful plaster." I

These minutiae relative to this spot, which is so very singular in
its productions, and so widely different from every other part of the
island, cannot fail, I should hope, to be acceptable to the mine-
ralogist. He may possibly discover among them some traits by
which he may judge of the probability of success in obtaining a
valuable ore, by further perseverance ; at all events. Captain
Pritchard's observations are calculated to render more complete
the attempt I have undertaken to explain, in as concise a manner
as the subject would admit, the natural productions and the most
striking features of this island.

I am not aware of having omitted any important fact connect-
ed with the geology or mineralogy of the island ; but, if more
particular information should be desired by those who take de-
light in philosophic investigations, I beg to recommend to their

* In one of these stones I observed a small piece of metal, which had the appearance
of silver or tin ; many of them had a metallic tint, probably what the two Spaniards
termed " the spume of metal, or the mineral fumes condensed in the upper crust."

t Specimens of calcareous spar, plaister of Paris, &c. were sent to the Court of Direc-
tors in December 1810.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xxxiii

perusal an analytical description of St. Helena, which was pub-
lished, by an anonymous writer, about ten years ago.

The soil of this island is uncommonly fertile : producing, with-
out manure, a succession of crops of potatoes, at the rate of more
than two in the year for twelve or fourteen years together. It
varies, in all the shades of colour, from a black mould to a pale
brown. The former is the most productive, abounding more with
mould and clay. The latter yields also exceeding fine crops of
every kind of European esculent and corn. Even the driest and
most barren looking spots of the paler sort, have been found to be
well adapted to the growth of pineaster trees. Some of the blackest
soil is similar to that which is usually appropriated to the culture
of cotton in India. It dissolves entirely in water; cracks and
blisters when dried by the sun-heat ; and is easily melted (if I
may use the expression) and carried off with the gentlest currents
during the rainy seasons. This species of soil is, however, very
rare ; the others are more predominant, and are not disturbed by
the heaviest rains.

No analysis has been made of those soils : but so far as I could
observe they are wholly destitute of sand. This circumstance,
together with a want of tenacity in the clays, I take to be the
causes that all attempts to manufacture bricks, or pottery, have
completely failed.

The climate of St. Helena is perhaps the mildest and the most
salubrious in the world ; and is remarkably congenial to the
human feelings. Neither too hot nor cold, it preserves through-
out the year that medium temperature which is always agree-
able. This temperature, however, varies considerably according
to the elevation of the land. At Plantation-house, the range of
the thermometer during the year, when kept in the same place,
was only from 61° to 73°. At Long Wood, although at the same
height above the sea, it was generally 5° lower : proceeding no

f

xxxiv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

doubt from the situation being more exposed to the south-east
trade wind. In James's Town it is generally 5° to 7° higher than
at Phuitation-house.

These are the temperatures within doors. In the open air at
Plantation-house the thermometer sometimes falls to 52°, which
happens between June and September; and in this winter season
(if it may be so called) the inhabitants living in the country find
it necessary, or at least comfortable, to make use of fires in their
rooms. Thus, it will be perceived, there is a diversity of cli-
mate ; so that a person residing in James's Town, in the warm
season, may pass, within the short space of an hour, from the
medium temperature of India, to that of the spring or summer
months in England. This has been found beneficial to valetudi-
narians from India, who occasionally resort to the island : some
of whom have been restored to perfect health, after a few months
residence in this salubrious climate.

The late Governor Brooke assured me, that during the period
of his government, a gentleman arrived from England who had
been long suflTering under a pulmonic consumption. He .seemed
to be in what is generally termed the last stage of that disorder
(this to medical men may appear doubtful) : he was extremely
reduced, and apparently beyond recovery. After residing only
three months, he was completely restored, returned to his native
country, and continued in the enjoyment of health for many
years afterwards.

In the XlVth Section of the first part of this work, I have
treated, at considerable length, upon the rainy seasons. It will
be sufficient, therefore, in this place to remark, that during the
year there are two seasons of rain. The summer rains are usually
expected in January or February ; and the winter rains in July
or August. The periods of their continuance are generally from
six weeks to two months : but neither their setting in, nor dura-

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

XXXV

tion, is by any means regular. The quantity of rain which falls
during the year varies considerably. In what are called favour-
able years, the total quantity may be from 25 to 30 inches : and
sometimes more. Even in an unfavourable year, 1811, I found
the fall of rain was 22.4 inches : which is rather more than the
average in London.

From the 22d February, 1811, when the summer rains began,
until the day of my departure from the island, on the 1st Sep-
tember 1813, I kept an exact diary of the fall of rain ; which
was continued by Mr. Jennings, the Company's gardener, to 1815.
The rain was measured in an accurate rain-gauge, sent from
England, by Sir Joseph Banks : the following were the results "•

1811 - - 22.40 inches

1812 - - - 29.04

1813 - - 32.13

1814 - - _ 49.96*

* Abstract of the Monthly fall of Rain, at Plantation House, during the years 1812,

1813, 1814, and part of \B\5.

1812.

1813.

1814.

1815.

MONTHS.

Fall of

Rain.

Fall of
Rain.

Fall of
Rain.

Fall of Rain.

Inches.

Inches.

Inches.

Inches.

January

0.80

3.0

2.54

0.78

February

2.90

2.54

5.92

3.10

March

7.31

1.54

6.70

2.78

April

2.23

2.01

7.35

not ascertained.

May

0.57

9.84

7.49

ditto

June

4.06

3.65

4.37

ditto

July

3.45

2.23

3.19

ditto

August

1.76

1.62

4.40

ditto

September

2.02

2.79

2.76

ditto

October

1.08

0.66

2.44

ditto

November

0.62

1.81

0.78

ditto

December

2.24

0.44

2.02

ditto

Total

29.04

32.13

49.96

xxxvi INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

Hence it appears, that St. Helena, during tliese last three
years, had its full share of rain, and in much greater quantity
than usually falls in London : which, by an average of eleven
years, is no more than 21.25 inches : whereas the average of four
years, at St. Helena, was 33.38 inches.

Cloudy days exceed in number, about two to one, those on
which the rays of the sun fall upon the earth without interrup-
tion ; and the number of days on which rain falls, during the
year, is about 135. The wettest months are said to be January,
February, and March, and June and July. This observation may
be correct, although it does not accord with the preceding
Abstract. The favourable or unfavourable seasons depend on the
number of days of heavy rains, and fine showers. Some idea may
be formed of the variations in different years by the following
comparison :

In 1806 heavy rains and fine showers, 92 days

1807 - - _ _ 79

1808 - - - _ 58

1809 - - - 71

1810 - _ _ - - 78

1811 - - _ 60

From thunder and lightning this climate may be said to be
wholly exempted. In the course of 60 years, only two flashes of
lightning are recollected ; and these, I believe, were unaccom-
panied with thunder: neither is it subject to those storms and
hurricanes, which occasionally afflict and desolate many other
tropical islands. The trade winds generally blow with uniform
steadiness ; very seldom increasing beyond what is called a fresh
breeze.

There are many copious springs of pure and wholesome water.
These generally issue from the highest lands. The quantity

- INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xxxvii

usually discharged at James's Town, was found to be six hogs-
heads in a minute, or 2160 tons in the 24 hours, after the absence
of rain. Comparing the size of this stream with the others on
the island, I compute that not less than 10,000 tons of water are
daily discharged from the springs into the sea in dry weather.
Scarcely any use has hitherto been made of this water except for
the supply of the inhabitants and their cattle, and for watering a
few small yam plantations and gardens. Where experiments
have been tried of irrigating the grass lands, even upon what
were originally as barren and forbidding as any part of the
island, they have been with a success which has astonished those
who made them. Mr. Dunn's improvements, at the Briars,
a beautiful and romantic spot near the waterfall, have most
clearly demonstrated the extremely beneficial effects that might
be derived from a skilful direction and use of the waters with
which nature has so bountifully supplied the island. His
meadows, though small, vie with the best in England. His
garden produces excellent grapes, peaches, apples, guavas,
oranges, plantains, and other fruits ; and all sorts of esculent
vegetables. This small example is sufficient to prove the capa-
bility of this fine island ; which is further exemplified by the
gardens of Miss Mason, and Mr. John Mason, situated near the
eastern side. Miss Mason's orchard is, for its extent, the finest
and most productive I ever beheld : the apples are of a high
flavour ; some of them have measured sixteen inches in cir-
cumference.

It appears, however, by the records of the Government, that
this island has been occasionally visited by severe droughts ; a
visitation perhaps not less frequent in other countries. Great
losses of cattle have also been sustained ; but I am thoroughly
convinced, that those losses might have been alleviated, if not

xxxviii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

entirely prevented, by the introduction of green fodder crops,*
and a proper system of husbandry. This subject has been fully
discussed and illustrated in several papers contained in the First
Part of this Work. By these it will be seen, that the farmers of St.
Helena have always depended solely on their pasture lands for the
subsistence of their live stock : this was the real cause of their heavy
losses : but before I quitted the Government, I had the gratification
lo observe, that they began to be sensible of the advantages of the
system of husbandry which I had been at so much pains to in-
culcate. I earnestly hope, they may henceforward have every
possible encouragement to persevere in their laudable beginnings ;
for this would not only be the most effectual means of averting
the calamities incidental to seasons of drought, but would also
promote the general interests of the island, by making it abound
with almost every necessary of life ; and consequently it would
become more useful and valuable for the purpose of refreshing
fleets.

Doctor Roxburgh's Account of the Indigenous and Exotic
Plants, which is given in the Appendix, would have left me
nothing to add upon this subject, were it not that several of the
vegetable productions appear to deserve more particular notice,

* This opinion is fully corroborated by Governor Wilks's Agricultural Report, dated
10th of March, 1815.

" Although," says he, " the calculation of profit on an acre of potatoes may be greater
" than that on an acre of corn, it is a sufficient illustration of the necessity of corn crops
" to any safe system of husbandry in this island, that as far as speculative opinion may
" warrant a conclusion, the Company's stock of cattle would, in the event of a severe
" drought, be preserved, while those of most of the other landholders would perish."

The younger Mr. Breame, of Norfolk, lately returned to England, after four years
experience at the Company's farms, assures me, that he has found, after acorn crop has
fairly covered the soil, it is out of all danger, because the dews and drizzling rain are
sufficient to bring it to maturity.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xxxix

on account of their value in some of our British manufactures.
The salsola, a maritime plant, which yields barilla, is very abun-
dant. It grows spontaneously on all the exterior parts of the
island, and to the distance of more than a mile from the sea.
Different species oi lichens are found on the rocks and gum-wood
trees ; amongst which, it has been ascertained, is the true Orchel,
so valuable in dying. The palma christi, yielding a fine castor
oil, intrudes itself every where, and grows in vast quantities : —
and the capsicum, which produces red pepper, of the first quality,
might be cultivated with advantage to any extent. Considering
it probable, that these productions may, at some future period,
attract more notice than they have hitherto done, and become
valuable exports ; I shall therefore offer a few observations on
each.

The salsola appears first to have been observed by Governor
Brooke, in 1789; at whose request it was examined by the
Honourable William Petrie, at present Governor of Prince of
Wales's Island. He describes it, in a letter to the Governor, in
the following words :

" I have the honour to inform you, that I have examined, by
" every experiment which the shortness of my stay at this place
" would admit, the maritime plant which grows spontaneously
" in great abundance upon this island ; and on which you
" desired my opinion with respect to the nature of the salt it
" contains.

" I cannot hesitate to assure you, from every trial I have made,
" that this plant is of the kali species, Salsola soda of Linnieus,
" and yields upon incineration, a very great quantity of the fossil
" alkali: and that the only doubt I entertained at first, of tlie
" species of this salt, arose from the acid, not having been pro-
" perly converted, or expelled, on the incineration of the plant :

xl INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

" which unavoidably gave equivocal results on the first trials of
" this alkaline salt.

" It would be superfluous to enumerate the advantages to our
" commerce from the collection of such considerable quantities of
" this salt, as may with great facility be made upon this island,
" as they must be self-evident to every one who is acquainted with
" the great consumption of this article in some of our most useful
" manufactures in England ; and with the considerable amount
'* which is ''paid to foreign nations for the importation of the
" mineral alkali.

" It makes a finer and harder soap than the vegetable alkali ;
" some of our first chemists have preferred it to the other fixed
" alkali in the manufacturing of glass ; and it is, I believe,
" adopted, as a very useful article in the Materia Medica. At
" present, our markets, I understand, are supplied with this useful
" salt from Montpelier, where a very impure soda is prepared
" from the kali ; and with a purer kind from Alicant, and per-
" haps from other situations upon the Mediterranean coasts.

" I have received the specimens of the plant, salt, &c. which
" you have sent me : and I will take an early opportunity, after
" my arrival in England, of submitting the salt to further che-
" mical tests, the results of which, together with every other
" information on the subject, I will with much pleasure com-
" municate to the Honourable the Court of Directors, agreeable
" to your desires."

Soon after my arrival, I gave my attention to this valuable
but neglected plant : and several experiments were undertaken
with a view of ascertaining the best mode of burning, and the
expense of manufacturing it into barilla. In the early stages of
those experiments, some samples had been forwarded to England :
but as they were from old plants injudiciously burnt, the barilla

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xli

was very inferior to that produced afterwards. Of the improved
samples some were also forwarded to the Court of Directors, in
June 1810, accou)panied with the following otficial report:

" A box containing samples of tlie second crop of St. Helena
kelp, is forwarded by ihe present fleet. They seem to be very
superior in quality to any hitlierto sent to England ; and as the
persons employed are become more expert in burning, it would
be very desirable to have a separate analysis of these samples :
for I have many reasons for believing that this export might be
carried on to a large extent ; and that it might ultimately be pro-
ductive of considerable benefit to this island.

The success which attended the new mode of burning, and the
very small expense at which the barilla may be manufactured,
will appear by what Captain Pritchard says on these subjects."

" 5th July, 1809.

" On the 30th ultimo I commenced burning the second crop
of thesalsola in James's Valley. I had only four labourers ; and
on the 4th instant, that is, in five days, the vitrified cakes pro-
duced from one pit were taken out, and weighed lOcwt. Iqr.
Its quality appears excellent, and is certainly far superior to our
former specimens. The expense of collecting and burning this
quantity is exactly 25 shillings, or at the rate of 50 shillings a
ton.

The salsola vt'hich was cut down at Sandy Bay between the
3d and 9th of April, had again grown to its original size, and
fullness, by the 15th of June ; that is, in 72 days, a vegetation

* Garrison soldiers are usually employed on the public works at one shilling per day
extra ; which is an advantage to the Company, and adds to the comfort of the soldier : —
for since the prohibition of spirits, this indulgence cannot be abused. If the Cliinese, or
other labourers, were employed in the manufacture of barilla, it would cost fnora Lb.AQs,
to Z/8. per ton.

xlii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

wliich is scarcely surpassed in any other vegetable production. In
all the ravines of the island duringthe months of rain, the growth
has been in proportion. It may therefore be inferred that two
crops a year might be produced from all those parts of the island
where it grows. These observations will tend to shew the large
quantities that might be manufactured if we had sufficient labour
for that purpose."

P'rom Captain Pritchard's remarks, it appears that the ex-
pense of manufacturing, when soldiers are employed, is about
50 shillings a ton ; and if 10 shillings be added for contingent
charges of carriage, cooperage, &c, the whole may be reckoned
at ^3. The best Carthagena barilla has been sold at £o6. a ton.
If St. Helena barilla should prove of the value of only £oO. the
profit to the Honourable East India Company, if their soldiers
were employed in manufacturing it, would be very great : conse-
quently, this is an export particularly deserving their attention.

My own observations upon the surprising growth from the
old stems and roots in various places, twelve months after the first
cutting, fully confirm the opinion given by Captain Pritchard.
The experiments made at that time in raising the salsola from the
seed are also very satisfactory, since they decidedly prove the
possibility of extending the number of plants ; and that by aid-
ing nature, and attending a little to the culture of the plant,
which might be done at a very trifling expense, the produce from
tins island, in the course of a few years, might be immense.

I found some difficulty in ascertaining the period at which
the seed is in a perfect state of ripeness. This, however, might
very easily be determined, by gathering a few plants, at intervals
of three weeks from the time the blossom shews itself, until the
plant has changed its colour, from a pea-green to a yellowish
tint. The best season for cutting the salsola is in May, June,

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xliii

and July, when the leaves are full of sap, and are therefore, I
should imagine, more productive of the alkali than when they
begin to fade and shrink.*

Being desirous of knowing how much alkaline salt was pro-
duced from a given quantity of the salsola, and the comparative
produce of alkali from furze and blackberry bushes, Doctor Kay,
the medical superintendant, obligingly undertook the experi-
ments, and reported as follows :

" From a trial I made, to find liovv much salt a given quantity
of the plant supposed to be the salsola would produce by inci-
neration, and also to ascertain the comparative quantity to be
obtained from the stems, and leaves separately, the results were
as follow :

No. 1. Thirty-eight pounds of the plant burnt

entire (under cover) yielded of dry marine alkali, oz.

or impure soda -____- 19

No. 2. Eighteen pounds of the stems entirely di- drachms.
vested of leaves, yielded of the same salt, - 10

No. 3. Thirty-one pounds of leaves adhering to the oz.

small extreme branches, yielded _ - _ igl

Three pounds of the large stems were burnt with the leaves
in order to begin and support the ignition ; but according to
No. 2, the salt from these stems would only be 1 drachm and 2
scruples, so that the salt from the leaves was 16|- ounces and 1
scruple. Therefore, 100 pounds of leaves will produce upon an
average 3 pounds 5:|- ounces of salt nearly. And the entire plant,
by trial No. 1, will produce only 3 pounds 2 ounces. But, a day
or two after the lixivium No. 1. had been evaporated, 1 found as
much remaining in the cask from which it had been drawn as

* The leaves of the salsola are small ; linear ; sliort (| inch) ; rounded, and flesliy :
although full of sap, the plant burns fiercely without being dried. (See Appendix —
Salsola salsa.)

xliv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

would probably have yielded one ounce of salt more ; in this
case, supposing- the 38 pounds had yielded 20 ounces, the entire
plant will give nearly three pounds lour ounces and a quarter
from 100 pounds original weight; but the value of this addi-
tional ounce from each hundred pounds, would be more than
counterbalanced by the time employed in stripping the leaves,
and their much slower combustion than when the plant is burnt
entire, as cut or pulled from the ground. The ashes from No. 1
(per steelyard) weighed four pounds : those from No. 3, three
pounds and three-quarters.

As you wished to ascertain the comparative quantity of salt
to be procured from furze, and the bramble or blackberry, I made

the following trials.

Oz. Scrup.
No. 4. Seventy pounds of furze yielded of impure

vegetable alkali somewhat deliquescent - i 2

No. 5. Seventy pounds of the blackberry-bush

yielded of the same .sort of salt - - 5f 0

The bushes were cut down from nearly contiguous thickets and
burnt on the spot, and the ashes afterwards removed under cover.
I think they would have yielded more salt had they been burnt in
a grate under shelter, because some of the ashes were scattered
by occasional puffs of wind ; but these had an equal effect on both
piles. The ashes from No. 5 weighed (per steelyard) one pound
and three-quarters. The weight of those from No. 4 I could not
determine, as there was some earth intermixed with them. There
are two species of blackberry here ; that used was the smaller
sort, with green stems and paler leaves."

Doctor Kay's experiments having been conducted in the same
manner throughout, are so far valuable, that they shew with
minute accuracy the respective proportions of alkali produced from

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xlv

the ashes of the several parts of tlie salsoUi plant, and a just
comparison alsowiih those ("roin the furze and lihtckberry-biishes.
But, as the very linuted scale of these experiments did not admit
of sufHcient heat to vitrify the ashes into a cake, it seems proba-
ble that the results of the sulsola would have been materially
different, and perhaps more favourable, if the experiments had
been made upon a larger quantity of the plant. I say more
favourable, because I observed that those who have had consi-
derable practice in burning, considered the loose ashes of very
little value compared with those formed into cakes.

The very high commendations which have been bestowed on
the St. Helena barilla (particularly upon the improved speci-
mens), by persons who have a practical knowledge of its manu-
facture, have induced me not to withhold some further informa-
tion in my possession, relative to the nnide of burning; the rapid
re-production of the plant, and the practicability of extending its
culture throughout many parts of the island which are wholly
unfit for any other purpose.

Although the sah^ola be a marine plant, and grows spontane-
ously on the most barren places, where neither corn, nor escu-
lents, nor trees, will grow ; yet it is of that nature, that it grows
with ureat exuberance iu the gardens and fields in the interior of
the island. This I determined by several experiments, of which
it will suffice to give the detail of one at Plantation-house.

Soaje of the seed, which is ijlack and extremely small, taken
from plants on Ladtler Hill, were sown on the 7th February,
1810 in a box filled with garden mould. The plants appeared
on the 4th March. On the 2(1 May they were eight inches high.
Soon aiterthey grew so large in the box, that I determined to
transplant them. Accordingly about a dozen were removed to
the Plantation-house garden, where they continued to thrive ;

-xlvi INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

and on tlie 25tli April, 1811, (that is, in fourteen months from the
seed) each of the plants covered a space of about eight or nine feet
in diameter. Hence it is clearly proved, that the salsola of St.
Helena might be cultivated in fields, as in Spain, It seems, how-
ever, to be of adifierent sort. Some'specimens of Alicant salsola,
that were sent to me from England, were small twigs, about
the size and appearance of lavender, and only twelve inches
long: but at St. Helena, particularly in Rupert's and other
vallies, or ravines, I have seen a single plant covering a space
of fourteen or fifteen feet in diameter, rising to the height of six
feet; and which was the growth of twelve uionths after cutting.
How infinitely superior then would be the produce from the St.
Helena sort ! I am of opinion, from all I have observed, that in
raising this species from the seed, the plants should be permitted
to grow at least eighteen months before the first crop is taken.
Then, I conceive, they would attain sufficient strength for re-pro-
duction ; and afterwards would yield one or two crops a year, ad
infinitum, in the same manner as those plants (particularly in the
low and sheltered places) growing in their natural state.

I cannot better illustrate what has been said on this subject,
than by extracting from Captain Pritchard's official reports the
observations he made at the time he was employed in directing
and superintending the manufacture.

" The alkali at Sandy Bay being very superior to any yet pro-
duced, and the new mode of burning being quite different from
what was first tried, I shall here detail the process by which we
have arrived at perfection.

When the plant was put in a pit, according to Chaptal's
directions, it was found to produce nothing but charcoal and
ashes. But, by raising circular kilns on the surface of the ground
with loose stones, so as to admit air on all sides, and making the

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xlvii

kilns only two and a half feet diameter, and four feet high, the
fires bnrn fiercely, and the whole of the ashes, in four days, were
formed into solid pieces, as hard as stone.

To ascertain the difl^erence between this and our first mode
of burning, I dug a pit, three feet in diameter, and four feet deep.
It wns supplied with the plant in the same manner as the loose
stone kiln. It had been burning nine days when I yesterday
saw it ; and then there was not a lump which would weigh two
ponnfis in all its contents, This failure appears to proceed from
the total exclusion of air.

I sent the overseer to Thompson's Valley, that he might re-
port iiis opinion upon the jilant there, which is as follows. There
is a great quantity, and it is very tall, but he supposes it will not
yield much good alkali, from the quantity of stem (or stalks) with
which it abounds ; however, I am inclined to think that this must
solely arise from its age. If it were cropped, or headed down, I
have no doubt it would afterwards produce abundantly : there-
fore, should it meet your ph-asure, the party there may continue
to collect and burn, and from the first samples a judgment may
be fortned. It seems to me, that Sandy Buy will produce the
greatest quantities, and the best." 2bth June, 1809.

" I send you the produce o? one ounce of barilla, a part of that
piece you saw at the Castle last Monday. I prevailed on Mr.
Thompson to lixiviate and evaporate this small quantity. He
says, that the alkaline salt is the finest and best he ever saw in
all his travels. His early pursuits in life having given him a
practical knowledge of these matters, his opinion may be the
more relied on." Sth July, 1809.

" The barilla burning at Sandy Bay goes on very well, and
the alkali is exceedingly good. I was astonished to see that those
plants which were cut down only three months ago, have again

xlviii INTODUCTORY CHAPTER.

sprung up. I send a specimen of one of medium growth, wliicli
is hij^her tlian any we have seen in any other place. I send also
a specimen of another kind of salsola, which is of smaller size
than we have hitherto burned. It is not so abundant as the com-
mon sort ; but 1 am convinced it would yield alkali in a greater
proportion." 23d August, 1809.

" The salsola grows very luxuriantly in Friar's Vallej^ by
reason of the saline water with which this valley abounds. This
is peculiarly deserving attention ; for these waters are nearly as
salt as sea-water. I am persuaded from what I observed in my
way to Thompson's Valley, that the salsola thrives better, and
grows to a larger size when watered with salt, than with fresh
water. I observed also, among some salsola plants which are
growing within tive yards of the surf, that there are icicles of
salt (if I may be allowed the expression) intermixed with the
bushes ; some of which are from one to two feet in length, and
as clear as crystal. I should have sent you one of them, but
it was impossible to reach the spot from which they impend."
31st August, 1809.

" Friar's Valley has produced the largest piece of barilla we
have yet made. The overseer says it would have weighed nearly
1000 pounds before it was broken into pieces in the pit. I am
perfectly sure that this is the most fit ravine to collect and culti-
vate the salsola." 21th September, 1809.

" I yesterday inspected the growth of salsola in Friar's Valley,
and I was astonished to find that it is already fit to cut. This I
attribute to the many salt springs with which that ravine abounds.
I reported on a former occasion my opinion regarding the culture
of salsola in this ravine ; and I can now assure you with more
certainty, that this place is one of the fittest on the island for
that purpose; for, according to my memoranda, it has yielded

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xlix

(comparatively with its size) twice as mucli as any of the other
ravines, and of a very superior quality. It was from this ravine
that we produced the purest soda, and the Prussian blue,* sam-
ples of which you some time ago sent to England." 2lst Janu-
ary, 1810.

" It is with much pleasure I inform you of the success in
salsola burning. There are now 25 casks of about 400 weight
each ; and I calculate upon three times that number being ready
by the departure of the first fleet. It is all of the very best
quality ; which I think will be proved by an analysis of the spe-
cimens of soda that have been already sent to England. Evidently
the plant improves by cutting ; which is all that is necessary to
be known, in order to be satisfied that it may prove a very valu-
able and permanent export." 2\st August, 1810.

" The overseer will have finished burning barilla in Rupert's
Valley this week, from which place one ton and 1200 weight has
been produced, for the trifling cost of about ^6. The burners
will quit this valley on Saturday, and should you approve of it,
will go to Friar's, where the salsola is now in high perfection. I
expect by the end of the year to have an hundred casks of barilla
ready for exportation, containing, upon an average, 400 pounds
each, and that of the best quality." 2lst September, 1810.

Mr. Thomas O'Connor, a respectable merchant at St. Helena,
who had for several years burnt salsola for his soap manufactory,
undertook to direct and superintend the burning in James's
Valley. The samples produced were, in appearance, equal to
the best Spanish sorts we had received from England. He used
no pits ; but kindled his fires on the surface of the ground,
feeding and stirring them, and taking care that the plant was

* Some beautiful specimens of Prussian blue were made at St. Helena, and sent to
England. It might be manufactured in large quantities, and at a moderate price.

h

1 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

entirely consumed before he added fresh fuel. From his statement
of the expense of ccdlecting and burning, it appears that 20 days
labour, (averaging f>iily s^ven hours per day), produced 690
pounds of well viiriiied ashes ; this is 34t pounds from seven hours
labour of one man At this rate 100 men employed during 300
days in the \ear (vt'hich would be 30,000 days labour) might
manufacture 462 tons. But if we take the quantity at only 400
tons, and suppose it would sell in England at ^50, per ton, the
value would be £20,000.

The cliarges of making would be nearly as follows.
100 Chinese labourers rated at £30. per annum, which
rather exceeds their annual expense at St. Helena
(see page 186) _ _ - _ £ 3,000

Freight to England, at £5. per ton - - 2,000

2400 old beef casks for packing - - - 2,400

Contingent charges of cooperage, carriage to wharf, &c. 50

7,450
Estimated value - - - - 20,000

Leaving a profit of ' - - - 12,550

It is impossible to form an estimate of the quantity that might
be manufactured at this place. The salsola plants in their
natural state are scattered over the exterior of the island, from
the margin of the coast to the distance of more than a mile from
the sea. Upon Ladder Hill, and Rupert's Hill, New Ground,
and many other elevated spots, as well as in the ravines, they are
generally detached shrubs, two or three feet high, and covering
a space of from four to eight or nine feet in diameter Souie are
much larger : but to the eastward of Long Wood there seems to
be a different species, growing like a creeper, the plants uniting.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. li

and forming a matted texture over the soil, which at a distance
resembles a fine rich meadow.

But whatever may be the quantity of salsola plants at present,
I have no doubt it might be greatly increased, and at a trifling
expen>e, in the following manner.

Having succeeded in raising plants from the seed in Planta-
tion-house garden, and npon some barren spots on which the
salsola was growing spontaneously, there can be no doubt of the
possibility of extending the culture. It seems to me, that the
least expensive mode would be, to loosen the soil in the intervals
among the natural plants intended to be cut ; to postpone cutting
vintil the seed is perfectly ripe ; and, after cutting, to spread the
plants upon the loosened soil, and beat them a little before they
are carried to the fire. I conceive, that by these simple means,
the seed would be sufficiently deposited for the purpose of vege-
tation. If, however, an entire new plantation is to be made, I
would recommend that the surface soil should be previously
loosened by a rake or harrow, and the seed very thinly sown,
and then bush-harrowed with the salsola itself If the sowing
were to take place just before the rains are expected, the new
Plantation would thrive exceedingly ; and if permitted to remain,
as already mentioned, for eighteen months before the first crop is
taken, it would yield one or two crops a year. New plantations
might also be formed from seed beds ; as the young plants have
been found to thrive well after transplanting.

I have dwelt the longer upon this subject, because it holds
out a fair prospect of obtaining some return for the heavy
charges that are annually incurred by maintaining this small
establishment.

Amongst the various lichens with which the island abounds,
there is that valuable species called Orchel. The circumstances

lii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

of its discovery, and the encouragement tliat was held out to
collect it, and send it to England, are recorded in a letter from
the Court of Directors, dated the 16th December, 1743, in these
words.

•• We are well satisfied, that our island abounds with archell,
of which some sent us, is of the right sort, particular samples
whereof came enclosed, as also of what grows in other parts. Mr.
Goorlwin has informed himself concerning this product as far as
the short time would admit, therefore we must further refer you
to him.

As this product is for dyeing, and will be of great benetit to
our country, we are willing to give our inhabitants all encourage-
ment for the gathering it.

The best sort of what our island produces, as by the samples
sent us hitherto, if cleansed, gathered and picked, is worth £40.
or ^50. a ton, and as the freight home will be one-third of our
freight from India, being about ^10. a ton of 20cwt. net, we
will therefore give to all such of our inhabitants as bring in any
quantity not less than half a hundred, after the rate of 15 shillings
a hundred, to be paid down by you as they bring it in.

But further to encourage them to gather large quantities, we
will give leave to any of our inhabitants to ship it and send it
home upon their own accounts on the following terms.

As it is the product of the island, which is our property, we
will have 25 per cent, on the gross sale, in full of all charges for
our indulgence, and £10. per ton freight, which we must pay the
owner ; there being no custom payable to the crown, the re-
mainder will come to the proprietor, which we will take care
shall be duly paid to his attorney.

You are to receive and pay for accordingly what they shall
bring in to you, the parcels not being less than half a hundred.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. liii

as before mentioned, and agree with the commanders to take it
on board their respective ships, at one-third freight upon our
account, and license all others to ship for their own account on
the terms above-mentioned ; you taking care to agree for the
freight on the like terms, w hich we will answer and make eood.
A sufficient quantity of spirits is delivered to Mr. Goodwin,
to make the experiment, in order to know the true archell, who
has also directions how to make use of the same."

It will no doubt appear surprising, after the knowledge of so
valuable an article of commerce being a spontaneous production,
that it should have, to this day, remained wholly unnoticed and
disregarded. I cannot ascribe the supineness and negligence of
the inhabitants to any other causes, than the scanty means of
labour which they have always complained of, and to the terms
proposed in 1743 not having been sufficiently encouraging to
withdraw them from other pursuits, which yield, without much
trouble, a certain and quick return. The sale of their farm pro-
duce to the shipping was a plain and uncomplicated concern :
but to collect, and select the proper lichens at the very low price
which was offered,* the payment of freight, and the subtraction
of duty, together with the necessity of correspondence, and of
agents in London., required a new sort of management, to which
a St. Helena planter had never been accustomed.

Conceiving, however, that the increased value of this dye, of
late years, and the augmentation of the labouring population, by
the introduction of Chinese, may hereafter hold out stronger in-
citements to exertion, I resolved in the mean wliile, to use every
means in my power, to obtain the fullest information concerning
a natural production which may ultimately prove of considerable

* In 1743, it seems that Orcliel sold in London for L50. or L60. a ton. In later times
it has arisen to nearly four or five times that price.

liv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

value to the Honourable East India Company. Captain John
Barnes, the military surveyor, undertook to explore all those
places where the lichens are to be found, and to collect specimens
for the purpose of being sent to England. In his researches lie
discovered seven different sorts: upon which he made the follow-
ing report.

" Having read that the Lichen rocella (which for the purposes of
dyeing affords a very beautiful and valuable tincture called Archill)
is imported into England, from the Canary and Cape de Verd
Islands, and consideiing that St. Helena, from its similar situation,
might also produce it, I have with the approbation of the Hon.
the Governor, made a collection of lichens, &c. in the hope that
amongst them it may be found ; especially as it appears from the
records of the island in the year 1743, that the true archill had
been sent from hence to England, and was highly approved of. I
cannot take upon me to assert that my search has been perfectly
successful, but from every information I can obtain, I am induced
to believe that it has not been entirely the contrary. I have not
had time to make experiments on the lichens collected, nor indeed
could I have satisfactorily depended upon the result of any, had
they been made so as to have determined which was archill,
carried on as they must necessarily have been with considerable
difficulty, both for the want of proper apparatus, and scientific
skill and experience on my part. It will afford me the highest
possible satisfaction, if any of the present collection may prove at
all conducive to the interests of the Honourable Company.

The package and box, No. 1, contains a lichen which is con-
ceived to be a species of rocella : this conjecture is strengthened
by the information of a gentleman, a native of this island, who
points it out as the same sort which was approved of at home : it
grows in abundance on the rocks near the sea, and especially at

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Iv

Gregory's, Hold-fast Tom, Prosperous Bay, and on the windward
coast of the island, considerable quantities of it might be collected
very readily and at a trifling expense.

No. 2. is a lichen which grows upon the gum-wood trees all
over the island, but particularly on those in the Honourable
Company's plantation at Long Wood, where it is abundant.
From this lichen, it is presumed, a beautiful colour may be ex-
tracted ; it might also be found valuable as a substitute for gum,
if used according to the process in Lord Dundonald's patent.
That nobleman's report states " that lib. of dry (prepared) lichen
" will do as much work in calico printing as l^^lb. of gum
" Senegal, and the difference of price makes a saving of c£45. on
" each table or press, in war time, and half that in peace." The
lichens his Lordship specifies are " those which grow on trees
" and shrubs." It may not be held unreasonable to suppose that
the lichen of this number may possess superior mucilaginous
qualities, growing on the bark of a tree which itself yields a very
pure and excellent gum.

No. 3. is another lichen, found as No. 2.

No. 4. a whitish crustaceous lichen ; found in abundance all
over the island.

No. 5. is a box containing a specimen of a yellow lichen : this
is found in many parts of the island, both in the interior and
towards the sea ; it grows on trees, rocks, and arid soils ; it is
not so plentiful as the other kinds.

No. 6. is a lichen growing on rocks, intermixed with No. 1. and
is in great plenty.

No. 7. a small fibrous lichen ; found generally, and in abun-
dance on rocks, walls, &c.

There is no doubt but this island produces other, and perhaps
infinitely more valuable lichens than any of those collected ; spe-
cimens of which with all care shall be made.

Ivi INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

Should it appear to the Honourable Court of Directors as
deserving tlieir consideration to obtain from St. Helena the true
Archill, and it be not found in any of the lichens already
gathered, if an accurate description of it, with a specimen of the
plant from Canary or the Cape de Verd, together with instruc-
tions and tests for experiments could be sent out, it might at once
be determined whether it is to be found on this island.

I cannot offer any calculation of the quantity which may at
present be procured of any of the lichens ; certainly many tons of
each, particularly of No. 1. and 2. No. 5. appears to be in the
least abundance." Si. Helena, 10th July, 1809.

Lieutenant Phillips, of the artillery, also procured five samples
from the windward rocks of High Knoll. — " The whole," says
he, " are so very brittle and <lry, that in gathering and bringing
" them, they were almost reduced to a powder, excepting one
" sort, which grows in places more sheltered than the others."
After minutely examining them, he inferred that sample No. 1.
was in the first stage ; No. 2. in the second ; and No. 3. in the
third ; and that No. 4. and 5. were of two distinct sorts : conse-
quently High Knoll appears to produce only three different
species. They are all to be found in great abundance, except-
ing No. 2.

That sort which corresponded, as far as I could judge, with the
description given of the true Archill moss, was reduced to a fine
powder, and moistened with strong lime water, urine, and alka-
line salt. It soon gave out a pale red : after remaining a few
days it became of a deeper tint : and the liquid squeezed from
those ingredients exactly resembled the finest coloured red wines.

This experiment, made without any skill on my part, when
added to the observations of Captain Barnes and Lieutenant
Phillips, and to the information communicated in the official
letter from the Court of Directors, in 1743, aflford a positive

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ivii

demonstration, that " the island of St. Helena abounds with
" Archill."

I have thus pointed out two valuable articles of commerce that
might be supplied from St. Helena. There are several others of
minor importance, which might be obtained at a very trifling
expense : amongst which may be reckoned the Socotrine Aloe;
the Palma Christi, and the Capsicum. The scientific reader may
possibly discover, in Doctor Roxburgh's List of Plants, several
others deserving attention.

Of the socotrine aloe, or Aloe perfoliata, there are two or three
varieties. They all grow exuberantly ; and consequently might
be cultivated to any extent.

The palma christi,* or Ricinus communis, which produces the
finest sort of castor oil, although a valuable plant, is totally
neglected. Its importance, the facility of its culture, and the
various uses to which it might be employed, are so well explained
iii Captain Barnes's ofl&cial report, that it would be superfluous
to add more upon this subject.

" I beg leave to offer to your notice the following observations
on a subject which I humbly conceive would, if properly attended
to, materially contribute to the Honourable Company's interests
on this island, by affording a revenue of some magnitude, from
a neglected, yet very valuable source, with little comparative
trouble, risk, labour, or expense.

Some time ago, I had the honour to present you with a small
specimen of castor oil, I had extracted from the fruit of the

* The palma christi, of which the vernacular name on St. Helena is physic nuts, did
not escape the notice of Governor Roberts ; for it appears by the consultation, dated the
30th August, 1709, that he ordered them to be planted.

i

Iviu INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

Rieinus communis, of which you was pleased to express your
approbation ; since that period, I have at every leisure moment,
collected all the information I possibly could respecting this
plant ; and have ascertained by the incontrovertible fact of expe-
riments, the produce of oil, which on an average may be extracted
from its fruit ; and I now trespass on your time and patience, in
laying the results before you.

As it regards the plant itself, it never has been cultivated on
St. Helena, but in its wild state grows in great abundance in most
parts of the island, with vigour and luxuriance equal, if not
superior to any shrub we have ; it bears a prodigious quantity of
fruit, which by attention may be obtained all the year round :
the plants yielding at the same time berries fit for gathering, and
unripe ones in various stages of growth.

The situations most favourable to the palma christi, appear to
be those which are humid and sheltered : there are waste lands of
this description belonging to the Honourable Company, on
which, if plantations of it were formed, immense crops would
be produced ; for, it is to be presumed, that if the little care
necessary was bestowed on its cultivation, its increase would
be in vast proportion : the vallies in St. Helena, which are for
the most part well watered, are peculiarly adapted for this pur-
pose, and so ready is it to vegetate, that by only dropping the
bean on the ground, and occasionally affording it water, it will
speedily grow in any soil, and at any season of the year.

The expense of cultivating this shrub, even if many plantations
of it were formed, would be inconsiderable ; little, if any, prepar-
ation of the soil is required for it ; neither cattle, sheep, goats,
rats, or mice (so destructive to most other plants and fruits) will
touch it ; fences are not therefore necessary to its preservation ;

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. lix

and from the time the seed is placed in the earth to the period of
gathering its produce, one man is fully competent to the manage-
ment and care, of at least, 1000 plants.

As a shrub, it might also be rendered very useful. Where
inclosures are made by sunken fences, or sod walls, on these, as
an additional security, it might be advantageously planted, being
of quick growth, thick and strong. Considerable quantities of
fuel would also be obtained from it, which might be used in pre-
paring the castor oil.

It would doubtless be found serviceable in other respects, as
time and experience would afford opportunities to demonstrate.

In collecting the fruit, neither much time nor labour would be
consumed, and consequently little expense incurred. Children
(who for the most part are brought up in habits of idleness on
this island) might be beneficially employed for this purpose, and
their reward made commensurate to their diligence.

The process I adopted in extracting the oil, and which has
proved successful, I need not in this report detail ; not that I
have the least objection so to do to any one, particularly to you,
who have always been good enough to honour with your ap-
proval the humble attempts I have made to afford satisfaction
to my honourable employers ; but it may be necessary to state,
that it is an expeditious method, sure, and attended with small
cost.

The fruit being gathered at a proper age, I can safely assert,
that in the several extracts I have made, the produce of pure
castor oil has never been less than in the proportion of one-third
of the weight of the bean ; generally approaching nearer to half
the weight, and that the average which may be fairly estimated
is full forty per cent.

The refuse of the bean after the oil is obtained, I understand

Ix INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

to be a very nutritious and wholesome food for cattle, hogs, &c.,
and of which they are particularly fond.

The modes which would be proper to adopt in the cultivation
of the Ricinus, is not for me to attempt an arrangement of; but
I take the liberty to state, that supposing an acre of land to be
occupied with full grown, bearing shrubs, the best distance they
should be from each other would perhaps be ten feet, which would
allow 360 plants on an acre, including room for water trenches,
&c. : upon a moderate calculation each tree would jaeUl 50 pounds
weight of beans per annum ; this would amount to 18,000 pounds
weight per acre: the produce in oil, taking it only at one-third,
would be 6,000 pounds, or 750 gallons : supposing this quantity
sold at 125. per gallon (which I am told is far under the market
price), would bring <£4oO. sterling. The expense of cultivation,
manufacture, and freight to England, say £50. ; so that a pro-
bable profit of c£400. per acre would arise to the Honourable
Company. Twenty-eight acres, containing 10,000 trees, would
at this rate produce an annual revenue of ^11,200.

As the seasons in the equable climate of this island would but
little affect plantations of this valuable shrub, calculations may
be formed concerning them with some degree of certainty ; and I
have no hesitation in saying, that the foregoing one is likely to
be much within what may be justly expected to accrue from the
culture of the pal ma christi, and the preparation of castor oil
from its fruit.

It must, however, be understood, that some time would neces-
sarily elapse (perhaps a year or two) before any considerable
advantage could be experienced ; and even should not what I
have suggested prove to answer in every point, the trial may be so
easily made on an inferior scale, and at so little hazard, trouble,
and expense, that, with submission, I conceive it would not be

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixi

impolitic to attempt it, especially as the oil which may be so had,
would more than repay the cost of obtaining- it, by permitting it
t© be used for burning- in lamps ; for which purpose I know none
better, giving- a clear, steady, and brilliant light, and offending
neither in smoke nor smell.

If these thoughts should, induce any experiments to be made
on this subject, I am, under your approval, not only ready to
superintend the plantation of the shrub, and the manufacture of
the oil, but I am sanguine enough to state, that in case of failure,
I will endure my trouble as my compensation."

Of the Capsicum, Doctor Roxburgh mentions three sorts ; the
cerasiforme, or cherry-pepper; the grossnm, or bell-pepper, and
ihefrutesccns, or shrul>hy pepper. There may possibly be others
which have escaped his notice ; for amongst them is that kind
which yields the best sort of Cayan-pepper. They all thrive
luxuriantly in the low vallies near the sea, producing two, some-
times three, crops in the year. In those places, the plants raised
from the seed, bear fruit in nine months ; and at Plantation-
house, where it is cooler, in eleven ; shewing, on the same plant,
blossom, unripe and ripe fruit, all the year round.

Those who are experienced in the culture of capsicum, recom-
mend an annual succession of plants, because they degenerate,
or become unproductive, after three years. By this means there
can be no doubt that immense quantities might be raised, and at
a trifling- expense. In short, from all that has been stated con-
cerning the mineral and vegetable productions of St. Helena, and
its fertile soil and fine climate, it must be evident (as Governor
Byfield observed in the year 1730) that " if the inhabitants were
" a diligent, industrious, laborious people, such as you want,
" and they ought, and this place requires, they might raise many
" things for the supply of shipping, which would turn to a very

Ixii INTRODUCiORV CHAPTER.

" good account ; for the island is really capable of considerable
" improvement. We have set them a good example, and hear-
" tily wish they had discretion enough to follow it."*

Notwithstanding this complaint of a want of diligence, industry,
and discretion amongst the inhabitants, I observe by theRecords,f
that Mr. Byfield's unremitting exertions had brought the island
into a higher state of improvement than at any period of its history.
During his administration, the inhabitants were so abundantly
supplied with island productions, that there was no demand what-
ever for salted beef and pork from the public stores. The small
quantities that remained in store, Mr. Byfield requested permis-
sion to have sent to Bencoolen : in order " that it should sell for
" a little, rather than be all lost, which must be the case if it
" remain here ; for we have not any demand or occasion for it."{
This retrospect to the Records clearly shews, tliat if St. Helena
were properly managed, and agriculture carried on to the extent of
which the island is capable, the demand for imported provisions
might be reduced to a mere trifle.

It is well known that St. Helena, since the period of its dis-
covery, has been successively, and exclusively appropriated by the
Portuguese, Dutch, and English, as a place of rendezvous and
refreshment for ships returning from India. No expense has
been spared to render it suitable to this important purpose. Many
judicious orders and regulations have been from time to time sent
from England ; and it was particularly enjoined " to render every
" acre of ground capable of cultivation, as productive as the
" nature of the soil would admit." So early as 1675, the govern-
ment was told by the Directors of the East India Company,
that " We find there is wanting industry and pains-taking in

• Extract from official letter, dated the 24th June, 1730.

t Letter, 26th May, 17S0. | Governor Byfield's Letter, 26th May 1730»

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixiii

*' many of the inhabitants ; which we will not permit to con-
" tinue amongst you : for they that will not plant, and take care
*' for provisions of their own, we will not supply them : rather
" send them home under the title of drones."

This threat was actually carried into execution by Governor
Roberts in the year 1708 ; and had a temporary effect. But,
notwithstanding those orders and menaces, and all that had been
done during more than a century to excite a proper spirit of
industry amongst the landholders, I found on my arrival in 1808,
that 88 acres, in gardens and potatoe grounds, was the total
quantity of cultivation. This indeed was barely sufficient for a
scanty supply to the shipping : and the produce was sold at the
most exorbitant rates. Under such circumstances, it may readily
be imagined, that little, if any, of the island produce was con-
sumed by the inhabitants. The fact is, that in 1808, there was
a population of 3600 living almost wholly upon the public stores,
obtaining most of the necessaries of life in profusion, at prices
not exceeding one-third of the prime cost in England.*

Nothing could possibly be more adverse to improvements than
so strange and unprecedented a system. The feeding of a popu-
lation was not only baneful in its effect upon industry and cul-
tivation, but the scanty produce which so small a portion of the
lands afforded, aided by a combination to keep up the prices, had
enhanced every article of farm produce to such a degree, that the
object of maintaining the island, at so great an expense, was
almost entirely defeated. The commanders of ships could not
purchase refreshments for the seamen at the rates which were
extorted : accordingly, they took no more than what they re-
quired for themselves and passengers ; and the consequence
was, that the quantities exported, of island products greatly

* See page 207.

Ixiv

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

I

diminished.* It will scarcely be credited that so determined was
the spirit of combination to keep up the prices, that rather than

* Abstract of the principal Articles of Farming Stock exported 1789, 1810; shewing
the increase of Prices, and the decrease in the means of Refreshment to Shipping.

COMPARATIVE EXPORTS.

ARTICLES.

Prices in 1810.

1810.

1789.

Prices in 1789.

N'uraber.

Number.

Bullocks killed,

Is. 2d. per lb.

176

346

6d. per lb.

Busliels of Potatoes, -

105. to 12s.

3288

346S

6s. per bushel.

Bunohes of Vegetables,
Baskets of Apples, Peaches,
Oranges, Figs, &c. -

not ascertained.
r ditto

375

88

not ascert''.
ditto

Cwts. of Hay,

lOs, or 12*.

139

181

6s. per cwt.

Pompions, _ - _

2s. Gd. to 5s. each

1118

2032

Is. 6d. each.

Turkies, - - -

32s. to 42s. do.

278

725

5s. to 8s. each.

Geese, _ _ _

21s. to 25s. do.

95

28

6s, each.

Ducks and Fowls, -

7 s.Gd. to 12s. do.

1810

5104

Is. 6f/. to 2s.

Hogs and Pigs killed, -

Is. 3d. per lb.

170

347

6d. per lb.

Sheep, - _ -

40s. to 60s. each.

25

201

21s. each.

This Abstract clearly shews that the refreshments to shipping in the j-ear 1789, and
particularty in beef, hogs, sheep, and poultry, when the sale of rice and paddy to the
inhabitants from the Company's stores amounted to no more than L327. per annum,
were far more abundant than they have been of late years, notwithstanding the annual
sale of rice and paddy, had augmented to £,3600. per annum, in 1809.

From this ten-fold augmentation of the issues of paddy, which is the grain used for
feeding stock, it might have been expected that the quantities of stock raised, would have
been proportionally increased : but cifects directly contrary have been produced; for, not
only have the quantities greatly diminished, but the prices have been raised in a triple,
or quintuple, proportion. The theory of markets finding their own level, can never be
applied to St. Helena. The markets there are always deranged by tiie arrival of fleets.
To these alone the islanders look for a sale of their products ; and from the c.iptains and
passengers they demand whatever prices they choose. Nothing can prevent exorbitant
prices being demanded, but the interposition of Government. If the prices were regulated
and kept within moderate bounds, a greater degree of industry would be excited, a greater
quantity of stock would be raised, and the islanders, by a more extensive sale, would
derive a griater profit, or return, during the year.* In 1811, the Government did inter-
pose, and prohibited any person demanding, or receiving, more than five shillings for a
fowl : the otiier sorts oi poultry were reduced in the same proportion ; and potatoes fell
in price, by the effect of the Company's farms.

* See Section XIII. p. 85.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixv

lower potatoes from 10 or 12 shillings a bushel, and rather than
feed slaves and servants, and far less live stock, with so valuable
a commodity, the crops were actually sufiered to rot at the farms,
and many cart loads were thrown into the sea. The price of
every other article was in the same proportion.

In regard to raising the prices of the island produce, no reason-
able grounds have ever existed. From taxes the inhabitants are
wholly exempted. They are subject neither to poor rates nor
tythes ; and they hold their lands at an extremely moderate rent,
that is, from \s..Qd. to 5s. or Qs. per acre. The war taxes in
England have not extended to this place ; and which can only
be felt, and that in a very trifling degree, upon woollen manu-
facture, and a few other European articles. The necessaries of
life (beef and pork, flour and rice) had remained at the same
prices since the year 1772 ! ! From this period to 1808 the beef
and pork, supplied from the Company's stores, had invariably
been sold to the inhabitants, both white and black, at Ad. per
pound ; flour at 2\d. ; rice at a little more than \d., and paddy*
at |rf. per pound. Between the years 1800 and 1808, there being
no restriction on the issues of those articles from the public stores,t
the consequence was, that in this short period, the annual charges
of the island had increased from £69,000. in 1800, to 06157,000.
in 1808. J But, after having most clearly ascertained, by referring
to the Company's orders, that neither the low prices at which
provisions were sold, nor the profuse issues from the public stores

* Paddy is rice ia the husk, with which poultry and horses, &c. are fed.

t In justice to the late Colonel Brooke I must observe, that during the whole of his
meritorious administration, the demands on the public stores for imported provisions were
veiy trifling; and the refreshments supplied to the shipping were sold at extremely
moderate rates. See Comparative Prices, 1789 and 1810, page Ixiv.

i See page 208.

k

Ixvi INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

had ever been sanctioned by the Court of Directors, a reform
was adopted, wliich, by its jiiadual operation, produced a reduc-
tion in the charges of the island, from <£I57,356. in 1808, to
£104,880. in 1812.*

Another cause of the increase of the island charges, was a total
neglect of the orders of the Company to extend cultivation. This
would have undoubtedly been the best means of lessening the
demands on the public stores, and of augmenting the stock of
cattle : but, instead of obeying those orders, the farmers gradually
became graziers. Their cattle and sheep were left to themselves
on the pastures; and no provision of fodder of any kind was ever
thought of, to meet a season of (Irougl)t. Lands formerly in
cultivation were abandoned and overgrown with weeds ; and few
traces of industry were to be seen. Under such circumstances,
the increase of population, that is, of planters and their slaves,
had been of no advantage to the island ; for in the year 1717,
when the total of those inhabitants was only 833, there were
1765 cattle on the island ; and in 1812, when the same class of
inhabitants had increased to 1732, their stock of cattle was no
more than 1494.

Such were the real causes of all the existing evils. Had the
same energies which are so conspicuous during the governments
of Messrs. Roberts, Pyke, Bytield, and Dunbar,t (between the

* See Note, page 208.

■j- " Governor Roberts's administration ( 1 708-1 J ) may justly be said to form a new asra
in the history of St. Helena. The general disorder into which the island had fallen, and
tne accumulated defects which had arisen and multiplied under his predecessors, were at
once corrected by his able conduct. Attention to business, regularity, and economy,
were established in every department; whilst strict justice, and a conscientious regai-d to
the Company's interests, distinguished the measures of this excellent Governor."

" By a vigorous execution of laws, which had long been disregai'ded. Captain Roberts
rendered liimself obnoxious to those who were desu-ous of accommodating their private

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixvii

years 1708 to 1740) been followed up, St. Helena, at tlie present
time, would have been in tiie most flourishing condition. Its

views at tlie expense of tlie Company''s interest ; and, as trutli anil justice could form no
basis for open remonstrance, secret misrepresentation and detraction were the only wea-
pons that could be employed against him. These, together with a ])lausible statement
dehvered to the Court of Directors by George Hoskinson, a wealthy planter, of infamous
character, at length succeeded in effecting tiie removal of Captain Roberts. The ground-
less charges which had been preferred against him, were soon detected ; and the unjust
treatment of the man whose merits had been so conspicuous, justly excited the strongest
indignation." • • ■

" Governor Pyke was twice in charge of the Government ; first, in 1 7 1 '1- 1 J), and after-
wards in 1 732-38. His attention was principally directed to agricultural improvement.
Although he had many obstacles to encounter, yet, in five years, he restored the island
from a most ruinous condition, to as flourishing a state as could be expected, considering
the difficulties he had to overcome. He has vei-y justly been accused of arbitrary con-
duct ; but upon the whole, the Court of Directors were satisfied with his first adminis-
tration, and re-appointed him Governor in 1732.'"

" During five years that Mr. Byfield filled the Chair, from 17^7 to 1732, his savings
for the Company were calculated at X25,565. Their sense of his merits was manifested
by an addition to his salary, and other marks of favour. The inhabitants also, about
five months after theii- liberation from the galling yoke of Captain Smyth's tyranny,
testified their acknowledgments in an address to Mr. Byfield, for his equitable adminis-
tration ; and, in the foOowing year, again took occasion to express their high sense of his
just and indulgent disposition. But, when the recollection of former sufferings and
oppression had worn off, present blessings were undervalued, and chscontents fomented
against the man, who, by general confession, had every claim to esteem and affection. A
powerful party was formed against him, and a deputation of two of its members was sent
home to lay their pretended grievances before the Court of Directors."

" Byfield, indignant at this imgrateful treatment, retired from his situation in disgust ;
but whilst his enemies succeeded in tlriving him from the island, they were little awai'e of
the punishment they had been preparing for themselves. Captain Pyke was appointed
to succeed, and anived in March 1732. During his second administration, he fully
justified the charge of arbitrary conduct, of which he was accused. The white inhabi-
tants were ignominiously whipped and imprisoned for trivial offences ; the military officers
/ined and suspended \vithout courts-martial," &c. &c.* The day on which Mr. Byfield

* Mr. Brooke's History of St. Helena.

Ixviii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

inhabitants, by being compelled to industrious habits, would
have been affluent ; and its fertile lands, by yielding more than
two crops a year, would have supplied, in abundance, almost
every necessary of life.

St. Helena has generally been represented as a barren rock;
but this is not the fact. There are two or three thousand acres,
(as already observed) covered with excellent soil of unusual depth,
and capable of cultivation. Comparing it with Malta, every
part of which I have explored, I consider it infinitely superior
in capabilities. In Malta there is scarcely any natural soil, and
yet that island abounds in corn, cotton, silla, and fruit of all
kinds ; and the prices of provisions are moderate. Its fields,
formed at a great expense, by bringing soil from Sicily, contri-
bute to support a large population, and its cotton-thread is a
valuable export.

But, at Malta, every man depends on his own industry: at St.
Helena, on the contrary, it is remarkable that all, with very few
exceptions, are under no such dependence. If a soldier be
employed in labour, it matters not to him whether he be idle or
active ; he knows he is clothed, fed, and paid, at the Company's
expense. It is the same with the slave ; for he, poor man,
has no stimulus to exertion ; he is also fed and clothed by his
master, but not paid. And in respect to some others, and the

embarked for England, he gives a very summary view of the state of the island : ' We
' have had,' says he, ' a fine season again ; and this place plentifully abounds with yam,
' and hcef, and ■idk.Jelhws!' Letter to the Court of Dii-ectors, 24th March, 1732.''

*' Goveriior Dunbar was unweaiied in his exertions (1743-7) to watch over the re-
soui'ces and fertility of the island. ' He introduced the plough : and his experiments in
the cultivation of oats, barley, and wheat, at Long Wood, gave rise to such hopes of suc-
cess, that a barn was erected there ;" but his successor had no taste for improvements, and
those promising beginnings were totally forgotten, and no longer thought of, until the year
1808.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixix

free blacks, they contrive, by extorting high wages, to provide
their maintenance by two or three days labour in the week,
which enables them to purchase from the public stores, at a
cheap rate, a sufficiency of imported provisions for themselves and
families.

Such was the state of St. Helena, in the year 1808. It is there-
fore by no means surprising that clamours arose, and that repre-
sentations were made, concenring the very inadecjuate refreshment
which the island afforded.

But, since that time considerable changes have taken place;
the Company's farms have been established ; Chinese labourers
have been introduced ; and a much larger quantity of land brought
into cultivation, both by the government and individuals. The
objects 1 had in view by establishing those farms were to place,
beyond all contradiction, the capabilities of the soil and climate ;
to set good examples of English husbandry ; to defeat the com-
binations already mentioned ; and to regulate, or keep within
reasonable bounds, the market prices. All these intentions had
been fultilled in 1812. Potatoes had fallen in price, from 12*. to
4s. a bushel delivered at the farms, and to 6s. in James's Town.
Some of the planters, having superabundant crops, publicly
advertised to sell at 3s. .6d. ; but this was rather discouraged until
cultivation shall have been more extended, particularly as the
commanders of the Company's ships declared they were perfectly
satisfied with the reduced prices.

Many of those commanders, as well as captains of H. M. ships,
very handsomely acknowledged the great benefits their crews had
derived from the ample supplies of vegetable produce ;* and it

* Wlien H. M. ship Illustrious arrived at St. Helena on the 19th July, 1813, Captain
Skene represented the deplorable state of his crew ; being worn out by long residence in
India, and many of them severely tainted with scurvy. One hundred and fifty-four men

Ixx INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

seemed very generally to be admitted, that whilst St. Helena can
furnish large quantities of potatoes and vegetables at moderate
rates, it could seldom be necessary to make any demand for
beef at the island price, which is fourteen pence per pound ; for
in all disorders incidental to seamen after long voyages, (except
in cases of great debility,) it is probable that a vegetable regimen,
combined with ships provisions and wholesome beer, may be
nearly, if not wholly as efficaciousin promoting a recovery as a
change from salt to fresh meat. The question seems to be, whether
sixteen pounds of potatoes (which cost fourteen pence) be equiva-
lent to one pound of fresh meat. The experiment is worthy a
trial, if not already made.

From these recent facts, it will readily be perceived how very
easily St. Helena might be rendered the most perfect and com-
plete place of refreshment for ships in the world. All that is
wanting is to promote and encourage the culture of the lands. If
the present scale of cultivation were enlarged, and plantations
of trees extended to many of those parts that are unfit for other
purposes, there cannot be a doubt, that every necessary refresh-
ment for fleets, and food for the inhabitants, as well as useful
timber and fuel, might be produced in the greatest abundance.

The laudable spirit for improvement, which at present exists
among some of the landholders, affords a fair prospect of attaining
all these objects. " Plantations of trees," says Governor Wilks,*
" are become a favourite object with most of the landholders,
" since the destruction of the goats, has begun to shew that trees

were upon the sick list, incapable of duty : but on the 1st of September, when he sailed
for England, most of them were restored to health ; ancj the sick list was reduced to
thirty. Their recovery was chiefly ascribed to tiie abundant use of vegetables, and whole-;
some beer.

* Governor Wilks's Agricultural Report, dated lOth March, 1815.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixx

*' can really be preservetl :* and also, since plants have been
" procurable. Accordint;" to present appearances, penal obliga-
" tions will be superfluous. At present, my chief doubt arises
'•' from the apprehension that I shall not be able to supply the
•' whole of the demands for the present year."

It has been already stated, that the climate of St. Helena is
remarkably pure and salubrious, and wholly exempted from
gales and tempests. There is abundance of fine water, and a safe
and commodious anchorage all along the leeward coast, where
ships are not only sheltered by the high land, but are most pow-
erfully protected by the fire of the batteries. And as St. Helena
is in itself a place of great strength, situated in the direct tract of
ships returning from India, it seems impossible to imagine a port
more peculiarly adapted for the purposes to which it has been so
long appropriated.

The Cape of Good Hope, since it has become a British colony,
appears, however, to have been considered as a more suitable
rendezvous. Fresh meat, flour, and wines, can undoubtedly be
procured there upon more moderate terms than at St. Helena. I
know of no other superiority that the Cape possesses ; and I am
firmly persuaded, if the circumstances of both climates, more
especially the uniform and moderate breezes of St. Helena, were
compared and contrasted with the tremendous gales to which the
latitude of tlie Cape is subject, at all seasons of the year,t that

• The advantages tliat vvere expected to result from the extermination of the goats
have been realised : they are pointed out in the first Section of this Work : which is
almost verbatim my official minute upontliis subject, dated the 20tii of September, 1810.
Although tills measure met with some opposition in the first instance, there is not, now,
one person on the island who entertains a doubt of its expediency.

t In the month of November, 17^^, which is a summer month, H.M. ship Sceptre'
and every vessel in Table Bay, was driven on shore. Had there been a valuable India
fleet there at the time, it is highly probable that the whole would have shared the same
fate.

Ixxii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

such a comparison would lead to a conclusion, that the Cape of
Good Hope is not only inferior to St. Helena as a rendezvous,
but is of all places the most unsafe, and the most improper for
the resort of valuable fleets.

In order, however, that the reader may form his own judgment
on this question, I shall here present him with an account of
the climate of the Cape, as given in a recent publication.*

" For nearly half the year the south-east wind prevails, and at
thnes rages with the most desperate violence. The inhabitants
of Cape Town are apprised of its approach, by observing at first
a small white cloud, or mist, rising between the mountains called
the Devil's head and the Table mountain ; soon after the Table
mountain itself becomes enveloped in thick cloud or mist, and
the stoim almost instantly begins, and roars in the most terrific
manner, without ceasing, many days together. At its height
nothing can scarcely stand against it. Waggons drawn by
twelve or fourteen oxen are frequently blown out of the road."

" Those dreadful storms continue, for different periods, from
three or four, to nine or ten days ; and between the periods the
heat is very intense. The spring opens about the end of August,
and the two hottest days I ever remember, were the Christmas
days of the years 1811 and 1812 ; on the former of which, by a
thermometer in Cape Town, the degree of heat was, at half-past
nine in the morning, at 120 degrees, and was thought to be
still more in the advance of the day."

" During the prevalence of those hurricanes, not only the
sensations of invalids are acute to an extreme, but even the
robust and the healthy feel its dreadful effects. The frequent and
almost momentary transitions from heat to cold are extremely
unpleasant and dangerous to an English or European constitu-
* The Importance of the Cape of Good Hope, published in 1814, by R. B. Fisher, Esq.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixxiii

tion, until it is inured to it. The finest part of tlie year is termed
the winter, commencing about March or April, to the lattei end
of August, or beginning of September. This is the rainy season,
when it frequently rains in torrents for many days, and the houses
and whole town are deluged with water. But in the intervals of
rain the temperature of the air is remarkably mild and pleasant,
and the atmosphere most uncommonly clear. It is seldom or
ever very cold, except that sort of cold which arises from damp.
The tops of the mountains are at this season covered with snow ;
but T scarce ever remember to have seen snow on the plains."

" In Table Bay, which is known to be excessively deep and
rocky, and as it were the surrounding country reversed, for many
months in the year no ships can land, or even enter; and, if any,
being before in the Bay, continue there during those months,
which is sometimes unavoidable, they ride with very great diffi-
culty, and in considerable danger, with head and bow anchors,
which are frequently obliged to be shifted at the turn of tide.
Even in the finest season, and often in the cahnest weather, there
is an immense surge which there is nothing to break. There
are no harbours, docks, or quays ; a complete open road-sted,
and nothing but a long projecting jetty about 300 yards, on
which if you cannot safely land, you must be content to go stern
foremost with the surge, and be left on the sand."

" There are only six months in the year in which ships ever
venture into Table Bay ; and during the Avinter season, the
Admiral on the station, and the men of war, coi>stantly go round
to False Bay, and take shelter in Simon's Bay. The number of
vessels said to have been lost in Table Bay is almost incredible.
I myself saw two ships, that,- in the same night, broke from their
anchors, run aground, and were totally lost, and tvhen the
weather was not very tempestuous."

1

Ixxiv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

This account of the dangers of Table Bay, and the frequency
of long continued and violent tempestuous gales, must satisfy
every disinterested person, that St. Helena is, from its local cir-
cumstances, infinitely superior, in every respect, as a place of
rendezvous and refreshment. At the Cape, " the numl)er of
" vessels said to be lost is almost incredible." At St. Helena,
there is not, on record, a single instance (nor can there ever be)
of a vessel being lost by bad weather. How great then must have
been the value and importance of this small island to the commer-
cial interests of the East India Company ! If tlu.'ir ships, dur-
ing the last century and a half, had been compelled to resort to
the Cape instead of St. Helena, it may readily be imagineil that,
in such a climate, immense losses of ships, and property, and
lives, would have been sustained ; and that the Company, at
the present time, (as they never insure) must have been minus
several millions sterling !

It is said that False Bay and Saldanha Bay afford some degree
of security against storms : but admitting this to be fact, still
those bays are objectionable, because they are situated in a bois-
terous region ; consequently, neither of them could ever be made
so perfectly secure against the elements, (and I may add, against
an enemy) as the port of St. Helena is at the present moment.

To erect fortifications and public buildings, in short, to make
new settlements at Saldanha, or False Bay, would necessarily be
attended with prodigious expenses ; after all, no public benefit
could possibly arise : at least in the refreshment of ships. Indeed
from all I have heard, I have great reason to believe, that tew
commanders, on their returning voyages, would optionally, for
the sake of refreshment, run the risk of their own property by
remaining in those latitudes a longer time than is necessary :
from which indeed they seem at all times glad to escape as soon

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixxv

as possible, and to make Jor St. Helena, a safer port, where they
can have every article they stand in need of; although, of late
years, at rather a greater expense,

I have already noticed that fresh meat, flour, and wine, are the
only articles which are procurable at the Cape in greater plenty,
and at a cheaper rate, than at St. Helena. The first, T have en-
deavoured to shew, is not very essential to the refreshment of
seamen, where vegetables are in abundance. The second is never
required by the India ships, because they are so well provided
for the voyage, that tl ey frequently dispose of the surplus to the
inhabitants, and sometimes to the Government of the island.
In respect to Cape wine, by the late arrangements, there has
always been (since the withdrawing of spirits from the island) a
provision for the garrison in the public stores : consequently,
some could at any time be spared for the ships if it should be
wanted.

Hence it must be obvious there can be no want of refresh-
ments : and as all those scenes of riot and intemperance, which
had for many years disgraced this settlement, are happily at an
end, by a prohibition on the import of spirits, and by the intro-
duction of breweries and beer-houses, I will venture to say,
there is no sea-port, or garrison, in the world, where sailors and
soldiers can be permitted to land with so little risk of committing
excesses. This, indeed, was clearly ascertained, in August, 1813.
Captain Halliday, commanding His Majesty's ship Tigre, per-
mitted 300 of his men to go on shore in one day. They went
into the town and country, conducting themselves in the most
orderly manner, and retired quietly on board in the evening,
without a single instance of intoxication.

When this fact is contrasted with the following account of the
exhibitions in garrison, a few years before, some idea may be

Ixxvi INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

formed of the manifold advantages which have resulted from the
abolition of spirit houses, and the introduction of breweries.*

* The houses for retailing spirits were abolished on the 15th of May, 1809. The-
garrison at that time consisted of about 1250; of whom 132 were sick in hospital.
Four months after that abolition, the patients were reduced to 18 : but, as it was found
impracticable to put down intemperance, whilst cheap spirits were on the island, the
Government adopted measures to prevent any being landed : which have completely had
tlie desired effect.

Soon after the total abolition of spii-its, in 1810, the patients in hospital gradually de-
clined to between 30 and 10; which, (considering there were, at that time, about 100
non-effectives, and others far advanced in life) were as few as could well be expected.
This surprising redaction is to be ascribed solely to a change of diet, arising from a more
abundant supply of vegetables, and from substituting wholesome beer for an abominable
deleterious spu-it, such as new Bengal rum or arrack ; of which, for many years before,
more than 300 leagers were annually consumed on this sniidl island !

" It «-ill hardly be credited," said the late Doctor Adam Baildon, in his official report,
24th November, 1808, " that soldiers and others are frequently brought to the hospital
as far advanced in real scurvy, as if they had just landed after a long voyage : and many
who ai-e brought for other complaints, are considerably tainted with this disease.

This is to be ascribed to tlie great prevalence of drunkenness, which is a subject, in
my opinion, deserving the most serious attention. The health and comfort of the soldiers,
and consequently the strength of the garrison, are so very materially affected by it, that
to find some method by which it \vould be effectually prevented, becomes a consideration
of no small importance.

On my arrival I was much siu'prised at the great number of patients attacked with
liver complaints. The mildness of the climate led me to suppose that such complaints
ought not to be common here, and I very soon discovered, that the cause of those com-
plaints, and of four-fifths of the diseases in the hospital, originate wholly in the excessive
use of spirituous liquors. In the colder climate of Britain, Uver complaints are rarely
met with, and are generallv confined to hai'd drinkers ; and more especially ch-am-drinkers.
It is in this way that most of the spirits here are consumed. Indeed, the use of all in-
toxicating liquors produces a craving for a repetition ; and the stimulus given to the
stomach is so sudden and so powerful, and the degree of exhaustion that follows so great,
that this craving in those accustomed to spirits, often becomes more powerful than hunger
or thirst ; so that the soldiers in this state, though perfectly certain of punishment, will
tojnimit almost any crime rather than forego their drams. It is well known to every officer

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixxvii

Upon my arrival, in 1808, I was forcibly struck with the dis-
orderly conduct of the soldiers. Scenes of the grossest intem-
perance were daily exhibited at the spirit houses. Crowds of
soldiers and sailors were in constant attendance, rioting and

in garrison, that in drunkenness alone, originate 19 in 20 of the crimes for which tlie sol-
diers are brought to punishment."

In a subsequent report, Doctor Baildon notices more particularly the appearances of
St. Helena scurvy. Upon these appearances, and upon the anti-scorbutic qualities of
nopal, he reported as follows,

" 2\st August, 1809.

" I consider Doctor Anderson's discovery of the anti-scorbutic and nutritious qualities
of the nopal, to be of the greatest importance to diis island. Vegetables are here very
scai-ce ; wherefore, if the opuntia had no other recommendation than that of being a
pleasant vegetable, it must be considered as a great acquisition to the inhabitants in gene-
ral. I have formerly stated to you, that the men of this garrison, from their living
principally on salted provisions, and being seldom able to procure vegetables (joined to
the abuse of spirits,) are generally afflicted widi the scorbutic diadiesis ; which appears by
their spongy gums, purple spots, and by scratches, often degenerating into livid, trouble-
some sores, &c. Some I have seen admitted into tlie hospital as bad with scurvy as if
just landed from a long voyage. As an adtUtion to our liospital diet, the opuntia will,
therefore, be a most valuable article. I trust, indeed, that if cultivated in sufficient
quantity, it will soon be the means of altogether preventing the soldiers from acquiring
the scorbutic taint ; however this may be, it wiU certainly add gi-eatly to their comfort as
an article of common diet. It must appear from all I have stated, that the several spe-
cies of opuntia will be extremely useful on this island, for the following purposes.

1. As a pleasant vegetable for common use.

2. As a most important addition to the hospital diet in genei-al.

3. As an article of food for the soldiers, adding to their comfort and preserving their

health.

4. As an anti-scorbutic, used raw or otherwise, for seamen landed here.

5. For the supply of ships while here, as an article of diet, and as an anti-scorbutic to

carry to sea.

6. As fences.

7- As an ornament to the hills of James's Valley.'"

Doctor Baildon' s Letter, 2 1st August, 1809.

Ixxviii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

boxing' in the pnblic streets. The roads leading to the country
were often strewed with drunken men, laying insensible, both
white and black. When the means of purchasing spirits were
exhausted, some of those abandoned wretclies had no other re-
source than in theft and burglary. Of their nightly depredations
I had numerous complaints: but so cunning and dexterous were
the band of thieves, at that time in garrison, that I could never
obtain sufficient evidence to convict them. At length, in addi-
tion to restrictions, and afterwards the abolition of the spirit
houses, I determined, as the only expedient of rooting out such
licentiousness, to get rid of the most notorious characters.
Officers commanding corps were directed to furnish lists of all
who had been tried by courts martial for " irregular behaviour ;"
connected with suspicions of theft and house-breaking. Tlie
number was 42, of whom 23 were selected and sent to Bengal,
enlisted for tive years : this had the desired effect, and depreda-
tions on the Company's store rooms, and on the dwellings of
individuals, ceased.

St. Helena, besides being valuable for refreshment to the East
India Company's fleets, might become of considerable utility as
a place of seasoning for their troops destined for India. Its
appropriation to this purpose was suggested by Governor Brooke,
about the year 1796, after he had, at different periods, forwarded
drafts to Madras to the number of 1210. These disciplined sol-
diers, prepared for a warm climate, by a few years residence on
St. Helena, were found far less liable to diseases (as might natu-
rally be supposed), than those who were sent direct from Eng-
land. The havoc that was made amongst some of His Majesty's
regiments, about the year 1781-2, when they took the field,
immediately (»n their arrival, compared with the healthiness of
the St. Helena detachments, aftbrds a striking proof of the good

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. kxix

effects of having troops previously seasoned before they are sent
to India.

It is therefore obvious, if the recruits enlisted for India were
to be sent to St. Helena, and exchanged for an equal number of
seasoned soldiers, it would be a means of saving many lives that
otherwise would fall a sacrifice to the disorders incidental to
warm climates. The India recruits might remain from two to
live years, in the option of the Governor ; or proceed, at any
time within that period, to their destination : or return to Eng-
land, after the expiration of their term of service. If this plan
were carried into effect, it would moreover check that spirit of
insubordination, combination, and discontent, to which some
men are liable, when too long kept in one place.

Knowing from experience, that many abandoned characters
still remained in garrison, in 1812, after the mutiny, and knowing
their unceasing thirst for spirituous liquors, and the improbabi-
lity of some incorrigible drunkards among them ever being con-
tented without spirits, after having been so long habituated to
intemperance, I suggested to the Court of Directors, that all
those who were in the disposition to serve in India should be
immediately relieved. This would enable the Governor to weed
the garrison, by selecting for India the worst subjects (who
could do no mischief there) ; and by such means there would be
an end to all discontents and clamours ; and the St. Helena corps
in a short time would be composed of a peaceable and sober
class of men, on whose fidelity and zeal a perfect reliance might
be placed.

With a garrison composed of such men, placed in the exterior
posts, and forming three reserves, with field-pieces, in the inte-
rior, so distributed as speedily to reinforce the points attacked, I
should feel a perfect confidence, that no external attack, however
formidable, could possibly sucoeed.

Ixxx INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

In order to illustrate this opinion, it will be necessary to ofFet
a few general remarks upon the natural strength of the island ;
and upon the means it possesses of giving perfect security to
ships at the anchorage, as well as of opposing the most vigorous
resistance to an enemy's attack.

The natural strength of St. Helena consists in its compact
form and size, and in its inaccessible coasts, formed by an almost
uninterrupted chain of rocks, or mountains, rising in nearly a
perpendicular direction, to the height of from 500 or 600, to
more than 1200 feet.

It is well known that vessels bound to St. Helena, take care
to be considerably to windward ; so that by steering after-
wards a westerly course, they can hardly fail of falling in with
it. After gaining sight of the land, they steer towards the north-
east end, in order to fetch the road, by keeping close to the Barn
and Sugar-Loaf Point ; for when they attempt to come round
by the south-west point, they generally find themselves so much
baffled by flurries of wind, issuing in all directions from the
vallies, that they cannot pioceed without standing off to a con-
siderable distance, in order to get the trade wind. But, even
then, they find it extremely difficult to work into the road ; be-
cause the wind to leeward of the island seldom blows for five
minutes together in the same direction. In addition to those dif-
ficulties, an enemy's fleet would have to work in, in the face of a
great number of guns ; which would not fail to rake them ; and
after coming on the bank, perhaps within less than a mile of the
shore, they might attempt to warp in, which would be wholly
impracticable, on account of the constant and excessive fire from
the batteries on shore. The nearer the ships approached, the
greater would be the risk ; particularly from the fire of the ele-
vated batteries, which would penetrate the upper decks, and
pass through the hull under water, and even into their magazines ;

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixxxi

so that there would be imminent danger of losing the ships, both
by sinking and blowing up.

It must nevertheless be observed, that although such a wind as
would enable vessels to come into the road by South-west Point,
be very rare in this latitude, yet westerly winds have been known
to prevail for a week together. These, however, seldom occur
oftenerthan once in five or six months, and as their duration is
often momentary and always precarious, it would be too great
an uncertainty for an enemy, after a long voyage, to wait here
in the expectation of so very precarious an event.

From those observations it will appear that there is no certainty
of arriving at James's Town without coming round the north-
east end of the island. And even then, if ships, after doubling
Sugar-loaf Point, where the trade wind generally leaves them,
and the eddies commence, do not keep close under the shore "all
the way between that and the road, they run great risk of being
blown entirely off the bank ; or of being compelled to come to an
anchor at no great distance from the batteries.

Ships thus obliged to hug the shore between Sugar-loaf Point
and the road, gives the island a prodigious advantage over an
enemy who might attempt this route ; because he would be ex-
posed to such a continued and multiplied fire from the batteries
between Butter-milk Point, and James's Town, as scarcely any
number of ships would be able to overcome.

Rupert's Bay, James's Town, and Lemon Valley, are the prin-
cipal landing places on the leeward coast. All these are well
fortified by fleur d'eau batteries, provided with furnaces for heat-
ing shot, and flanked by cannon placed u[)on the clitKs far above
the reach of ships' guns. Mortars and howitzers for showering
grape upon ships' decks, or upon boats attempting to land, are also
provided. In short, it seems wholly impossible to force a descent

m

Ixxxii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

at any of those points. Even admitting that the enemy's troops
got on shore and succeeded in carrying the fleur d'eau batteries,
they would then be exposed to inevitable destruction, from the
tremendous fire from the heights, and above all from the immense
quantities of grape (or even stones) that might be thrown (with
very small charges of powder) from howitzers and carronades of
large calibre placed upon the heights, against which it would be
wholly impossible to tind shelter.

Besides the principal landing places above mentioned, there
are several ravines, or valiies, interspersed throughout the coast,
where an enemy might undoubtedly laud, if he were not opposed :
but, most Of" these are also protected by batteries ; or are so
easily defended by rolling stones from the heights, that no body
of troops attempting to gain the interior by these lavines could
have the smallest chance of success.

Of those ravines, Captain Mitchell, an aide engineer, who was
sent to the island in 1765, gave the following description.

" The ravines, or valUes (as they are impioperly called) are
extremely narrow, and remarkably rugged. They seem formed
by nature for carrying otf the torrents which precipitate them-
selves from the interior of the island ; and they all terminate
towards the coast in beaches, where an enemy, if not opposed,
might disembark without much difficulty. But the ascent being
extremely steep and rugged, and terminating at a great distance
from the coast, it would be impossible for an enemy to get into
the country, if ever so inconsiderably opposed. I will venture to
say that 500 men would be much more than a match for ten times
that number in this situation."

I not only concur in this opinion, but I trust I shall make it
appear that two or three men stationed on the heights just above
the entrance of any of those ravines, would render it utterly

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixxxiii

impossible for any number of troops, however great, to ap-
proach ten yards within the landing places. This opinion is
founded upon repealed trials made at Goat-poiind Ridge, which
is situated close to the landing place at Young's Valley, and 729
feet above the sea.

A single stone, which weighed about 80 |)ounds, being set oft'
from the rop of this ridge very soon acquired a rotatory motion,
and, at first, rebounded gently upon the declining surface. As
the velocity of the stone was accelerated, the force with which it
rebounded and struck the loose and brittle rocks increased ; and
at each rebound numerous stones and fragments of rock were
detached. The.se, following in continued succession, and spread-
ing to right and left operated precisely as the first .stone ; so that
by the time it had reached the bottom of the hill, myriads were
in its train, which covered a space of at lea.st 100 yard-;, and
flew with such prodigious force across the ravine, that many of
the largest stones ascended to the height of 60 or 80 feet upon
the opposite hill. Such was the astonishing eftect produced
by a single stone, that it seemed to me, if a whole battalion
had been drawn up in the ravine, that not a man could have
escaped alive.

This experiment, will serve to shew the mode of defence that
is applicable to all the narrow ravines which have not been for-
tified. Indeed, it must appear, that nothing can be iiecessary at
such places, but a good look-out, a tew iron crows, a collection
of stones, together with .some blue lights, or fire-balls, to roll
down the hills at night, for the pui-pose of shewing the po.sition
of the enemy if he .should actually have entered.

In aid of this simple, but most destructive kind of defence, I
must further observe, that in conformity to existing orders, and
regulations, one of the reserves, with field pieces, would instantly

Ixxxiv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

move towards the point of attack ; botli for the purpose of rein-
forcing it, and of occupying the most commanding positions with
guns. From those positions, by ricochet tiring of round and
grape, any of the ravines attacked, might be entiladed, or raked,
almost from one end to the other : so that to gain the interior of
the island along the ravines must appear too hazardous, and too
hopeless, for an enemy to attempt.

The only place remaining to be noticed, on the leeward side of
the island, is Thompson's Valley, which is well protected by guns
on the heights in the rear of the landing place, and upon the
Castle rock. This ravine is also sufliciently narrow to admit of
being defended by rolling down stones, and may therefore be
considered as perfectly secure against an enemy.

From Thompson's Valley to South-west Point, the coast extends
about a mile, which is every where inaccessible to troops, as is
the rocky shore from South-west Point to Sandy-bay Beach, a
farther distance of about six miles. There are, I believe, one or
two tishermen's paths in that extent of coast ; but these are, in
all places, so steep, rugged, and ditBcult, that no invading troops
could ascend them ; particularly if opposed by the reserve at
Thompson's Hill, to which are attached field pieces for the
purpose of repelling an enemy, at whatever point he might
attempt to ascend in that quarter.

" The windward side of the island," says Captain Mitchell,
*' comprehends all the eastward coast lying between the rocks
called the Needles and Sugar-loaf Point : a distance of 16 miles :
for, although the south-east wind does not blow directly on
every part, yet the whole is very considerably affected by it : and
this line of coast, comprehending nearly two-thirds of the whole,
is seldom without such a surf as would deter an enemy from any
attempt to land. In fact, there are no vallies, or bays, here.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixxxv

(except Sandy Bay which is well fortified) that can properly be
called practicable : for, although some of them have beaches,
wliere, in smooth weather, troops might land, yet the difficulties
to be surmounted before an enemy could get into the country
are so very great, that I apprehend nothing less than absolute
negligence, and supineness in the garrison, could ever endanger
the island from an attempt in this quarter."

If this was the opinion of a skilful engineer fifty years ago,
how infinitely more secure must be the island of St. Helena at
the present moment, improved as it has been by the zealous and
indefatigable exertions of Governors Brooke and Patton, who,
during a period of twenty years devoted their attention to the
grand object of placing this important island in a condition to
repel the most formidable attacks.

But, nothing has so essentially contributed to the security of
St. Helena against external attack, or stratagem, as the introduc-
tion of telegraphs.* These are erected on the most commanding
heights, some of which are two thousand feet above the level of
the sea ; and are so connected one with another, and so spread
all over the island, that no vessel can approach, in any direction,
without being descried at the distance of sixty miles. The vast
utility of such an establishment, in a mountainous countr}', where
any other mode of conveying intelligence must necessarily be
slow, may readily be conceived. The elegraphs have, in fact,

* The telegraphs were first established by Governor Patton in the year 1803. They
are his own invention, and of a very simple and cheap construction ; and have been found
fully to answer every purpose for which they were intended.

The East India Company's and Sir Home Popham's numerary signals are also made
use of. By these. His Majesty's and the Company's ships are all known by their numbers
long before they reach the island : and as no ships whatever are permitted to pass Banks's
Battery, without sending a boat on shore, it must be evident there is no possibility of
taking the island by surprise.

Ixxxvi - INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

placed the whole island under the eye of the Governor ; for he
is instantly apprised of every material occurrence in any part, or
even within sight: and, with equal celerity, he can convey his
orders wherever they may be necessary, both during the day and
night. In short, the troops can be under arms at a moment's
warning ; reinforcements can be sent to the points of attack, or
posts occupied, or any other military operation directed, simply
by a code of signals.

With such means of receiving information, and of sending
orders, a Governor of St. Helena is as fully prepared to oppose a
vigorous resistance, at every point of his extended line of defence,
as if he commanded within a small fortress.

In order to illustrate all that has been stated, I shall suppose
an enemy's fleet in sight. The moment this is ascertained the
general alarm is fired ; which is the signal for the troops to get
under arms ; to reinforce the batteries, and to send detachments
to the three reserves in the interior. Thus, all the troops, and
every efl'ective man on the island (for they are all soldiers*) are

• Extract of a Letter from the Governor and Compatty of Merchants of London

trading to the East Indies.

I9th December, 1673.

" That all the planters be by the Governor listed under either of the aforesaid com-
manders, or such other officers as the Governor and Council shall think fit, that may
exercise and train them up in arms, at least once in two months, to qualify tliem for the
defence of the island. And that particular places, or posts, be assigned by the Governor,
whereunto all and every one of the said planters may repair, and have a rendezvous when
thereunto required by the Governor ; for tiiough we do not hereby require the planters
to keep constant watch, as soldiers, during the time we shall continue soldiers in pay,
yet we do hereby strictly require, in case of the approach of any shipping, and especially
upon discovery of any enemy, or any general alarm, that they do repair to their respective
posts, and observe such orders in a way of military discipline, according as their respective
officers shall be directed by the Governor and Council, for the safety and defence of our
aforesaid Island ; it being one of the conditions on which we have granted them their
la'id and other accommodations,"

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Ixxxvii

placed in the most advantageous positions. Sliould the enemy
make demonstrations of landing at one or more points, informa-
tion would instantly be communicated by the telegraphs ; upon
which the Governor would order such movements, or dispositions
of the reserves, as he may judge proper.

From this concise view of the mode of defending the island,
and from all that has been related concerning its great natural
strength, its batteries, and the facility of defending every prac-
ticaltle landing place, by rolling stones from the heights, it
must be evident that, with such dispositions of the troops, St.
Helena is absolutely impregnable by an open and regular attack.
I hitve had opportunities of examining Gibraltar and Malta,
and I iiiust confess, that the impression left on my mind is,
that neither of these places are to be compared in strength
witli St. Helena. This superiority arises from its high and com-
manding coasts ; from there being no unfortified landing places
that do not admit of being defended by stones : and from several
other circumstances already explained. Nature, indeed, has
been so wonderfully profuse in giving strength to this place,
and has left so little for art to perform, that out of twenty-eight
miles of coast, the fortified lines of defence, collectively, do not
exceed eight hundred and fifty yards. In short, it appears to
me, Uiiiler all the circumstances above-mentioned, that St.
HeleuiJ IS not only perfectly secure against surprise, and ex-
ternal stiatagem, but capable (even with a moderate garrison)
of repelling the most formidable attacks that can be made
upon it.

TRACTS— PART I.

SECTION I.

St. Helena once a woody Island — cause of its Denudation — Plans proposed
for restoring Wood, and extending Cultivation — the Institution of Goat
ranges injurious — Extermination of the Goats recommended.

In the year 1502, when St. Helena was first discovered, its inte-
rior was one entire forest — even some of the precipices, overhang-
ing the sea, were covered with gum-wood trees.

Goats, unhappily (as it has proved) for the island, were first
introduced in the year 1513, and from this period to 1588, so
greatly had they multiplied, that Captain Cavendish i-elates " there
were thousands, and that they were seen one or two hundred
together, and sometimes in a flock almost a mile long.

Those early accounts, in respect to wood, are fully corrobo-
rated by the records, by the testimony of persons now living, and
by the fragments of trees which are occasionally found on those
hills that are now the most desolate and barren.

Within the last fifty years many gum-wood trees grew on the
hills between Rupert's and Dead-wood. — This name, indeed,
evidently implies there was a forest there. On the Barn-Hill,
asd near Lot's Wife, pieces of ebony are still remaining ; and
there is a tradition that a thick wood occupied Half-tree-hollow,

B

2 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

between High Knoll and Ladder Hill ; and that some persons,
who had advanced therein, lost their way and perished.

But tlie most remarkable and positive testimony of the exist-
ence of" huge forests" on the Island of St. Helena, is recorded
on the consultation dated the 12th of July, 1709, in the following
words :

" Our necessity is so great for want of coals, that we thought it
would have put a full stop to our work, but do find that ebony
wood will burn lime, and being informed that there are huge
quantities of that wood which lie dead on the hills near Sandy
Bay, the Governor and Captain Mashborne went there to view
it, and found the report true, for that there is abundance indeed,
and just by that place where the wood lies, are mountains of
extraordinary lime stone ; and it will be much cheaper to our
honourable masters to bring lime from thence, ready burnt, (being
light) than to fetch that sort of wood (which is very heavy), and
bring it to the castle in James's Valley."

We have thus a series of clear and satisfactory evidence that
St. Helena, when first discovered, and for many years afterwards,
abounded with trees ; but of those " huge forests" how few ves-
tiges are now to be seen !

The cause of this sad reverse, in the aspect of the island, is
readily ascertained by what is daily passing before us. Ebony,
red-wood, white cedar (or gum- wood tree), are all indigenous.
They shed great quantities of seed ; and numerous plants are
seen annually to spring up, where the trees are secured from the
trespass of goats, and black cattle. Such is the case at Long-
wood : in some places there are absolutely impervious thickets. —
Does not this prove what would naturally take place if the young
trees remain undisturbed ; and that many parts of the island
would, in the course of a few years, be again covered with wood ?

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 3

Those young plants are preferred, by the goats, to the finest pas-
tures : they are consequently, when exposed to their depredations,
greedily devoured.* — Even the leaves of the old trees, when within
reach, do not escape their ravages. The young trees having
been in this manner cut off, and the parent trees having perished
through age, it is no wonder there should be no succession ; and
this is the obvious cause that, since the period of the introduction
of goats, this formerly woody island has been wholly denuded.
Some of the peaks and highest lands, owing to their steep and
abrupt acclivities, are the only places which have withstood their
unceasing' depredations.

To the goats, therefore, is solely to be ascribed the total ruin
of the forests, an evil which is now severely felt by every indivi-
dual, and which would undoubtedly become much more serious,
if the Company should add the freight and charges to the price

* The following extract of a letter from the Government of St. Helena to the Court of
Directors, dated 9th of July, 1745, affords a positive proof that the disappearance of the
forests of St. Helena is entirely to be ascribed to the goats — and not to any physical
cause, or change, which is supposed by a late writer to have produced a similar effect upon
some hills in Ireland — that, in former times, were covered with trees.

" Finding," say the Governor and Council, " that great quantities of ebony trees, which
" grew in and about Peak Gut, in their tender growth, were barked and destroyed by the
" goats that ranged there, we thought it for your Honors' interest, for the preservation of
" the wood, and the welfare of the island, to order the goats there to be killed." — To this
representation the Court replied, " The goats are not to be destroyed, being more useful
" than ebony-"

Such is the aptness of the seeds of the indigenous trees of St. Helena to take root, that
I have often observed myriads of seedlings spring up, amongst the grass, immediately
after the setting in of the rains : but these were of course nipt off by the cattle. All that
is here stated, and many other circumstances which have come to my knowledge^ impress
me with a strong conviction that if St. Helena were again uninhabited, and if cattle of
every description were removed, for a period of twenty years, the island would again be
covered with wood — Mai/ 1S13.

B2

4 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

of coals. The mischief occasioned by the goats, added to the
neglect of fencing-, and planting trees, has greatly encreased the
demand for iniported fuel ; and the loss to the Company upon
the article of coals, in 1808, amounted to no less a sum than
£2729.. 7.. 8.

To obviate, as much as possible, a further increase of this ex-
pense, it is become absolutely necessary that the utmost attention
should immediately be given to those ordinances that regard
fencing and planting. It is indeed fortunate there are here some
trees or shrubs, of a very rapid growth, peculiarly adapted to the
purpose of fences, as well as fuel. Of those, the most valuable
for both purposes, is that hitherto despised plant the Palma
Christi. It intrudes itself every where, and is turned out of every
garden and plantation, being considered in no other light than
a troublesome weed. — But having remarked how rapidly it
becomes a tree, I naturally concluded it might be useful in the
formation of fences ; and accordingly I commenced an experi-
ment in September, 1809. The seeds were sown and intermixed
with some wild brinjal (a species of solanum), upon an elevated
bank four feet high, and about six feet in breadth. In the short
period of twelve months I have now a beautiful and impenetrable
fence about five feet in height. The stems of the Palma Christi
are already about two inches in diameter, and the branches are
covered with nuts. The success of this trial has determined me
to improve the old fences, and to form new ones at Plantation-
house-farm, of the above description, about eight or nine feet in
thickness. The addition of the blackberry, entwined among the
strong stems of the Palma Christi, would undoubtedly make a
fence not inferior to the best hedges in England.

What an advantage it would be to the land-holders, and what
an improvement in the aspect of the island, to substitute this

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 5

cheap sort offence for their stone walls! Besides, if the Palina
Christi were extensively cultivated, which might easily be done
by making' the hedge-rows 20 feet or more in thickness, the
people of this island may not only speedily raise fuel, but may also
participate in a lucrative branch of commerce, which they have
hitherto left to others. It is well known, that considerable quan-
tities of the oil of palma christi are annually sent from India to
England, where it fetches a very high price : in no part of the
world can it thrive better than at St. Helena.

If the above sort of fences were generally introduced, they
would both secure and shelter the lands. — Cultivation might
then be carried on with facility, and without interruption, and
the Planting Law might be easily complied with ; for the lands,
at first brought into cultivation, might be converted into planta-
tions of trees for useful timber, in the proportions required by the
original tenures. Other lands might afterwards be inclosed and
cultivated with corn, potatoes, mangel wurzel, lucerne, guinea
grass, &:c. These valuable artificial grasses might indeed be
raised among the trees as crops are in Italy : but it is much to
be apprehended, that unless the goats, as well as sheep, could be
confined, they will defeat every plan of improvement, and wilf
occasion constant vexation from their incessant depredations.
Wherefore, as it is morally impossible to restrain those animals
without incurring an enormous expense in fencing the lands,
there seems to be no other possible mode of checking the further
progress of the vast ruin and waste they have committed, nor any
prospect whatever of restoring wood to the island, than by their
total extermination, retaining only a very limited number of
sheep to each land-holder, on condition, however, that they are
tended, or confined, entirely to his own lands.

The measure of extermination was resorted to by the planters

6 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

in the year 1731, and was completely successful. — Indigenous
trees sprang up spontaneously, and many parts soon became well
wooded, where no trees had been suffered to grow for many years.
It is therefore evident that the extermination of goats, and a
reduction in the number of sheep, cannot fail of being a most
important benefit to the whole island : and that, without this
previous step, there can be no hope of ever rendering it a valu-
able property to the Company: and with it, there cannot be a
doubt, from the success of trials upon a small scale, in various
parts of the island, that every species of improvement in agri-
culture and planting, might be carried on successfully and exten-
sively, and with infinite advantage to all parties concerned.

I am perfectly aware of the arguments adduced in favour of
the goats — I have weighed them maturely, and I am thoroughly
convinced the whole are nugatory ; for it must be admitted that
a few sheep, imported by this Government from the Cape, would
lessen, or, perhaps, render unnecessary, any demands on the
planters for supplying the Hospital ; and that a large stock of
hogs, upon every farm, with the limited number of sheep before-
mentioned, would be no bad substitutes for the want of goat-
flesh. Hogs are also preferable to goats, on account of the great
quantities of valuable manure they would produce for meliorating
the lands.

There is, indeed, no species of husbandry so well adapted to
St. Helena as that of hoggeries. — By their means, the most ex-
tensive produce in yams, potatoes, mangel wurzel, &c. might be
consumed on the farms ; which it would be impossible, in this
mountainous country, to carry to market, even if it were in de-
mand. For hogs there would also be a ready sale to the Company
(at the English price of pork), for the use of the garrison ; and
in supplying the other inhabitants : and the planters might feed

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 7

themselves and families at home without purchasing and sending
for every sort of meat from James's Valley. Moreover, if the
island price were lowered, there would be a very considerable
sale to the shipping.

What a vast field for improvement in the condition of the
planters, and what an incitement to industry does this hold out,
compared with their narrow views, in having hitherto no other
object or vent for the produce of the lands than what may arise
from the shipping that touch here ! — When disappointments in
their arrival or detention occur, it is not suprising there should be
complaints of" no cash being in circulation." These would un-
doubtedly be removed, if industry and agriculture were extended ;
which are, in every country, the most efficacious means of pro-
moting the prosperity of the people.

In respect to the goats, it would be very unreasonable to ex-
pect that any considerations of a selfish nature, or the mistaken
prejudices of a few, should counteract what is obviously for the
good of the whole. That the exercise of the right or privilege
of the goat-ranges has ever been, and still continues, a most into-
lerable abuse, will not be denied. Those ranges were limited to
certain spots : but what has been the result ? The proprietors of
goats never trouble their heads about where they browse, and as
they are of course never looked after but on pounding days, they
are seen daily to range every where ; and thus a limited privilege,
to a few persons, has absolutely given them the range of the whole
island !

To attempt to confine them, as originally intended when that
privilege was granted, would be an endless labour: and, without
the most vigorous enforcement of this condition, the evils which
have happened were naturally to be expected. Wherefore, the
institution of goat-ranges must appear to every unbiassed person

8 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

to have been injudicious ; and by no means calculated to produce
any advantage (hat could compensate, even in the smallest degree,
the manifold evils and vexations that have resulted from it. It is
indeed surprising that a privilege so extraordinary, so grossly
abused, and so ruinous in its consequences, should have been
quietly borne by the inhabitants at large for so many years.

By the measure of extermination all would benefit. — The
owners of goats and sheep would not be losers — if they were
to receive from the Company a fair and reasonable price for their
goats and sheep. These might speedily be consumed by issuing
them to the garrison, without any extra loss being incurred by the
Company in thus giving rations of fresh instead of salt meat.
The owners might also be repaid the bona fide price they gave
for the goat-ranges, which would indeed be the only charge to
the Company attending the arrangement I have suggested ; and
if it were carried into effect, those ranges, and many other places,
might be sown with the seeds of all sorts of indigenous and other
trees ; for where trees formerly grew, it may be presumed they
would grow again. This was indeed proved, as already noticed,
after the destruction of the sheep and goats in 1731. — Should this
measure, therefore, be again carried into effect, and the improve-
ments of planting and fencing carried on with spirit, there would
soon be no want of fuel, nor any impediment to agriculture ; and
after a few years, the inhabitants might again have restored to
them a privilege of cutting wood on the goat-ranges, similar to
that which they enjoyed of cutting fuel from the Great-wood.
AVhatever trees are thus planted, should be for the benefit and
use of all the inhabitants.

If the goats and sheep were removed, many valuable orchards
and gardens might easily be established in those well watered
ravines or vallies which, on account of their depredations, have

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 9

hitherto been unproductive. Fruit trees of every sort, vines,
sugar canes, coffee, and cotton, would all thrive luxuriantly in
those warm and well sheltered situations. Fences would almost
be unnecessary, since the steep declivities on either side, would
sufficiently protect the plantations from the trespass of black
cattle.

Although there were, according to the returns in December
1809, 1811 sheep and 2887 goats on the island, in all 4698, none
have, for many years past, been brought to market ; and the
export to shipping has very much diminished, owing to the prices
having risen about three-fold during the last twenty years. In
1789, 109 goats, and 201 sheep were sold to the ships : whereas,
in 1809, the total numbers were only 6 goats and 22 sheep ; and
these last were imported from the Cape. What then is the use
of maintaining such large flocks, since they neither contribute to
the refreshment of ships, nor to the comforts of the community?
A few individuals may indeed prefer them to hogs ; and derive
convenience from their mode of keeping them, because it is nei-
ther attended with labour nor expense. But whether this tri-
fling advantage to a few, attended with an intolerable nuisance
to the whole, should supersede the infinite and important benefits
which would result to the island, to the Company, and even to
the proprietors of goats and sheep, by their extermination, is a
question which the preceding inquiry may possibly determine.

20th September, 1810.

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10 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION II.

Experiments in the Culture of Potatoes — Comparisons of Manures — extra-
ordinary Power of Guana, or Sea-foicl Dung , as a Top-dressing — Hints
to Proprietors of Islands and Rocks in Scotland,

In a place which has, for many years, been almost wholly depen-
dent on foreign imports for the common necessaries of life, and
where neither commerce nor manufacture finds employment for
industry or exertion, there can be no duty more incumbent on
persons entrusted with its management, than a due attention to
those means that are the most likely to augment its internal
resources.

From the earliest period of its establishment (in 1673) to the
present time, the most positive orders to favour and encourage
agriculture have been sent by the Honourable the Court of Direc-
tors. It is, therefore, in obedience to those repeated orders, that
I have endeavoured to discover the capabilities of the soil, and
the modes of cultivation the best suited to the circumstances of
this island. I have accordingly, in the Abstract of the Laws and
Ordinances, and in the papers relating to the goats, embraced
every occasion that offered of stating the results, and of introduc-
ing my opinions. I have also, I trust, proved, that immense
advantages would arise to the land-holders if they were to allot
a certain selected portion of their pasture lands to the culture of
corn and artificial grasses, to the planting of trees, and to the
introduction of hedge-rows.

Those opinions being founded on a variety of experiments, and
the results having been most carefully ascertained, under my own

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 11

inspection, I can vouch for their accuracy. I feel a confidence,
therefore, that wlioever may hereafter make similar trials will
not be disappointed. But I must here apprise experimenters,
that a first crop, from land newly brought into cultivation, is
generally much inferior to the succeeding ones. — I found an acre
of land, which, upon breaking up, produced only 324 bushels of
potatoes, yielded a succeeding crop, planted immediately after, of
522. I ascribe this improvement to the repeated stirring of the
soil, by which the fertilizing influence of the rains and atmos-
phere were admitted. Upon these two crops no manure was
used ; and as potatoes are known to exhaust fertility, it might
have been expected the second crop might have been less instead
of greater. Hence, it seems- probable, the deterioration of the
soil does not take place until some time after the land is brought
into cultivation.

Mr. TuU, an Oxfordshire gentleman, who published a Trea-
tise on Husbandry, about forty years ago, speaking of the great
advantages of frequently stirring and pulverising the soil, relates
that a little farmer, having prepared his field for sowing, could
not raise money to purchase the seed vintil he had lost the season ;
he therefore kept on ploughing, at proper intervals, until the next
season arrived, when he compassed to plant his field. At harvest,
his crop was so abundant, that its value was more than sufticient
to pay the fee simple cost of his field. The effects, from frequent
stirring of the soil might readily be determined, by comparing
the produce of a square rod of ground, planted with potatoes after
being stirred four or five times in as many months, with that of
an adjoining space, of the same extent, planted at the time of
breaking up.

On my arrival, in 1808, I was desirous of obtaining infor-
mation upon the modes used here in the culture of potatoes :

C 2

12 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

but I soon perceived, from the vague method of estimating
the produce by the returns from the seed sown, without any
account being taken of the quantity of land occupied by the
crop, that no useful deductions could be drawn, nor any com-
parison made between the potatoe lands here and those in
England.

I learnt, however, that two crops (or more) annually were ob-
tained from the same land ; and that these were had, in a conti-
nued succession, during a period of 12 or 14 years, without the
application of any sort of manure. This, I confess, surprised me.
I heard also of " self-sown crops," that is, of leaving in the ground,
at the time of digging, a certain portion of the potatoes for a suc-
ceeding crop.

This unusual course of husbandry led me to infer that a much
better mode might be adopted (which is indeed practised by some
of the gentlemen-planters) : and, in order to satisfy myself on this
point, I resolved to commence a series of experiments, which
should embrace the following essential points in the culture of
potatoes ; the proper depth of planting — the best sort of seed —
the advantage of the row culture — and the improvement by
manuring.

The returns of 10 or 15 bushels for one sown, were, in genera],
deemed good crops ; but my experiments have proved that these
are very inferior to what can be obtained under a different course
of management.

Supposing 13 bushels to be the usual quantity of seed required
to plant an acre, the returns ahove stated would be no more than
180, or 270 bushels per acre. According to the following table
it will be seen, that by the new culture, and the aid of manure,
the acreable produce of the potatoe lands may be augmented,
upon an average, to nearly three times those quantities. What

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 18

an advantage is this, in a place where the scanty means of labour
are generally complained of!

It will be observed, by the table of experiments, that the great-
est produce was at the rate of 648 bushels per acre. This was
from No. 5, in the division manured with horse dung : but even a
greater rate of produce was had from a portion of the unmanured
acre, which yielded the 522 bushels before mentioned. I ascer-
tained that 30 feet of the rows of this acre, twice repeated, and
taken indiscriminately, produced of lino large potatoes 52 pounds:
or, as will be hereafter explained, at the rate of 674 bushels per
acre.

This was also greatly surpassed by an experiment upon one
kidney potatoe. It was cut in eleven pieces, which were planted
in a single row, at one foot asunder, on the 5th of April, 1810,
upon ground very highly manured with hog's dung. Nine
of the sets only came up, and these occupied one row that
measured nine feet. On the 8th of August, 1810, when the
haulm had fallen, the potatoes were taken up, and weighed 2l-§-
pounds averdupois ; which is in the proportion of 929 bushels
per acre.

These well ascertained facts will, I hope, draw the attention of
the planter to the row culture ; and to establishing farm-yards,
and hoggeries, for the purpose of manuring their lands. They
might then make experiments for themselves, which I am confi-
dent would soon induce them to change their present modes of
husbandry ; because these are evidently far less profitable, and
must, in the course of time, infallibly exhaust, and ruin their
plantations.

The spot selected for experiments is in the front garden at
Plantation-house. It was exactly a square chain, or the tenth
part of an acre ; and was, at first, divided into four equal parts

14

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

for the manures, according to the black lines in the following

diagram

Class 1.

Class 2,

Class 3.

C/ass 4.

Depths

No.

of the

No.

of the

No.

of the

No.

of the

'Z^i^l^" I-"ge «ed

f Walnuts
planted whole.

9 6 3

cut in pieces.
12 9 'J 3

E)e<, middle
sized Potatoes.

12 9 6 3

Small Potatoes
planted whole.

12 9 6 3

Horse Dung Litter, 35 loads per acre.
I 2 3 4 I 5 6 7 8 I 9 10 11 12 I 13 14 1.5 1(

Hog's Dung Litter, 35 loads per acre.
17 18 19 20 I 21 22 23 24 \ 25 26 27 28 J 29 30 31 32

Guana; or, Sea-fowl Dung, 35 bushels per acre.
33 34 35 36 | 37 38 39 40 | 41 42 43 44 | 45 46 47 48

N'o Manure.
49 50 51 52 I 53 54 55 56 | 57 58 59 60 | 61 62 63 64

of planting
experiments

experiments

experiments
experiments

66 feet.

The figures 12. 9. 6. 3. represent the depths of planting in
inches, and the positions of each two rows which traversed the
manured and unmanured parts. The numbers 1 to 64 shew the
situations of the experiments. The three narrow paths which
separated the manured divisions reduced the cultivated space
from 16- to 15 feet : each experiment upon the two rows con-
sisted therefore of 15 feet in length, or of 30 feet of rows ; which,
as will be hereafter explained, is the 726th part of an acre.

The manures were evenly spread over the beds in the orders
and quantities specified in the diagram ; they were then trenched
one spit deep into the soil. The transverse lines mark the spaces
for each class of seed, and by crossing the manure divisions
they formed 16 squares, containing each four distinct experi-
ments ; .so that the total number was 64. The soil was rather

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 15

stiff, being composed of blackish mould intermixed with friable
fat clay.

The whole being thus prepared, the seeds were dibbled in at
their respective depths, on the 9th of August, 1809, and the
produce was taken up on the 30th of November, that is, 113 days
after planting.

The following table of the results, exhibits the produce of each
experiment, or 30 feet of rows, in pounds ; the weight of the six
largest potatoes ; and the computed acreable produce in pounds,
and in bushels.

u

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

TABLE of the Results of the Experiments, exhibiting the mimber of pounds
that each 30 Jeet of rows yielded, the iveight of the six largest Potatoes
from each experiment, the computed acreable produce, in 'pounds and
bushels, and the total quantities ^produced from each sort of seed, at the
several depths, throughout the manured and unmanured parts, in the extent
of 120 feet of rotes.

Note. — SO feet of rows are the '726th, and \20 feet the 181.5 of an acre.

Class 1. — Seed the size of Walnuts planted whole.
Twelve Inches deep.

1

^**

04 1 a

C t^

o'r.

°

(U-

U — n

a

9

MANUEES.

Produce
SO feet <

TOWS.

Weight
the six
largest

Produc
per acre
lbs.

Produc
per acre
bush. 561

REMARKS.

lbs.

lbs. oz.

1

Horse dung

38

2 8

275S8

492

17

Hog's ditto

311

1 14

22869

408

33

Sea-fowl ditto

3Si

2 4

27951

499

49

None

26

1 8

18876

337

lbs.

134 X 181.5 equal to 24321 lbs.

Total

134

Nine Inches deep.

per acre.

2

Horse dung

351

1 8

25773

460

18

Hog's ditto

33

1 12

23958

427

34

Sea-fowl ditto

36

2 2

26136

466

50

None

29

1 6

21054

375

very stiff black clay soil.

lbs.

133| X 181.5 equal to 24239lbs.

Total

1331

Six Inches deep.

per acre.

3

Horse dung

45

2 8

32670

583

19

Hog's ditto

34i

1 2

25347

447

35

Sea-fowl ditto

42

2 2

30492

544

51

None

30i

2 2

22143

395

very stiff black clay,
lbs.

Total

152

152 X 181.5 equal to 275881bs.

Three Inches deep

•

per acre.

4

Horse dung

37

2 0

26862

479

20

Hog's ditto

32

2 4

23232

414

36

Sea-fowl ditto

41

1 14

29766

531

52

None

24

2 2

17424

311

lbs.

134 X 181.5 equal to 24321 lbs.

Total

134

per acre.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, «S:c.

17

Class 2. — Large Seed cut in pieces.
Twelve' hvches deep.

s

s

MANURES.

Produce of

30 feet of

rows.

Weight of
the six
largest.

Produce

per acre

in lbs.

Produce
per acre in
bush. 56lbs.

REMARKS.

5
21

37
53

6

22
38
54

7
23
39
55

8
24
40
56

Horse dung
Hog's ditto
Sea-fowl ditto
None

Total

Horse dung
Hog's ditto
Sea-fowl ditto
None

Total

Horse dung
Hog's ditto
Sea-fowl ditto
None

Total

Horse dung
Hog's ditto
Sea-fowl ditto
None

Total

lbs.
50

28i
39

22

lb. oz.
3 2

2 8
2 2

2 2

Witie In

3 0

2 6

3 0

1 6

Six In

4 2

2 2

2 10
1 14

3 0

1 12
3 12

2 14

t

36300
20691
28314
15972

ches deep.

33033
24321
31218
21417

ches deep.

ti9766
26136
33033
22869

iches deep

28677
21054
31218
23232

1

648
369
505

285

589
434
557

382

531
466
589
408

511
375
557
414

very fine.

lbs.

139 ix l81.5equalto 25319lbs.
per acre.

lbs.

151| X 181.5 equalto274971bs.
per acre.

lbs.

154 X 181.5 equal to 27951 lbs.
per acre.

lbs.

1431 X 181.5 equal to 26045lbs.
per acrei J

139i

451
331
43
29r

15U

41|
36i
45i
31i

154

r
J

39|
29
43
32

143i

D

18

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

Class 3. — Eyes of middle-sized Potatoes scooped out.
Twelve Inches deep.

u

s

3

MANURES.

Produce of

30 feet of

rows.

Weight of
the six
largest

Produce

per acre

in lbs.

Produce
per acre in
bush.56lbs.

REMARKS.

lbs.

lbs. oz.

y

Hiirse dung

37

3 4

26862

479

25

Hog's ditto

23

1 10

16698

298

41

S^a-fowl ditto

29i

3 10

21417

382

57

None

121

2 2

9256

165

lbs.

Total

102|

102i X 181.5 equal to l855Slbs.

Nine Inches deep.

per acre.

10

Horse dung

37

3 4

26862

479

26

Hog's ditto

23

3 2

16698

298

'12

Sea-fowl ditto

29

2 12

21054

375

58

None

16i

2 6

11797

210

lbs.

1051 X 181.5 equal to 19102lbs.

Total

105i

Six Inches deep.

per acre.

11

Horse dung

4Sk

3 10

31581

563

best sort

27
43

1 log's ditto
Sea-fowl ditto

37i
4^1i

o 14
3 8

27225
32307

485
576

59

None

Total

26
151|

2 0

18876

337

lbs.
15U X 191.5 equal to 274971bs.

Three Inches deej)

per acre.

12

Horse dung

291

4 10

2:417

382

28

Hog's ditto

owl
i>l Z

2 14

27225

485

numerous small excrescences on

44

Sea-fowl ditto

35

2 14

25410

453

the haulm.

60

None

26i

2 10

19239

343

lbs.

1 28i X 1 8 1 .5 equal to 23S23lbs.

Total

128i

per acre.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

19

Class 4. — Small Potatoes planted whole.
Twelve Inches deep.

.a
B

3

MANURES.

Produce of
30 feet of

rows.

Weight of
the six
largest

Produce

per acre

in ibs.

Produce
per acre in
bu8h.56lbs.

REMARKS.

lbs.

lbs. oz

13

Horse dung

31

1 12

22506

401

29

Hog's ditto

33i

1 6

27951

499

45

Sea-fowl ditto

38

1 0

27588

492

61

None

28 1

1 12

20691

369

lbs.

Total

136

136 X 181.5 equal to 24684lbs.

Nine Inches deep

per acre.

14

Horse dung

39i

1 8

28677

512

30

Hog's ditto

40 i

1 12

29403

525

46

Sea-fowl ditto

43

2 0

31218

557

62

None

34

1 12

24G84

440

lbs.
157 X 181.6 equal to 28495lbs.

Total

157

Six Inches deep.

per acre.

15

Horse dung

45

1 12

32670

583

31

Hog's ditto

42

1 10

a0492

544

47

Sea-fowl ditto

48i

2 0

35211

628

nearly a heaped bushel remark-

63

None

44

2 6

31944

570

alily fine potatoes,
lbs.
179i X 181.5 equal to 32579lbs.

Total

179^

Three Inches deep

.

per acre.

16

Horse dung

32

1 12

23232

414

32

Hog's ditto

34

2 2

24684

410

48

Sea-fowl ditto

43

2 0

31218

557

61

None

34

2 0

24684

440

lbs.
143 X 181.5 equal to 25964lbs.

Total

143

per acre.

20 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

The following is an abstract from the preceding table, and is a
comparative view of the effects of the several classes of seed,
shewing the total produce in pounds.

Potoids.

Class 1. Seed the size of walnuts planted whole, yielded 553j

2. Large seed cut in pieces - - - 588^

3. Eyes of middle sized potatoes - - 487^

4. Small potatoes planted whole - - 615^

I total pounds - 2245

These results will be pleasing to the planters, since they have
clearly ascertained that small potatoes planted whole, which
would not fetch so good a price in the market as the largest sort,
are the best for seed.

The following is a comparative view of the effects of different

depths of planting, shewing the total produce in pounds.

Pounds.

1st. Six inches deep, yielded - - 637

2d. Three ditto, ditto _ _ _ 549

3d. Nine ditto, ditto - _ _ _ 547^

4th. Twelve ditto, ditto _ _ _ 5111

Total pounds - 2245

By these results, it is proved, that planting at the depth of six
inches on stiffish land is the most productive: but if the soil be
of a lighter and freer sort, it is probable nine inches, or more,
would yield best, because the moisture necessary for vegetation
lays deeper in that sort than \n a mo^e retentive soil.

The following is a comparative view of the effects of the ma-
nures : shewing the total produce in pounds.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 21

Founds.
1st. The guana :* or, sea-fowl dung- at 35 bushels per

acre, yielded - - 639

2d. Horse dung litter at 35 cart loads or 420 bushels

per acre, yielded _ _ _ q26

3d. Hog's dung litter, at 35 cart loads, or 420 bushels

per acre, yielded _ _ _ 534

4th. No manure - - - - 446

Total pounds - 2245

* The guana or sea-fowl dung, which is found in considerable quantities upon Egg
Island, was first recommended to my notice by the Right Honourable Sir Joseph Banks,
President of the Royal Society. " It furnishes," says he, " the loading of an immense
" number of vessels that are constantly employed in bringing it from small islands, to the
" main land on the western coast of South America, where it is sold and distributed for
" the purpose of manure ; which it answers, in a degree, infinitely superior to any other
" article we have the knowledge of. — A handful is considered as sufficient for several
" square yards of land, the produce of which is exuberant, in consequence of the force of
" this amplication."

The accuracy of this valuable communication has been most amply confirmed by my
experiments in the culture of potatoes, as well as upon grass lands. Thirty-five bushels
of the guana, or tliree eart loads per acre, appear to n]e, equivalent in efifect, to seventy
loads of good rot-dung. I should imagine that abundance of this most valuable manure
might be liad from many of the rocks and islands on the coasts of Scotland.

The efifect of the guana upon grass land is comparatively greater than in the potatoe
experiments. — From what cause this proceeds it may be difficult to explain : but as Dr.
Priestley found, by exp<riment, that vegetables throve best when they were made to grow
in air made putrid by the decompcjsition of animal and vegetable substances, it may be
inferred that the very strong effluvia which issues from the sea-fowl dung, or guana, toge-
ther with its being readily washed among the roots of vegetables by the first falls of rain,
are circumstances that may possibly render its effects, as a top dressing, greatly superior
to those it produces when it is mixed with tiie soil. By this mixture its powers may be
v/eakened, and a great portion of effluvia, which by some is supposed the proper food of
plants, being retained underground, cannot escape and unite with the atmosphere.

On the 29th of July, 1808, I marked out a space, on the lawn in front of Plantation-

22 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

These results decisively prove the great advantage of manuring
the lands, which would evidently repay the additional expense,

h use, which measured one rod in breaJtii, and twelve rods in length. This was divided
into twelve equal parts, or square rods, and numbered progressively froiii 1 to 12. The
guana was reduced to a powder, and sifted ; and upon Number I a quart of this powder
was evenly strewed by the hand; this is at the rate of five Winchester bushels per acre ;
because 160 square rods, or an acre, would have required that number of quarts, oi
exactly five bushels- In the same manner Number 2 had two quarts, Number 3 three
quarts, and so on to Number 12, which liad twelve quarts, or at the rate of 60 bushels
per acre.

From the 29th of July there were, daily, drizzling rains until the 5th of Angu^t, when
the eflfect of this invaluable manure began to appear. On the following day tiie whole ex-
tent of the 12 rods became highly verdant, and exhibited such a contra--t to the unma.iured
part of the lawn, that it had the appearance of having been newly turfed witli a finer kind
of sod. The effect gradually increased ; and in the first week of October, that is, in little
more than two months, the higher numbers, from 6 to 12, (having from o" to 60 bushels
per acre), excited the surprise of every person who saw them, being covered with the most
exuberant grass that can be imagined, and having iiiore the resemblance of a crop of
young wheat, very thickly sown, than of any gra^s I ever beheld.

This is the more remarkable, as at that time, the copious rains which fell in August,
and the spring season had made no visible effect on tiie adjoining part of tne lawn.

It was from a frequent and careful inspection of the above e.xpiriments tliat I have
estimated S5 bushels of guana per acre to be equivalent in effect, upon grass lands, to
70 loads of good rot-dung.

I have been informed that guana is sold at Lima, and at other towns on the coast of
Peru, for a dollar a bag, of 50 pounds weiglit, and that it is much in use there for manuring
fruit treas and gardens.

It is certainly one of the most powerful of manures ; and therefore it is necessary to be
cautious in using it. 1 have observed, when too much is laid upon grass, that it hums
and destroys it. — I would therefore recommend, to those who may try it on fruit tr es, to
begin with not more than three quarters of a pint to each tree, and to trench it, about a
foot deep, all round the roots. If the first a[)plication be found insufficient, a stcond, or
third, may be given at intervals of two or three months; or, a betier mode, perhaps, of
determining the quantity of guana proper for each fruit tree, would be to select about a
dozen trees of the same kind and size, and to vary the quantities, by an easy progression,
from three quarters of a pint, to one or two quarts, or more, to each tree.

A. B.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 28

and would maintain the potatoe grounds in good heart. These
might, no doubt, be further improved by rotations of corn and
green crops, which would prevent those disappointments that
arise after perpetual croppings of potatoes for 12 or 14 years
without manure. By such a practice, labour becomes useless, its
expenses are thrown away; and the lands, originally productive,
are, in the end, completely exhausted. This is a fact well known
to the planters.

It has already been mentioned that the greatest produce was
from experiment No. 5 ; which was large seed cut in pieces,
planted 12 inches deep, and manured with horse dung litter.
Thirty feet of the rows yielded 50 pounds of very fine potatoes,
which is at the rate of 648 bushels per acre.

To those who are unaccustomed to such calculations, it may
be proper to explain in what manner the results in the Table are
computed, from the length of 30 feet of rows.

An English statute acre consists of 10 square chains. This may
be more readily comprehended by imagining a space one chain
in brendth, and ten in length. As a chain measures 66 feet, it is
evident an acre of the above form will be 66 feet broad, and 660
feet long — and consequently the contents of an acre are 43560
square feet.

If this acre be planted in rows, 2 feet asunder, there may be
placed 33 rows in its breadth — and this number of rows, multi-
plied by 660 feet, will give 21780 feet for the total length of the
rows. Then, if this sum be divj<led by 30 feet, it will be found
that this length of rows is exactly the 726th part of an acre — con-
sequently, the produce, in pounds, of any one of my experiments,
multiplied by 726, wdl give the acreable produce in pounds. To
find this produce in bushels, divide by 56 pounds, the weight of
a St. Helena bushel.

24 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

For example, experiment No. 5, yielded 50 pounds ; multiply-
ing this by 726, gives 36300 pounds, and dividing by 56, gives
648 bushels, as entered in the Table.

I was, however, accidentally led into this mode of computation
— because, as I have already stated, the rows had been reduced
from 16^ to 15 feet. The readiest way, of determining the acre-
able produce of a crop of potatoes, or of corn — is first to ascertain
the quantity yielded from one rod (that is 16^ feet square), mea-
sured upon any part of the field, and then to multiply that quan-
tity by 160 (which is the number of square rods in an acre), the
product will be the computed quantity per acre.

January I2th, 1811.

i

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 2fi

SECTION III.

Easy Mode of Thrashing, Cleaning, and Preserving all Sorts of Grain, as
practised in India, and various Parts of Europe ; recommended in the
Infancy of St. Helena Farming.

1 HROUGHOUT India, the manner of reaping and preserving
corn, is nearly the same. It is cut down within fonr inches of the
ground ; and when dried in the sun, it is, without binding it in
sheaves, put in small stacks about ten or twelve feet high. The
stalks are placed outward, and the ears inward. After remain-
ing in the stacks a week or ten days, it is spread evenly on a
thrashing-floor, made hard, level, and smooth ; and coated with
a mixture of cow-dung, clay, and water. The grain is then
trodden, l»y driving a number of cattle over it. When the thrash-
ing is completed, the straw is separated from the grain and chaff";
and these being projected in the air, by means of wooden shovels,
the corn becomes perfectly winnowed, by this simple process,
whicb is performed entirely in the open field.

T he natives of India have various ways of preserving grain.
Some put it in large earthen jars, and keep it in their houses ;
others use pits, about fifteen or twenty feet deep. These are
excavated, in a dry and compact soil, by digging a narrow shaft,
two or three feet in diameter, which is gradually widened towards
the bott(Mis. and forms a spacious cave under ground, leaving
only a small openutg at top. Through this opening, after the
cave has been lined with straw rope, the grain is deposited ; and
the < pening is ther closed by a few sticks or boards, over which
soil is laid, and made level with the surface of the field. These

E

26 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

under-gronnd granaries exclude all air and moisture, and grain
is preserved in them for several years. — I think it is probable that
potatoes on this island might be preserved in the same manner
for several months.

In some parts of India, small store-rooms are erected, which
are strongly floored with planks, to keep out the bandicoots, a
species of destructive rat, much larger than those at St. Helena.
In the store-rooms, no opening is left for air : but there are small
doors, one above another, for the convenience of taking out the
grain as it is wanted.

In some of the northern countries of Europe, the flail is not
used in thrashing. A large circle is cleared, and levelled, upon
an open and elevated place. After the stones, or gravel, have
been carefully removed, water is sprinkled — and the space is
covered with short straw. A post is then fixed in the centre of
the circle, and as soon as the soil is somewhat dry, it is trodden
by horses, fastened by means of a rope, to the central post. — As
the horses are driven round, the rope gradually shortens ; and
the animals, when they have approached the centre, are made to
move in a contrary direction. After repeatedly pursuing this
alternate career, towards and from the centre, the floor is at
length prepared. The sheaves are now untied, and disposed in
successive circles from the post to the circumference, in order to
be trodden. The thrashing is performed exactly in the same
manner as in preparing the floor, by driving two or three horses
round the post until all the ears are separated. The straw, which
is reduced to very short pieces, is separated, and used as fodder
during the winter ; and the grain and chaft' are then collected
into a heap, and the winnowing performed in the same manner
as is practised in India.

It is remarkable that the winnowing of corn in Egypt and

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 27

in several parts of the Mediterranean, are the same as above-
mentioned. The mode of thrashing in Egypt is, however, dif-
ferent ; for small carts are there made use of, which, by being-
driven repeatedly over the corn, separates the grain from the
straw in a manner equally effectual as the other two modes I
have described.

Mth Jnnvarif, 1811

28 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION IV.

Experiments iUmtrating the beneficial Ejfect of frequently stirriny the

Soil.

A4r. Curwen's discoveries and improvements, in the culture of
vegetables, are curious and interesting ; and are deserving the
attention of all who are engaged in this species of husbandry.
They seem to me peculiarly applicable to the circumstances of
this island ; they point out modes of rendering lands more pro-
ductive, without any risk of being exhausted, even by c(»ntinual
cropping for a series of years. I conceive, therefore, that the
whole of Mr. Curwen's valuable communication, on those impor-
tant subjects, must be highly gratifying and acceptable to many
of your readers.*

It is my intention to follow Mr. Curwen in some of his expe-
riments. T feel a confidence of success, even from the present
state of a small comparative experiment, which I have now in
process. — It was begun about four months ago, with a view of
ascertaining the effect of frequently stirring the soil, and exposing
it to the influence of the rains and atmosphere. I selected, for
this purpose, a very unpromising spot of land, the soil a pale
brown friable clay, which, in some parts, was bare, and in others
producing nothing but the coarsest sort of tufted grass. The
space for the experiments (measuring two rods in length and one
in breadth) was divided into two equal parts. Number 1, was
broken up on the 11th of December last, by trenching with the

* Mr. Curwen's communication to the Society of Arts, dated ;)th June, 1808, was
printed in the St. Helena Register, for the infonnation of the landliolders.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 29

spade to the depth of 10 or 12 inches. From that day until the
time of dibbling in the seed, on the 23d of February, it had
been, at equal intervals, five times stirred or turned. One-half
of Number 1 was then dibbled with potatoes, and the other
with barley; and, at the same time, the adjoining- square rod,
Number 2, was broken up, and dibbled, in ever}^ respect, in the
same manner.

It is deserving remark, that the soil of Number 1, by frequent
stirring, had become, and still continues, of a much darker hue
than Number 2 ; and the potatoes and barley upon the former
are infinitely superior to those on the latter; in so much, that the
tufts of young barley are now, at least, five or six times more
bulky than those upon Number 2.

For the information of those engaged in cultivation, I commu-
nicate these facts ; because they are clearly decisive of the advan-
tages from repeatedly stirring the soil. At a future period, 1 may
give the result of the above experiments ; in the mean time, I can
assert with confidence, from the experience I have already had,
that the cheapest and best mode of bringing old grass land into
cultivation, is to pare off the turf to the depth of about two inches,
and, when dry, to burn it ; and immediately after to spread the
ashes over the surface. The first ploughing should then be given,
but not too deep ; by this the labour of the cattle will be lessened,
and the slags, or clods, will be smaller. The two or three after
ploughings should go gradually deeper. Care should be taken,
by harrowing, to clear the land entirely of roots, and of every
sort of vegetable substance. If these operations are performed
at proper seasons, so as to be completed just before the setting in
of the rains either in January or July, that destructive insect the
grub may be starved, and the land brought into the very highest
state of preparation for receiving the seed. I will venture to say,

30 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

if any one will but try the above process of cultivation, even upon
a small scale, with the spade, and common garden rake, he will
not be disappointed ; an^ will find just reason to infer, that it is
very possible to obtain abundant crops of vegetables, or corn,
from many parts of this island, that are, in their present state,
totally desolate and barren.

22d April, 1811.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 31

SECTION V.

Feeding Chickens — -an Exposition of the unreasonable and exorbitant Prices
of Poultry at St. Helena, in 1811.

" It is stated by Mr. Jackson, in the sixth volume of the Com-
mercial, Agricultural, and Manufacturer's Magazine, that he has
found that three pounds of meal, flour, or grain, of such a sort
as does not cost more than one penny a pound, or to the farmer
and cottager not even so much, with water, and what other fare
the little creature can find for itself, will feed and fatten a chicken
sufficiently from the time of its bursting the shell, until that of its
being of a growth, and in a condition, suitable for its being car-
ried to market. And that the allowance of another penny is
sufficient for the attention and labour which its rearing requires.
The prime cost of the egg may be one halfpenny. Thus he con-
ceives that even in the vicinity of any great town, a chicken that
shall bring ninepence, or rather one shilling, in the market, and
is, in comparison with other tilings, worth as much for the use of
your own table, whether you be a rich or poor man, may be pro-
duced and reared at the expense of fourpence halfpenny."

The above is an Extract from Mr. Dickson's Complete Body
of Agriculture, page 1209, and may be deserving the attention of
those Avho are in the habits of rearing poultry in this island. — It
will also serve to shew that 15 to 20 shillings for a middle sized
fowl, and 25 shillings for a duck, where grain is about twopence
per pound, must be a pretty profitable trade.

27th June, 1811.

Ji2 TRACTS ON VAR[OUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION Vj.

On Planting Trees — G' roicthof Pineastcrs — remarkable Change in theQuality
of Fir Timber in St. Helena — extensive Plantations oj" Pineasters recom-
mended —Mimosa. Myrfifolia (^or Botany Bay Willow), its rapid Grotcth
— yields inmimerahle Pods, containing a sort of Pulse jit for feeding
Poultry — its Culture recommended,

" By viewing nature, nature's handmaid, art.

Makes mighty things from small beginnings grow." DRYDE^f.

1 HERE are no trees that succeed so well on this island as the
pineaster and a mimosa, which is usually called the Botany Bay
willow. They grow on the poorest lands, withstand the south-
east wind, and thrive in the most exposed situations.

Most of the pineasters at Plantation-house are from seed,
brought here by Mr. Henry Porteous, and sown on the 1st of
July, 1787. I have lately n)easured the girt of several ot" the
largest trees ; oi»e is-*> feet and 7 inches ; others are fmui 5 to 3
feet, and even less, differing in size according to the soil in
which they are planted. These girts were taken at 4 feet above
the ground.

One of those trees was blown down in February last. It has
since been used for various purposes. The first 7 feet above
ground squared to 13 inches ; the whole ol the stem measured
146 superficial feet, and the large hranches contained 47 ; making
the total from one single tree, 193 ieet superficial. The smaller
branches yielded a considerable q- antity ot fuel.

The timber is of a very superior quality : it differs materially
from either the Memel, or the American fir, being of a closer

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, «&c. 33

grain, beautifully veined, and resembling in some degree, a pale
mahogany.

It appears, by the printed laws and ordinances, that the im-
portance of planting trees has been often, during the last century,
strongly pressed upon the landholders by the Court of Directors:
but leaving what is past, and looking forward to the next five
and twenty years, it may be useful to take a view of the invalu-
able benefits which might be conferred on this denuded island, l)y
a due attention to the orders of the Company ; and above all by
forming plantations of pineasters, particularly on the leeward
sides of the mountains, and other parts in the interior of the
island, where, on account of a greater moisture, and a cooler
atmosphere, it may be expected they would produce even larger
timber than in the vicinity of Plantation-house.

As Governor Roberts's directions on the 31st May, 1709, (which
require the distance from one tree to another not to exceed seven
feet, or at the rate of 888 trees to an acre) are difl^erent from the
practice of the present time: it may be proper in this place, to
say a few words upon the number of trees that should be planted
on an acre.

In the Transactions of the Society of Arts, Vol. XXVI. there is
an account of Dr. A. Bain's plantations in Dorsetshire, of 338,199
forest trees, upon 250 acres of poor land. He allotted 2000 to
each acre. His plantations are of a mixed sort, consisting of
289,555 Scotch firs ; 4362 oaks ; 12,290 larch ; Spanish chestnut
5647; spruce 3450; ash 11,050; pineasterl900; sycamore 4050;
birch 1700; and hazel 4195. The Scotch firs and pineasters
succeed far better than any of the other trees.

The same number of trees to an acre has been also allotted
in the Duke of Portland's plantations in England ; where trees
of various sizes are placed in an irregular manner. And Mr.

F

34 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

Nicol remarks, in his Treatise on Planting, that " h* who plants
" too thin, with the idea of saving trouble in thinning, deviates
" as widely from the right path, as he who thins none at all."

Relying, therefore, upon established practice, and such good
authority it seems advisable to plant trees at the rate of 2000 to
an acre ; which is something less than five feet asunder. The
thinning of the plantations would, in a few years, well repay the
trouble, by the ample supplies of fuel they would produce ; and
by leaving the choicest trees to attain their full growth, they would,
m the course of 20 or 25 years, be of very great value in affording
excellent timber upon the farms, either for sale, or for the purpose
of erecting buildings.

Let us now suppose the possibility of forming plantations of
pineasters, upon 600 acres of the St. Helena mountains ; and that
2000 trees are planted upon each acre, and of which 500 timber
trees shall be produced, (four or five and twenty years hence)
from each acre, or in all 300,000 timber trees.

Suppose also that the average superficial feet in each of those
timber trees, to be no more than 150 feet, which, from 300,000
trees, would be 45,000,000 superficial feet ; and rated at 4d. (the
recent price of imported American timber) wouW be, in value,
seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds. This is at the rate of
no more than 50 shillings for each timber tree, exclusive of vast
quantities of fuel from the thinning of the plantations, and from
the lopping of the timber trees at the time they are cut down.

In regard to the Mimosa Myrtifolia, or Botany-bay willow,
there are at Plantation-house several young trees that were raised
from seed sown on the 20th January, 1810, and afterwards trans-
planted. The largest is 9 or 10 feet high, a beautiful shrub now
in blossom, and covering a space of about 8 feet in diameter. This
sort of Mimosa attains the height of 20 to 25 feet.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 3.5

It produces annually an immense number of long pods full of
seed ; so that it might nt»t only be propagated to any extent, but
as the seed is greedily devoured by rats, it may be presumed that
its general culture would be highly beneficial, both in speedily
raising fuel, as in contributing to the support of poultry, hogs,
and other live stock. I have tried it with poultry who seem to
relish it equally as other grain.

I hope that these hints will be duly considered, and that they
may tend to excite a spirit of emulation in planting trees, which
no doubt might be greatly promoted if premiums were offered
by the Court of Directors, to every landholder, who shall have
growing, in a thriving state, 20 or 25,000 trees.

22dJuly, 1811.

36 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION VII.

On Potatoes — two Crops in the Year — extensive Culture recommended —
solid Nourishment of, compared with Flour — Culture of Corn recom-
mended as a green or dry Fodder for Cattle— former heavy Losses in
Cattle ascribed to improvident management — Notices of dry Seasons,
and Losses in Cattle, from the year 1724 to 1792. — Seasons of Drought
produced by the Operation of some general Cause — severe Drought at
St. Helena in 1791-2 pervaded the Peninsula of India ; and felt at Mont^
serrat in the West Indies,

" Leek to tlie Welsh, to Dutchmen Butter's dear,
Of Irish swains Potatob is the cheer." Gay.

iJocTOR Adam Smith, in his Wealth of Nations, observes, that,
" the chairmen, porters, and coal-heavers in London, and those
" unfortunate women who live by prostitution, the strongest
" men, and the most beautiful women perhaps in the British
" dominions, are said to be, the greater part of them, from the
" lowest rank of people in Ireland, who are generally fed with
*' Potatoes. No food can afford a more decisive proof of its nou-
" rishing quality, or of its being peculiarly suitable, to the health
" of the human constitution."

If this able writer had visited St. Helena, or had been aware
of the practice of raising two crops a year from the same land, or
of producing 36,000 pounds o( Potatoes annually from an acre,
without manure, which Colonel Broughton has found to be the
average of his crops at Long Wood, which is by no means ihe
richest land here, it would have afforded him even a much greater
contrast, and a more forcible comparison than he has drawn

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 37

between the produce of an acre of Po^a^oe* and an acre of Wheat
in England. The former he rates at only twelve thousand pounds
weight; the latter at two thousand, and allowing " half the
" weight of Potatoes, to go to water, (a very large allowance),"
he infers that " one acre of Potatoes producing 6000 weight of
" solid nourishment, is equal to three times the quantity pro-
" duced from an acre of Wheat."

It is evident therefore, that the same train of argument applied
to this island, would make the annual produce of one acre of
Potatoes, in solid nourishment, equal to nine acres of Wheat in
England.

From the peculiar advantages which St. Helena enjoys in the
extraordinary produce, as well as in the excellent quality of this
invaluable root, it is evident that the extensive culture of Potatoes,
is deserving the utmost attention, not merely as a food for man
but for cattle and live stock of all kinds. The imports of flour,
rice and paddy, and of salted meat, might thus be diminished,
the island might easily be made to abound with every necessary
of life, which is assuredly the best mode of depressing the present
exorbitant prices ; and the diminution of those wants which are
obtained from other countries, would no doubt, have the effect
of retaining, amongst the cultivators of the soil, a very great pro-
portion of the sums that are annually paid for foreign supplies.

The annual consumption of flour is about 1600 barrels, which
would cost in England, including the barrels, according to the
invoice per Walmer Castle in 1807, ^8674. If freight and
charges be added at £5. per ton, and rating six barrels to a ton,
this would be 266 tons, or i:i330, making the total cost of 1600
barrels of flour, when landed here, ,£10,004.

Now from what has been said, and following Doctor Adam
Smith's deductions, I will proceed to shew that an equal (quantity

38 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

of the " solid noiirisliment" contained in 1600 barrels of flour
might be obtained in Potatoes, from thirty-three acres of this
island, and admitting the rent, and the labour in cultivating the
two crops annually, at even 30 pounds per acre, which is a very
large sum, and particularly when the plough management is
introduced, that for nine hundred and ninety pounds sterling,
there might be raised of wholesome nourishing food, a substitute
or equivalent, for what costs when brought to this island, more
than ten thousand pounds sterling ! Sixteen hundred casks of
flour, at 370 pounds each, contain 692,000 pounds, and thirty-
three acres oi Potatoes at 36,000 pounds per annum, would be
1,188,000, the half of which being 594,000 pounds, is " the solid
nourishment," according to Doctor Adam Smith : which is even
more than that contained in the above number of casks of flour.

Mr. Parmentier found, from a number of experiments, that
good bread might be made from equal quantities of flour and
potatoes. No doubt, two thirds of flour to one third of potatoes
would be better : and some of this sort made here by a neighbour
who well understands the comforts and good things of this life,
was superior to any bread I ever tasted on this island. I would
recommend a trial to the St. Helena bakers ; they would find by
this mixture that the bread has a fresher taste, and that it has
the property of keeping better than that which is made of the
flour imported from England : besides, by making flour go farther,
they could aftbrd to dispose of bread at a cheaper rate than that
made wholly from flour.

I trust that these remarks will stimulate our landholders to their
own interests, and that we shall soon have at least an hundred
acres of potatoes added to the present cultivation. By this I do not
mean to exclude the use of flour, but I am fully persuaded, that
the advantage and convenience arising even from this addition in

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. .39

feeding man and livestock, would soon lead to a more extensive
culture. In a year or two the inhabitants would thus become far
less dependent on foreign imports ; and the potatoe culture upon
an enlarged scale, would also enable the landholders to give a
portion to their cattle, at those times when they are much reduced
by the impoverished state of the pastures ; by this the lives of
many might be saved during an unfavourable season. But the
more effectually to guard against the fatal consequences that may
justly be apprehended from a dry season, under the present
management of cattle, I cannot too strongly recommend the
expediency of alternate crops of potatoes and corn : the latter
might be raised as at the Cape of Good Hope, either as a dry or
green fodder ; and of which there might always be a certain
supply particularly when the rains have only partially failed :
this was most clearly proved in February and November, 1810,
as will appear from what is stated in page 28* of the printed
Laws and Ordinances, and in pages 51 f and 76% of the Goat
papers.

Further advantages would result from the alternate crops of
potatoes and corn, since they would preserve the lands in good
heart ; and if some attention were paid to manuring, it would
prevent them being exhausted, and becoming unprofitable,
which they often have been by continually repeating the potatoe
crops. It is, moreover, the opinion of eminent agriculturists

* February 28th, 1810. " The Wheat sown on the 9th of November is now in full
" ear; the grass at present is much burnt up. Fodder of Wheat, Barley, or Oats,
" would be very serviceable. '

t " The Guinea Grass is likely to do wonders here : some looked green and beau-
" tiful during some very dry weatlier, which burnt up all the grass around it."

J " On the 29th of November 1810, it was ascertained, that one acre of Green Oats,
" yielded at this season of the year more nourishment for Cattle, than any one
" HUNDRED acres of the Long Wood pastures."

40 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c,

that such a rotation would, in a great measure, secure potatoes
against the ravages of the caterpillar.

Wha|; eminent advantages does the whole of this easy system
of management hold out ! I am firmly resolved to pursue it ; for
I have often seriously reflected on the great losses that have been
sustained here by the planters. I have endeavoured to discover
the causes, which I cannot but ascribe, almost entirely, to impro-
vident management. No care whatever is taken to guard against
evils similar to what have frequently visited this remote spot on
the globe. In 1738 the planters lost 555 head of cattle, and the
Company 132. The total number that perished at that time,
from the extreme dryness of the weather, was 687. This is a
dreadful warning. What a blow would such a season give to the
landholders of the present day ! For there is absolutely not the
smallest precaution taken to avert it. I cannot behold this pic-
ture without apprehension ; for the value of the number of cattle
that died in 1738, (and a far greater number in 1791 and 1792)
at the present market price, may be fairly rated at 6 to 8000
pounds, sterling.

To excite a serious attention in the minds of the landholders,
who have almost the whole of their property in cattle, and more
strongly to impress them with the dreadful consequences of trust-
ing wholly to pasture lands, and in the hope also they will pay
some attention to the facts and hints I now set before them, I
shall conclude these remarks with a brief statement of every notice
I can find on record, that relates to the visitations of unfavourable
seasons, and to the calamities which have been experienced by
preceding generations.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 41

Notices re<rardin2; had Seasons and Losses in Cattle, extracted
from the Consultations, and from Letters from the Court of
Directors.

In the year 1724, February 12. — Bad seasons for 4 or 5 years
past: in dread of a famine.

1738, June 13.— Losses sustained in cattle, by tlie late dryness

in the weather.

Cattle.

Loss to the inhabitants - - 555

Ditto Company _ _ _ 132

Total 687

1739, May 4th. — Rainy seasons had failed for the last 4 or 5
years.

1747, March 9th. — Rains failed last season.

April 11. — Unusual drought for several months past.

May 26. — On account of the grass lands being burnt up by the
continuation of dry weather, cattle were fed, during six weeks
with plantain trees.

1748, May 10th. — Yams so scarce, that only 32 soldiers can be
supplied weekly.

1752, August 3.— A failure of rain for some time past.

February 22 — Heavy rains fell on the 20th instant

1759, December 7th. — For want of rain, the island and cattle
in bad condition. The Court of Directors recommend promoting
the increase of stock of all kinds.

1772, January 8. — Long continuance of dry weather occasioned
great diminution in the number of cattle.

1774, December 23. — The island restored to a flourishing state.

1779, May 17. — The island in a distressed situation from the
present drought — and from the loss and poverty of cattle.

G

42 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

July Ir?. — Great mortality among the cattle.

1780, April 17 The Company's flock of sheep in bad condi-
tion " from the long drought and present failure of our summer
rains."

June 5. — The island in a distressed state.

1781, March 1. — Torrents damaged Sandy Bay fortifications.
June 2. — The island had sustained severe drought for three

years.

1791, April 13. — Colonel Brooke informs Doctor Anderson at
Madras, that while the grass is burnt up, his Guinea grass, at
High Knoll, looked " green and beautiful."

May 30. — Thirty-two of the Company's cattle (including calves)
died during six months. The Company's stock on July 11, was
340 cattle.

October 21. — The season continued alarmingly dry — the crops
of potatoes failed^the yam grounds grown very unprofitable —
and numbers of the cattle have died.

1792, April 9. — Company's cattle, December 31 - 369

Dead . - - - 91

Here it appears that one fourth of the Company's stock died.
1792, August 17. — The planters petition to Government, repre-
senting that they " have, by the late drought, lost one half of
their stock of cattle."

Philosophers of all ages have built a hope of being able to
discover by repeated observations, some rules concerning the
variations of seasons, and changes in the weather, convinced
that such discoveries would be of the highest utility, especially in
agriculture ; because by foreseeing, even in part, the circum-
stances of the seasons, we should have it in our power to prevent,
at least in some degree, the losses arising from them. But from
the imperfection of our present knowledge of this subject, it is

I

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 43

impossible to account for the uncertainty in the fall of rain.
Most countries whether mountainous or flat are subject to it :
and it would seem from experience and comparisons, that the
variations which have taken place, have sometimes been eftected
by the operation of some general cause. The severe drought
felt here in 1791 and 1792 was far more calamitous in India.
Doctor Anderson states, in a letter to Colonel Kyd, dated the
9th of August, 1792, that owing to a failure of rain, during the
above two years, one half of the inhabitants in the northern cir-
cars had perished by famine ; " and the remainder were so feeble
" and weak, that on the report of rice coming from the Malabar
" coast, 5000 poor people left Rajamundry, and very few of them
'* reached the sea-side, although the distance is only 50 miles."
The Doctor further observes " that betwixt the latitudes 16° and
" 18° on the coast of Coromandel, there was so little rain during
" the years 1764, 1765, and 1766, that the country was desolated
" by famine." It appears by Mr. Bryan Edwards's History of
the West Indies, that the season of 1791-2 were unusually dry at
the island of Montserrat.

It will be observed, by the extracts I have given, that no
notice is taken of dry seasons at those periods ; and that the
greatest continuance of seasons uncomplained of, was betwixt
the years 1724 and 1738. This interval was fourteen years.
Now as there has been no serious drought since 1792, it should
be kept in mind that the present interval of favourable seasons,
being nineteen years, already exceeds any other on record.
We know not how soon another visitation may take place. Let
us then be wise and prudent, from dear bought experience, and
use every means in our power to be prepared for it.

\bth August, 1811.

44 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION VIII.

Modes proposed to the Landholders for averting the Evils incident to

Seasons of Drought.

Although I have frequently endeavoured to draw the attention
of breeders of cattle here to their own interests, and have strongly
urged them to imitate the practice of the most enlightened agri-
culturists, by raising green crops of corn, mangel wurzel, turnips,
potatoes, &c. for the purpose of preserving the lives of poor half-
starved beasts, at the time the grass lands are burned up, or when
the rains set in — yet, in case some of them, who have never wit-
nessed any other management than that which has ever prevailed
here, should consider such things as mere effusions of imagina-
tion or fancy, I must therefore request their attention to the fol-
lowing extract from the New Farmer's Calendar.*

The testimony of an experienced " farmer and breeder," as
well as an able writer upon these subjects, will shew that my
sentiments are not singular ; and that the practice I recommend
has long been adopted, with complete success, both on the Con-
tinent of Europe, and in the United Kingdoms. I should hope
that such testimony, added to the facts and proofs I have adduced
(" that crops of corn are intinitely heavier, and far more certain,
" than the produce of even the best grass lands") will afford to
every unprejudiced mind the most unerring conviction that the
proposed new system would be extremely advantageous ; and
that it is even more peculiarly suited to the circumstances of

* Oa the green and root crops, for " the support of cattle-" — See New Farmer's Ca-
lendar, page 382.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 45

Saint Helena than perhaps of any other establishment of the
British empire.

I therefore entertain a sanguine hope that the breeders of
cattle may look to their own interests, and that they may at lengtli
listen to the voice of reason and experience, and immediately set
about guarding themselves and families from inevitable ruin, to
which they are every season exposed, merely through improvident
mana2:ement.

But, if neither facts nor arguments will awaken them to a sense
of the evils incident to an entire dependence on pasture lands,
let them then duly reflect on the dreadful effects they will un-
doubtedly feel, if no precautions are taken, whenever it shall
please the Almighty disposer of all things to revisit Saint Helena
with another calamitous season similar to those which have been
sometimes experienced here : and particularly in the years 1791
and 1792. Alas! under our present circumstances, what would
be the consequence of such a visitation : Our stock of cattle may
be estimated at 20,000 pounds sterling. — Half this sum might be
irrecoverably lost : and as the effect of a diminution in the breed-
ing stock would long be felt by the proprietors, it is not too much
to say that the loss, consequent to so great a calamity, to them-
selves and families, would not be less than the full value of the
present stock of cattle.

In page 76 of the Goat papers, it is proved that in four months
from the period of sowing oats, 36,320 pounds of green fodder
were obtained at Long Wood from an acre. Suppose 50 pounds
of this nutritious sustenance were allotted to each beast — one
acre w«uld feed two throughout the year — four for six months —
or eight for three months.

Let the proprietors also consider the vast importance of having
their stock of working oxen maintained at all times in full

46 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c,

strength and vigour, and compare the work they would perform
with that of animals so much exhausted that it is sometimes with
diflSculty they can crawl up the long ascents of this island. Let
them compare also the weight and value of a well-fed beast for
slaughter, with those miserable creatures that are sometimes sold
to the shipping [perhaps to save a natural death;) and they can-
not fail to be convinced of the superior advantages of the pro-
posed, over the present system of feeding cattle.

August 16th, 1811.

4

I

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 47

SECTION IX.

On Pineaster Trees, communicated in Letters to Sir Joseph B'anks and

Sir John Sinclair.

To the Right Hon. Sir John Sinclair, Bart. President of the Board of

Agriculture.
Sir,

I BEG leave to present you with a specimen of fir timber, the
produce of pineaster trees raised on this island. The transmuta-
tion which has been effected, by some natural cause, or causes,
in the texture and appearance of fir timber, seemed to me so
very curious and extraordinary that I could not deny myself the
gratification of submitting it to the inspection of yourself, and of
the Honourable Members of the Board of Agriculture.

The inclosed is a copy of my letter to the Right Honourable
Sir Joseph Banks ; which, with the St. Helena Register of July
last, will afford you full information concerning those pineaster
trees ; the latter also contains my sentiments upon the vast
benefits that would undoubtedly, in a very short period, result to
this denuded island, if a due regard were paid to the propagation
of trees that produce so beautiful and valuable a timber.

I have the honour to be, with great respect.

Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,

ALEXANDER BEATSON.

, St. Helena, ISth September, 1811.

48 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

To the Right Honourable Sir Joseph Banks, K. B. President of the Royal

Sir, ^'''''y-

Having lately discovered that pineaster trees raised at St. Helena,
from English seed, yield a timber far superior to any of the
pine species I have ever seen or heard of, and conceiving that
their rapid growth, and the very extraordinary change which has
been effected in the appearance and texture of fir timber, are
circumstances deserving the attention of those who are accus-
tomed to contemplate the causes and effects in nature, I beg
leave to present you with a specimen of the fir timber of this
island.

Of the tree from which this specimen was taken, I have pub-
lished a short account in page 17 of the inclosed St. Helena
Register : but after I had sent it to the press, I perceived I had
been led into a mistake in naming it " Scotch fir ;" for upon
examination, and comparing its branches, leaves, cones, and
seed, with the descriptions of the various species of pine, they
seem to me in every respect, to accord with those of the pineaster.
Pinus foliis geminis crasciusculus glabris, conis pyramidatus
acutis.

In order, however, to be further satisfied on this matter, I
have sent by the present conveyance, to Sir Hugh Inglis, a twig
and cones of the trees in question, together with some seeds of
the very tree from which the specimen of wood was taken. It
is of consequence to be certain upon this point, that I may
receive the proper seed from England ; for it is my intention to
establish seed-beds and nurseries, sufficient to plant on this
island several hundred acres of this most valuable timber.

Many trees of different sorts have been already tried here ;
there are none, however, so peculiarly adapted to the climate and

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, «&c. 49

soil, nor that stand the almost unceasing south-easterly wind,
so well as the pineaster. In the higher and cooler parts they
thrive surprisingly ; but in those less elevated, and towards the
north and south extremities of the island, the summer heats are
too powerful for the propagation of trees that are indigenous to
the colder climates.

I have been lately informed by Doctor Roxburgh, that his
attempts to raise the oak in the vicinity of Calcutta have failed.
Here it is seen covered with beautiful foliage for about nine
months in the year, and its girt attains a considerable size ; yet the
main stems seldom rise above 8 or 10 feet : whereas the pineaster,
when sheltered under the leeward sides of the hills, againstthe pre-
vailing south-east wind, grows straight and beautiful, and arrives
at the height of 50 to 60 feet in the space of twenty-four years.

The following are the dimensions of a pineaster tree (trans-
planted from a seed bed, sown on the 1st of July, 1787) which
grows upon the leeward side of a hill about 300 yards west from
Plantation-house. It is therefore well sheltered, and having
been drawn up perfectly erect and straight, by the surrounding

oaks, it is fit for a small mast of 35 or 40 feet in length.

feet in.

Lower girt, at 1 foot above ground, - - 4 8

Girt, 26 feet ditto, - ^ - - 3 7

Of serviceable timber, the length is - 40 0

Total height to the summit of the highest branches 58 0

I have the honour to be, with great respect.

Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,

ALEXANDER BEATSON,

St. Helena, l8</« September, 1811.

H

50 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION X.

On Guona or Sea-fotcl Dung — and Experiments on the Culture of Mangel
Wurzel. Communicated in a Letter to .SjV Joseph Banks, Bart.

To the Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, K. B. President of the Royal Society.
Sir,

Being much indebted to you for a Communication on the
subject of Guana, or Sea-fowl Dung, which first led to its being-
noticed as a manure on this island, I beg leave to present you
with the accompanying " Remarks on the Culture of Mangel
Wurzel;" in which you will have the gratification of observing
the very powerful effect of the Guana, when contrasted with hog's
DUNG and ASHES, or with land un manured.

I have the honour to be, with great respect,

Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,

ALEXANDER BEATSON.

St. Helena, 15 tk October, 1811.

Remarks on the Culture o/" Mangel Wurzel in the Island of

St. Helena.

My attention was accidentally directed to the culture of
mangel wurzel, which is the white or sugar beet, lately so
celebrated in Prussia, by observing the rapid vegetation of its
leaves, and the frequent cuttings obtained from some plants that
were set out on the 6th February from a seed-bed sown on the
3d January, 1809 : but it was not until the 21st of June following

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 51

that I resolved to try the effects of manures ; and, accordingly, a
portion of the transplanted mangel wurzel, being 130 plants,
was left witliout manure : 81 plants had a top dressing of hog's
dung and ashes, at the rate of about 30 loads, or 360 bushels per
acre, and (he remaining portion, containing 48 plants, was
treated in the same manner with Guana, or sea-fowl dung, in
the proportion of only 35 bushels per acre.

If I had predetermined to report on these experiments, I
should have made them in a more regular form ; that is, I should
have allowed an equal number of plants to each ; but under the
circumstances which have led to them, the result shall be given,
exactly as they were recorded at the periods of cutting the leaves,
and when the experiments were completed.

The three first cuttings not having at the time attracted my
notice, were not weighed ; I have therefore taken them in the
following Table, at the proportions of the 4th, 5th, and 6th
cuttings, which is a fair presumption, as they are in general,
most productive in the early stages of their growth.

r)2

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

TABLE I. — Exhibiting the Produce in Leaves of 269 Plants of Mangel
Wurzel at Plantation-house Garden, from Seed soiim on the "^d January,
transplanted on the Qth February, and manured on the 2\st June 1809.

Dates of
Cuttings

No Manure.

Hog's Dung.

Guana, or Sea-
fowl Dung

130 Plants

81 Plant..

48 Plants.

1809.

lb. oz.

lb. oz.

lb. oz.

Feb. 24

37 0

107 0

106 0

1st Cutting"

\

April 8

45 0

123 0

72 0

2d Ditto

> Estimated

June 21

62 0

117 0

58 0

3d Ditto .

J

Aug. 22

3G 8

107 4

106 6

4th Ditto

Oct. 22

45 0

123 0

72 0

5th Ditto

Dec. 22

62 0

117 8

58 8

6th Ditto

1810.

March 23

38 0

62 0

37 3

7th Ditto

May 23

SI 0

126 0

114 0

8th Ditto

July 24

29 0

72 0

37 0

9th Ditto

Sept. 22

36 0

79 0

65 0

loth Ditto

Nov. 22

36 0

59 0

32 0

11th Ditto

507 8

1092 12

758 1

Totals

—167th

— 269th

—454th

Proportions of

an Acre

84752

293949

344 160

Acrealile Prodi

ice in lbs.

38

131

153

Ditto

in Tons.

The plants were placed in rows, two feet asunder, in a blackish
stiff soil ; and at the distance of one foot in the rows. An acre
planted in this manner would contain 21780 plants ; 48 plants
are tlierefore very nearly (as entered in the Table) the 454th part
of an acre ; because 48 x 454 = 21792. In the same manner the
other proportions are deduced.

Oi>>;erving the protiuce in leaves had diminished at the last
three cuttings, and that they had also been much infested with
caterpillars since ihey began to decline, I had the roots taken
up on the 17th Jauuary 1811. From the 22d November to that
time the growth of the leaves was inconsiderable ; they were.

lbs.

lbs.

ll)S

2358 :

1196

: : 507

2358 :

1196

:: 1093

2358

: 1196

:: 753

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 63

however, cut off <;Iose to the crowns, and the whole, after being-
pruned of the small fibres, weiiijhed 1196 pounds.

As the roots of the experiment lots were not separately weighed,
I deduce their respective produce in the following manner.

As the total weight of the leaves.

Is to the total weight of the roots ;

So is the weight of the leaves from each experiment,

To its proportion of the roots. Then,

lbs.

257 no manure.

554 J Hog's dung and ashes

384^ Guana, or sea-fowl dung.

These results being reduced to acreable produce, in the same
manner as the leaves in the preceding Table, will be as follows ;

No manure, 257lbs. x 167th = 42919lbs. or 19^ tons of roots
per acre.

Hog's dung and ashes, 554ilbs. x 269th = 1491601bs. or 66^
tons of roots per acre.

Guana, or sea-fowl dung, 384|^lbs. x 454th = 1 745631 bs. or 77|
tons of roots per acre.

Now, the acreable produce in leaves and roots from each ex-
periment will stand thus ;

Leaves Roots ^b^a/ acreable

] ~ 7~ Produce of the

Acreable Acreable ;„„ „ ' , ,„

T> 1 n 1 „» leaves Is roots.

Produce. Produce. '

No manure - - 38 tons -|- 19^ tons=^ 57^ tons

Hog's dung and ashes 131 ^m^ =197i

Guana, or sea-fowl dung ]53| +77| =231

These results are manifest proofs of the great benefit of ma-
nuring the lands They likewise shew the surprising efiiect of the
Guana, from which it may be inferred, that 35 bushels of this
manure are equivalent to 35 loads of hog's dung and ashes ; or,

54

TRACTS ON VAR[OUS SUBJECTS, ^c.

or in other words, that one bushel of the former is, in eifect,
equal to twelve bushels of the latter.

The fluctuations that were found, at the periods of cutting the
leaves, in the effects of these two manures, are rather remarkable,
and not easily to be accounted for. The general effect of the
Guana, during the whole period from the 21st June 1809, was
superior to the hog's dung. Yet this last, on six occasions, ex-
ceeded the others : but as this and other comparisons, may be
made, and a variety of deductions may occur, upon inspecting
the following Table, it would be superfluous to add any particu-
lar observations.

TABLE 11. — Shewing the Produce of Forty-eight Plants of each Experi-
ment, and the Fluctuatiom in the Produce of Leaves, at the Periods of
Cutting.

Leaves of

Leaves of

Leaves of

48 plants.

48 plants.

8 plants.

Dates of Cutting.

\o manure

Hog's-dung
and ashes.

Sea-fowl
dung.

1809.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

February 24
April S

13
16

C3
73

106

72

1st Cutting 1

2d Ditto i- Estimated

June - 21

23

70

5S

3d Ditto J

August 22

13i

63|

1061

4th Ditto

Octoher 22

m

7si

72

5th Ditto

December 22

23

70

58i

6th Ditto

1810.

March 23
May - 23

14i

29i

361

7-H

37
114

7th Dittos months growth.
8th Ditto

July - 24

io|

42

37

9th Ditto

Sept. - 22

13

46i

65

10th Ditto

Nov. - 22

m

35

32

11th Ditto

Produce

lS6i

648 i

758 1

in 22 months and 19 days

Multiply by the 1
proportion of i

154th.

454th

454th

48 plants to an acre.

Pounds.

84671

29430'.

.344160

acreuble produce of leaves.

As these products correspoud as nearly as could be expected,
with those computed from three different proportions of an acre,

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 55

in Table I. — it is a proof there can be no material errors in the
calculations.

When the roots were taken iip, on the 17th of January last,
very few of them were in a decayed state; some had rotted in
the centre: but, in general, they were sound and good; not-
withstanding they had remained above two years in the soil ; that
is, from the period of sowing the seed. The four largest roots
weighed as follows :

No. ] __---- 28 pounds.

2 ------11 ditto.

3 ------19 ditto.

4 ------ 20 ditto.

Having thus detailed these experiments, I shall now pi-oceed

to offer a few remarks, which will shew the important benefits
that might soon be derived from a general, and extensive culture
of this excellent vegetable.

It certainly possesses advantages over every other plant hitherto
introduced in field culture. — Its produce is immense, and I have
found it to grow, with considerable luxuriance, upon land where
no other vegetation was ever seen.* It has also the singular

* This was determined by an experiment I made soon after my arrival here. I selected
a barren ridge, between two deep ravines, on the north-west side of High Knoll. From
its situation and declining surface, no moisture could be retained. On tlie 27th August
1808 it was trenched, and on the following day sown with sixteen different sorts of seed,
so that it had not the advantage of the meliorating effects that might have been derived
from exposure to tiie air and atmosphere. For a long time there was no appearance of vege-
tation ; at lengtJj, in the beginning of April, 1809, seven months after sowing, and when
it had been soaked by tlie rains, I observed the drill of mangel wurzel one connected line
of fine thriving plants : the fifteen rows of other seeds, excepting a few of the rape, iiad not
vegetated. This is a positive proof that mangel wurzel would grow in almost any soil or
situation. The seeds which were sown at the same time as the mangel wurzel, were
coffee, cotton, wheat, barley, oats, peas, buck wheat, spring tares, lucerne, burnet, sanfoin,
silla, chicory, rape, and sunflower — Not a plant of any of these, except the rape, which
soon after died, ever appeared.

56 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

property of being- unmolested by an insect (I believe the dolphin
fly) which is here extremely destructive to cabbages, turnips, and
radishes. I have very often observed, where alternate plants of
cabbage and mangel wurzel were growing in the same rows, and
touching each other, that whilst the former were absolutely anni-
hilated by that destructive insect ; not one was to be seen on the
mangel wurzel leaves. This extraordinary circumstance seems
to favour Lord Bacon's notions (however much they have been
exploded) that some insects " breedeth of dew and leaves in
" spring ; and commonly when the East winds have much
" blown — the cause whereof is, the dryness of that wind ; for, to
" all vivi/ication upon putrefaction, it is requisite the matter be
" not too moist."

But, whatever may be the origin of those insects, it is of little
consequence to the present subject. I have merely stated a fact,
which may possibly attract notice, and may be of some use to those
who are engaged in the contemplation of matters of this nature.

The mangel wurzel, when fairly established in the soil (which,
like every other crop upon an extensive scale, ought to be just
before the expected rains in January and February, or in July
and August), will soon acquire such vigour as to become almost
independent of rain : for having a tap root, penetrating 12 to 18
inches, or more, into the soil, it will always find sufficient mois-
ture, at that depth, for carrying on the process of vegetation. In
the course of five or six months, from the seed, if sown or planted
in good soil, three cuttings of the leaves may be obtained, which
may average about three pounds from each plant ; and the roots
will then have attained the weight of five to ten pounds each.
AVherefore it seems to me, after every attention I have given this
subject, that the most profitable culture would be to take three
cuttings of the leaves, and at the third cutting, to dig up the
roots: — the,se, as well as the leaves, afford a nutritious food for

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 5T

cattle, sheep. Logs, &c. — The leaves are also an excellent substi-
tute for spinage.

It is very probable that a more abundant produce from mangel
wurzel than appears in my experiments, might at all times be
secured, if the lands were manured, and carefully prepared for
its reception, and the proper seasons of sowing and planting at-
tended to. In a piece of strong land, at Plantation-house, newly
broken up, without being manured, some of the plants from seeds
sown on tlie 3d of January, were set out on the 6th of February,
1809.— On the 11th of October following, I sent on board His
Majesty's ship Li)n, fifty of those plants, which were the finest I
had ever seen. The following were the weights and circumfe-
rences of the five largest :

Weight of the whole plant.
lb. oz.

No. 1 41 3
1
6
0

14

At Long Wood, Colonel Broughton has lately taken up some

very fine specimens from land that was not manured : they were

of six months growth from the seed — the leaves had been cut

twice. Many of the roots weighed from six to ten pounds each :

but admitting even the lowest of these rates, and allowing one

pound of leaves at each cutting, the produce would be eight

pounds from each plant ; which, at 20,000 plants to an acre,

would be 160,000 pounds, or about 70 tons per acre, of nutritious

food for cattle, in the short period of five or six months from the

time of sowing the seed. Can any thing place the importance of

the culture of mangel wurzel in a more obvious point of view

than this deduction ?

I

1

41

2

39

3

39

4

38

5

37

Ch

rcumferetice of

the

roots

ft.

in.

2

1

1

9

1

10

2

0

1

11

58 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

But the largest plant that has yet been produced here, is one I
sent to England, with several others, in July, 1810. — It was raised
from seed, put in the ground on the 3d of March, and transplanted
to land newly broken up, on the first of May, 1809 ; when it was
taken up in July (that is, at sixteen months from the period of
sowing) the circumference of the crown of the root measured 37
inches. It had about twenty strong horizontal branches, two or
three inches in diameter. — The leaves and small ends of those
branches were cut off, and weighed 52 pounds. The root afid
remaining parts of the branches on it, in the state it was sent to
England, weighed 63 pounds. — In all, the vieight of this one
plant, from unmanured land, was 115 pounds. I have been
since informed it was by far the largest of the kind ever seen in
England.

\bth October, 1811.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 59

SECTION XI.

On naked Barley, or Barley Wheat — Report and Opinions of Warren
Hastings Esq. , and of Sir Hugh Inglis, on the Utility and Importance
of this valuable Corn — Singular Account of its Introduction at St. Helena.

In this island, where the intemperate use of spirits had raged for
more tlian a century, and where now the breweries are successfully
established, and a change introduced, from which the most salu-
tary effects have already resulted, upon the character and conduct
of the garrison, the blacks, and others, by the substitution of
wholesome beer for an abominable and deleterious Indian spirit,
that had cost the Company more in the lives of their soldiers than
all the revenue supposed to have been derived from it — it is
undoubtedly of much importance, in the present pursuits in
agriculture, to be informed of the very best sort of barley for
malting.

In the sixth volume, part 2, of the Communications to the
Board of Agriculture, that distinguished character, Warren Hast-
ings Esq. ; writes to the President of the Board, " that he has
cultivated naked barley, about twelve years ; having received
the first seeds of it from Mr. Pacey, an eminent farmer in Glou-
cestershire, under the name of black barley ; though, from its
resemblance to wheat, he would rather have called it barley
wheat; but he adopted the name of the head of the communica-
tion, out of deference to the Board of Agriculture. The onginal
stock was 53 grains, which were sown in the fruit garden, and
the first record of its produce was 10^^ busliels in 1799, which
had increased to 36 bushels in the following year, since which

12

60 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

time it has been sown instead of common barley. The quality of
the grain is asserted not to have degenerated, but the assertion is
made in 1809, with a confidence something abated from that of
the preceding year ; and the only change of soil has been from
the higher to the lower lands, and vice versa, on the domain at
Dayelsford. It was sown at the same seasons with other barley,
but no trial to ascertain the relative quantity of produce has been
made with any satisfactory result ; but in 1805 it was believed to
be rather superior. The straw is said to be as good, if not better,
for cattle, than that of common barley, and the weight of an
equal measure to exceed in the proportion of 5 to 4 ; and as an
exhausting plant it is not deemed worse than coinmon barley r
and all the grasses are found to thrive well under it. Naked
barley has not found a purchaser when offered in market, but
Mr. Hastings cultivates it for the sole purpose of converting
it into malt, for which he considers it particularly adapted, as he
has seldom known one grain to be defective in vegetation at the
malt-house.

The writer concludes by expressing his decided conviction of
the great utility and importance of the grain, and declares his
intention of extending his culture of it beyond the quantity' re-
quired for his own use, that the surplus may be for sale at the
disposal of the Board. He considers it to be the corn, which,
next to rice, gives the greatest weight of flour per acre, and it
may be eaten with no other preparation than that of boiling, and
requires little or no dressing at the mill, having no husk, and
consequently producing no bran."

The superiority of this kind of barley has been further extolled
in some observations that follow the prece<ling communication.
— " When barley wheat is more widely cultivated, it will be better
" known, and we have no hesitation in pronouncing that the

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c, Gl

" desire of extending the cultivation of it will be beyond the
" power of Mr. Hastings to supply the seed/'

The wheat barlt-y now growing here, is from Mr. Hastings's
stock. I received it from Sir Hugh Inglis, who has been inde-
fatigable in every thing that relates to our improvements. At
the time he sent it, he informed me that a gentleman in Devon-
shire having occasion to plough up four acres of a lawn, they were
first sown with turnips ; and he had a very poor crop. Early in
April he again sowed the four acres, with four bushels of bailey
wheat, which came up very thin, but at the end of June, when
Sir Hugh Tnglis saw it, it was the wonder of the country, and at
harvest the four acres yielded two hundred and forty bushels, or
60 bushels per acre.

Some experiments I have lately made with this valuable corn,
will be found to coincide with the statements given by these
respectable authorities. They will likewise shew that both hex-
agonal barley, and barley wheat, are rather improved in this soil
and climate, because from comparative weights of one hundred
grains, (the produce of the island crops,) I have invariublu found
them much heavier than the English seed.

Of the two casks of barley wheat I received from Sir Hugh
Inglis, in 1810 and 1811, unfortunatel}' not a grain would vege-
tate: the whole was damaged. Relying on the casks, 1 gave
ten pounds of seed, which were contained in a bag that accom-
panied the cask in 1810 to Colonel Broughton. This seed was
perfectly good It was sown at Long Wood, and had a fine appear-
ance, but as it approached to maturity, it was attacked by Canary
birds, and none was saved. Fortunately, however, I reserved a
few grains, taken out of the bag, for one of the numbers of an
experiment bed in the front garden at Plantation-house. These
were sown in a square, rather less than three feet, and of 81 dit~

62 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

ferent kinds of seeds, the barley wheat was the first that sprouted.
The progress will be seen by the following Table.

Table of Experiment in Barley Wlieat.

1810, July 31st. — Sowed a few grains in a bed about 3 feet
square.

August 11th. — Young plants appeared. The time of sowing-
was a month too late, the weather cold, and only one heavy
shower, since the seed was sown.

Sep. 25th. — From the ground to the top of the leaves 2 feet.

Oct. 14th. — Strong: but not in ear.

20th. — Ears appearing.

Nov. 15th. — Handsome round years — counted i>6 grains in an
ear,

29th.— Approaching to ripeness — Canary birds so greedily de-
vour it, that we are obliged to cover the bed with nets.

Dec. 28th. — The ears were collected, some were bearded, and
others were without beards — I concluded at this time they were
of different species — and accordingly separated the plain from the
bearded grains.

Two ears of the bearded sort yielded 138 barley ] Grains.

, . , • , 1 ^8|^Aps. weight,

corns, which weighed - - j 2 r o

Two ears plain, containing 109 barley corns, 1

. , J f5H ditto,

weighed - - - J

Total weight of the produce of 4 ears 100

Average weight of 100 barley corns - 40^ grains.

The total quantity saved of both kinds, was 2850 barley corns,
which I have since ascertained would fill three common sized
wine glasses.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 63

From this fresh seed I hoped to establish a sufficient quantity
for extensive cultivation : and I have not been disappointed. I
accordingly prepared a spot in the garden, measuring 108 links
by 37, or about the 25th part of an acre. It was marked out in
rows 12 inches asunder, and the seed dibbled three inches deep
at 9 inches apart in the row. The number of dibble holes was
2280; but as 570 holes had two seeds in each, the number of
grains dibbled was 2850 : the following is the result.

1811. March 16th. — Dibbled 2850 grains of barley Avheat
in 2280 holes, of which 570 had two seeds.

21st. — Plants appeared.

31st. — -Promising crop.

May 15th. — Remarkably exuberant.

26th. — Some in ear.

June 4th. — Many in ear.

9th. — Almost all in ear, a very fine crop.

July 25th. — Nearly ripe.

28th. — No difference between the produce of the plain and
bearded seed. In each there are some with beards and some
plain. The beards fall off as the crop ripens.

29th. — Cut the crop. Produce 135 pounds from the 25th part
of an acre, is at the rate of 56^ bushels, at 60 pounds per acre.

On the 3d of August this small quantity was spread over about
four acres and ploughed in. It is now a strong and exuberant
crop, full in ear, and promises a very abundant produce, even
more than sufficient to sow all the cultivated lands at present on
this island.

Justice indeed has not been done to any of these experiments ;
they have all been too late in sowing. If the first had been sown
about the end of June, 1810, the second about the end of
December, and the last, now in the ground, in the end of June,

64

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

they would all liave had the full benefit of the rainy seasons,
and a better produce might have been expected. To these seed
times I shall, in future, pay the strictest attention ; having seen
numerous instances of the bad effects of being too late in putting
plants, or seeds, in the ground.

Barley wheat is of a darker hue than wheat in general : the
grains are smaller; and its relative weight with other corn appears
by the following comparison :

Weight of 100 Grains of
Englisli Seed.

Weight of 100 Grains of
St. Helena produce.

Wheat

Hexagonal Barley
Barley Wheat
Hexaa:on;il Barley

()5 grains Apoth. weight
62 aitto
47? ditto

7li at Plantation-house
*50i- second crop
7Si at Long Wood

1 have already stated, that the produce from 2280 dibble holes
weighed 135 pounds (or 2160 ounces) ; this being the -^^^ part
of an ounce, is very nearly one ounce from one seed.

Very different from this was the result of Mr. Arthur Young's
experiment in the year 1791, with common barley ; he found that
9|- seed grains produced no more than an ounce, whereas in my
second experiment 9^ seed grains of barley wheat must have
given 7to ounces, or about seven times the weight yielded from
common barley.

An acre dibbled in rows, in the same manner as my second
experiment, would contain 58,080 holes ; wherefore, if 2280
holes yielded 2160 ounces, an acre would have produced 55,900
ounces ; or 3494 pounds avoirdnpoise.

Let us now compare this produce with Mr. Young's experiment
above alluded to.

On the 25th of April, 1791, he dibbled 198 grains of four rowed
* 100 grains of tlie first crop weighed only 40f .

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 65

barley, one seed in each hole. On the 29th of September •' he
reaped them ; and, clipping off the ears," weighed them ; the
produce was 20^ ounces. He does not state whether this be the
weight of the ears, or of the clean grain : but, afterwards, he
infers that 9j grains of seed produced one ounce of corn.

Hence, it follows, if 198 seed grains gave 20^ ounces, 58,080
would produce 6013 ounces, or 376 pounds. — Thus we find that
the weight of my produce, from an acre of barley wheat at St.
Helena (being at the rate of 3494 pounds) ; is about nine times
the weight of that of common barley, according to Mr. Young.

But, quitting these minutiae, I will take a more enlarged view
of these comparisons, and proceed by a different mode of inves-
tigation.

The average acreable produce of common barley in England,
according to Mr. Donaldson, is about 30 bushels: but rating it
40, and the medium weight of a bushel, at 48 pounds ; this
average produce will be no more than 1920 pounds; or 1574 pounds
less, in iveight, than from the second barley wheat experiment.

In short, whether we consider the comparatively small quantity

of barley wheat seed required to sow an acre, its more weighty

produce than common barley, its naked, instead of husky grains,

and its equality with other barley, in the produce of straw ; and,

if these circumstances are combined with Mr. Hastings's opinions

on the various uses to which barley wheat may be applied ; it

seems to be, in every respect, infinitely superior to the common

sorts of barley. It is probable too, from its near resemblance to

wheat, that it may yield a flour superior to that from common

barley ; and although this is a point which has hitherto not

been ascertained ; yet from what is already known of the barley

wheat, it certainly bids fair to become an invaluable corn on

this island.

K

66 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

By the comparisons of the weights of English seed, with
that produced from the first and second St. Helena crops, it has
been seen that the second crop yielded heavier and larger corn
than the English, in the proportion of 47^ to 50^, and that the
first crop, gave only 40j grains weight to the 100 barley-corns.
Further trials may determine in wliat respects the barley wheat
may be affected here by the climate and soil ; for having beheld
so extraordinary a change, as has taken place in the quality of
fir timber, (to a resemblance of pale mahogany) from pineaster
trees raised from English seed, who can tell bnt other vegetable
productions may likewise undergo (though less perceptibly) a
similar change ? In the weight of common barley, I have stated
that the St. Helena produce has been found more weighty than
the seed from which it was raised ; and the following notes will
prove that it maintains this superiority.

1809. March 14th. — 100 English barley-corns weighed 62 grs.

100 St. Helena ditto - 71^

Difference - 9y
The above were kept in a dry place, and again weighed nine-
teen months afterwards.

1810. Nov. 1st. — 100 English barley corns weighed 61 grs.
100 St. Helena, ditto - . 69

Difference - 8

Barley wheat is therefore in every point of view, a grain that
merits the attention of all our cultivators ; for by common
industry it might be raised in sufficient quantity to supply the
island breweries, by which, those sums tliat are now remitted to
England (from i:6000. to c£8000. annually for malt,) might be
retained here and participated among the landholders. Surely
persons who duly reflect on these important facts, and who com-

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 67

pare the magnitude of the prospects that the extension of agri-
culture holds out, with the small supplies annually furnished to
the shipping, must be convinced, that the present system of
limited cultivation is a bad one ; and that the profits that are
received from the lands of St. Helena, are trivial indeed in com-
parison with those that are attainable.

November, 1811.

68 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION XII.

On clearing Lands of Grubs — Detail of a Set of Experiments, by which is
-ascertained an effectual Mode of clearing Lands of those destructive
Insects.

1 HE suggestions of an anonymous writer for clearing land of
grubs, which appeared in the Register for February last, have
induced me to try the effect of what is recommended, by a set of
experiments ; and as the result has been completely successful,
the following account will, I conceive, be gratifying to every
agriculturist.

The oljjects of my experiments were to imitate a clean summer
fallow ; and to contrast it with land newly broken up, and having
upon it young crops, for the sustenance and nourishment of that
destructive insect.

With this view, I prepared four large boxes, with ledges of
wood overlapping the insides of the upper edges, in such a
manner that the grubs could not escape. These boxes, placed in
the open air, were nearly filled with soil, taken from a field lately
broken up, where those insects abounded, and had totidly
destroyed a fine crop of oats after it had grown to the height of
6 to 8 inches.

The soil was carefully sifted, and every grub taken out, before
it was put in the boxes. Two dozen grubs, of different sizes
("from about an inch and a half in length, to half an inch) were
then allotted to each box. Those in No. 1, were fed daily with
fresh leaves of mangel wurzel ; No. 2, with potatoes and potatoe
haulm ; No. 3 and 4, represented a clean fallow, without a

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 6U

particle of vesetable substance remaining ; the only difference
was, that No. 4 was occasionally watered.

It was on the 10th of September last, that twenty-four grubs
were put into each of the boxes; on the 14th, I examined them
as follows :

No. 1. — Grubs fat and lively.

No. 2.— Ditto ditto

No. 3. — Some grubs dead, others of a blackish colour ; thin and
sickly.

No. 4. — The same as No. 3.

On the 17th, I again examined them.

No. 1 . — Some as healthy and vigorous as at the time they were
put in the box.

No. 2. — Some healthy ; but in general fallen off.

No. 3. — Some dead ; the rest miserably thin and shrivelled ;
and of a darker colour.

No. 4. — Some dead ; but in general better than No. 3.

On the 23d of September, observing in No. 1 a ball of clay,
about the size and shape of a small walnut, and not knowing
what it was, I broke it, and accidentally destroyed a chrysalis,
the inside of which was filled with a liquid resembling cream. I
afterwards found that it is in this manner the grubs surround
themselves with soil when they begin to perceive the approaches
of transformation.

On the 1st of October, the grubs fed in boxes. No. 1, and 2,
were still rat and thriving; but in the starvation boxes very few
remained alive.

On the 13th of October, a chrysalis had been formed in box
No 2 : there might have been more ; fori did not, until the 23d,
empty the boxes, in order to ascertain the state of the grubs. On
that day it was as follows:

TO TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

No 1, contained 18 lively clnysalids, and 12 healthy grubs :
these are six more than were put in the box. This increase I con-
ceive to have been occasioned, either from some extremely small
grubs in the soil having escaped notice, or from eggs having
been hatched after the experiments were begun.

No. 2, contained 16 chrysalids and 6 strong fat grubs : two
must have died.

No. 3, contained a single chrysalis. — This possibly proceeded
from one of the grubs, at the time it was put in, being in readi-
ness for transformation ; and consequently it escaped the fate of
every other that was put in that box.

No. 4. In this box not a grub or chrysalis was to be found, all
had perished ; not even their remains were to be discerned. I
think it therefore probable that the wood-lice (oniscus armadilla),
which were found in great numbers, particularly in No. 3 and 4,
had devoured the bodies of the dead grubs.

After the examination on the 23d of October, the grubs and
chrysalids belonging to No. 1 and 2 were replaced in their
respective boxes, and four young mangel wurzel plants were set
in each, and watered. On the morning of the following day the
plants in No. 1 and 2 were all destroyed : whilst those in No. 3
and 4 are still in a thriving condition.

On the 30th of October, one of the chrysalids taken from box
No. 1, and put into a glass, covered with thin gauze, produced a
grey moth.

I have been induced to give this minute detail of the experi-
ments, as I think it may convey some useful information upon a
subject that is interesting to agriculturists ; for I remark, in a late
publication, wherein several modes for the extirpation of the grub
are pointed out, that the author concludes with this observation.
" But notwithstanding these judicious remarks, much still

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 71

" remains to be done, in order to perfect onr knowledije of the
" nature and modes of destroyinsj;- these very destructive insects."
— Farmer's Dictionary , see Grub.

The preceding- detail undoubtedly affords a striking proof of a
clean fallow being one of the uiost etiectual modes of clearing
lands of the grub. It was, indeed, reasonable to suppose it would
be so ; because, if no vegetable substance remain in the soil,
for the sustenance of so voracious a creature— whether he be
newly hatched by the summer heats, or arrived at full growth, it
seemed, at least probable, tliat he must infallibly perish. Every
one can judge whether or not this fact has not now been clearly
established.

In the first stage of these experiments I was, for a short time,
apprehensive that the plan recommended by the anonymous wri-
ter might not succeed ; because I observed that some of the
grubs, that were put up in paper, had discharged a considerable
quantity of earthy substance. It seems therefore probable, that
(like worms) the grubs, in some degree, subsist upon earth ; but
the results have shewn that they cannot possibly exist, even for a
few weeks, without vegetable food.

A prolonged, or a repeated fallow would, no doubt, be more
efficacious than the short period of my experiments. This should
be given in warm and dry weather ; for it is then the eggs, depo-
sited by moths, bring forth the young grubs. — Upon these too,
in tlieir tender state, the effect would be more speedy than upon
grubs tliat are arrived at full growth. In this stage they are ex-
tremely tenacious of life. I have seen them survive, for half a
minute, upon ashes so hot that my fingers were burnt in a few
seconds. I have kept some i n a strong solution of tobacco — others
in a solution of alkali, and found them alive, after being twelve
hours in these steeps. The common roller has no effect upon

72 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

them ; yet I think the spiky roller would be a means of destroy-
ing them.

The grubs, on which my experiments were made, are, when
full grown, about an inch and half long, and a quarter of an inch
in diameter. — They are of a bluish colour, and of the moth tribe.
This was ascertained by laying their chrysalids upon soil, in a
glass covered with thin gause. I have already stated, that on
the 30th of October, the second and final transformation took
place: the grey moth that was produced measured seven-eighths
of an inch in length. — It had two large dim eyes, very near to its
mouth, and a feathered like top on its head, lesembling <in owl.
One of these months lived in the glass seven days without food.

It is said, that " all caterpillars of the phaleenae tribe after hav-
" ing several times cast their slough, spin their cod, in which
" they are transformed into chrysalids :" but the cod of the St.
Helena urub is substituted by a crust formed of soil, and the ex-
cretions of the insect. Heat, or cold, evidently contributes to
forward, or retard, the final metamorphosis. It has been siiewn
that the two changes were efl'ected in seven weeks — that is, be-
tween the 10th of September and 30th of October. In colder
climates, however, they are said to require a much longer time ;
and that the greater part do not come forth until the ensuing
year.

The phaleenje, or insects, sprung from those chrysalids, do not
possess the brilliance of butterflies ; but what I imagine to be the
male moth is more brilliant and active than the female. There
is, indeed, a great diflference in their form and colour. The wings
of the one are wrapped up or folded round the body ; and those
of the other are more spread, and in shape resemble a delta.
Some authors have given the moth the name of " night butter-
flies ;" — and there seems to be a sort of analogy similar to that

I

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 73

between birds of day and of night. Moths are known to be fond
of light, and get into rooms when attracted by it. I have observed
many of the species that produces the grub, fluttering around
candles, and destroying themselves. It may, therefore, be inferred
that great numbers of the parent of grubs might be annihilated,
by placing fires of dry furze, or straw, or torches, in the lields
during the night, at the times they are observed to have under-
gone this final transformation.

There seems to be also another method of destroying the grub,
and preventing its propagation. It has been usually remarked
that, at certain times, and more especially at night, it remains
upon, or near the surface. I therefore conceive that, by means
of a red-hot roller, or a perforated hollow cylinder filled with
burning charcoal, and moved slowly along a field, many of them
might be destroyed.

Mr. Hale, in page 478, vol. iii. observes, that " the grub is the
" worm produced by the egg of the beetle. There is one parti-
" cular kind more destructive than the rest, and when the grub
" is mentioned, without any distinction, this kind is meant. It
" is a thick, short, whitish worm, with a hard red head, and six
" short legs. It is found among the roots of corn, and does pro-
" diffious mischief; it feeds on the sweet matter of corn, which
" is, at that time, a kind of pap, like cream."

However correct this may be in the United Kingdoms, it does
not apply to St. Helena. " This creature," says Mr. Hale, " is
" the produce of the cockchafTer :"— but certainly the most de-
structive grub here is what is called " the black grub," which
is the same as I have described ; and its parent is undoubtedly a
moth.

Mr. Hale's description corresponds, however, in some degree,
to a white maggot (",hog-worm," as it is here named, from hogs

L

74 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

being- extremely fond of it) which is found in great numbers in
old grass lands, when newly broken up. These have not hitherto
been injurious to potatoes, or crops of corn : j^et they are very
destructive to pasture lands. I knew not, until lately, the cause
of the barren appearance I had observed in many parts of the
pastures. I had been told it proceeded from shallowness of soil,
or from barren clays under the soil : — but, upon breaking up
some old lays, it was discovered that, under these apparently
barren spots, this " large white grub, with a red head, six short
" legs, and nine breathing holes in each side, and measuring
" from an inch to an inch and a half in length," had been
at work, and had absolutely separated the sward, for an inch or
more, from the sub-soil. I have examined many spots, where
the verdure had disappeared, and invariably have found this de-
structive maggot. I have seen some taken out at 12 or 15 inches
under the surface ; and, at other times, have caught them de-
structively employed within a few inches of the grass, feeding on
its roots, and occasioning the mischief. It seems to me, unless
the lands, on which they have taken up their abode, are dug up,
or ploughed, that the most serious consecpiences may be appre-
hended. Mr. Thomas Greentree, the other day, informed me
that, on his lands, this species of insect did not appear until last
year. — Already it has spread over several acres ; and unless it is
checked, it is impossible to foresee to what extent those depre-
dations may be committed. It is not merely at Mr. Greentree's,
but on Church-ground, at Mrs. Harper's, and to the southward
of Mr. Defountain's, and many other places, that the ravages of
this insect may be discovered. In the year 1751 an insect of the
same description, but seemingly of a different species (for at St.
Helena I believe the maggot becomes a brown cricket,) made its
appearance in the county of Norfolk. Sop^much did it multiply.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 75

that not only the verdure of tlie pastures was destroyed, but the
roots of all sorts of vegetables were attacked — and their devasta-
tions were so great, that they had nearly ruined many of the far-
mers in one of the most fertile counties in England.

It was the want of potatoe seed that led to the experiment of
oats, upon newly broken up land. I was aware of the hazard to
which the crop might be exposed : but as the adjoining field,
treated in the same manner, and planted with potatoes, has
yielded a good crop, it proves clearly that there is little or no
risk in beginning, newly broken up land, with potatoes. The
mode of planting here, is also favourable — for by using the small
whole potatoe as seed, there are many shoots : wherefore if even
a few escape the grub, the crop will succeed : and this is the rea-
son why potatoe crops are seldom seriously affected by the depre-
dations of that insect. Repeated cropping and stirring the land,
I have also found an eft'ectual remedy ; for in some that was at
first greatly infested, there is not now a grub to be seen.

" Grubs feed on the sweet matter of corn, which is a kind of
" pap, like cream." This property it evidently possesses at the
time the plants are very young and tender — but, when they attain
size and strength the juices lose that sweetness, and are therefore,
much less adapted to the nourishment of the young grubs: Avhich
are, indeed the most to be apprehended.

The crop of oats that was destroyed, was sown, perhaps, too
early — that is on the 4th of June; and consequently about four
weeks before the expected rains. — These, however, this year, in
a great degree, failed — and the few showers that did fall, were
immediately evaporated by the sun's heat. It was during this
dry weather that the eggs of the grub were hatched ; and that
the young grubs came forth just in time to feed on the tender
corn, that had been considerably retarded by the dry weather.

76 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

To guard, asmucli as possible, against such formidable attacks,
it seems advisable to sow corn towards the end of June or Decem-
ber ; at which times, the rainy seasons may be supposed to be
near at hand — for, whilst the rains continue, the grub cannot be
hatched — and if accidentally they should come forth when the
corn has been well advanced in growth (a circumstance also unfa-
vourable to their generation, owing to the natural moisture in the
corn, and the shade it affords the land) the young grubs would
be in a manner deprived of their natural food ; for, if the corn
have attained strength, and have lost that sweetness it possesses
when young, numbers would die for want of nourishment ; and
the corn, by setting forth numerous shoots, would be placed
beyond the reach of the feeble attempts of young insects, and be
less liable to injury from those that are full grown.

Wth December, 1811.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 77

SECTION XIII.

Notes of Experiments in the Culture of Wheat, Barley, and Oats — green
Crops of Fodder recommended — Suggestions for the Improvement of the
Pasture Lands — Evil Effects of Feeding a Population — Com,parison of
Exports from the Farms in \1S^ and \S09. — Plans suggested for im-
proving the Island*

jLjXperiments at Plantation-house Farm, and at Long Wood,
have not merely decided the practicability of raising all kinds of
corn at St. Helena ; but have proved that the introduction of
agriculture would be highly advantageous to the land-holders.
Their wheat and barley would be in constant demand for baking
and brewing ; their oats for feeding horses, poultry, &c. ; and
whilst their lands are producing these necessary supplies, the
large quantities of straw from the first crops, as well as from
after-cuttings, would be an acceptable and nutritious fodder for
cattle, especially at those times when the grass is low — or when
a disappointment in rain has happened. It is therefore evident
that the idea which has been long entertained by many persons
" that agriculture in St. Helena would diminish the sustenance
for cattle," is very erroneous. So far from decreasing, it will be
found that it would be the very best means of augmenting
that sustenance — and, consequently, this island might be made
to support a much greater number of cattle than has ever been
upon it — for experiments have proved, that a single acre of wheat,
barley, or oats, throughout the year, if used as a green fodder,

* This paper was printed for the information of the landholders, in the month of
November 1810.

78 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c,

yields as much sustenance as any ten or twelve acres of the best
of the grass lands ; and at the time the grass is low, an acre of
green corn is worth at least fifty acres of such grass.

The following experiments will illustrate these observations.

Barley Experiment, 1808-9.

September 13th, 1808— Sown.

November 22d — Ears appearing.

January 19th, 1809 — First cutting yielded bo^ bushels per
acre — the grain full and better than the English seed ; for on
the 14th March, when perfectly dried, 100 St. Helena barley-
corns weighed 71 ^ grains. Apothecary's weight ; and a hundred
of the English seed barley-corns weighed no more than 62 grains-
March 1st — Again in ear.

March 13th — Second cutting, green in ear for fodder.

May 8th — A third time in ear.

May 9th — Third cutting, green in ear for fodder.

Hence, one crop of corn, and three crops of straw or fodder,
were produced from the same seed, and roots, in less than eight
months from the day on which the seed was sown. It vddLy there-
fore be inferred, that one crop of corn, and three or four crops of
fodder (which I understand have been obtained) may be produced
from the same seed in twelve months.*

Barley Experiments, 1810.

March 15th, 1810— Sowed an acre with a bushel and half of
Cape barley.

March 20th — Already come up, 1^ to 2 inches long.

May 16th — The crop is very luxuriant, a good many ears
appeared.

* This was two-headed barley. — The hexagonal barley does not reproduce in the same
manner.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 79

July 19th — A good deal is now ripe : a few fine days would
ripen the whole.

August 14th — Ripe part (on the poorest land,) cut ; yielded,
when well dried, at the rate of 90cwt. Iqr. 131b. per acre of straw
and ears.

August 15 — The remainder of the acre cut down. It was in
a mixed state, of ripe and unripe corn : at this rainy and unfa-
vourable season of the year, there could be no hope of ripening.

September 1st— That part of the crop which was ripe, consist-
ing of 52 sheaves) was this day threshed. It was the produce of
5286 square links, weighed 162 pounds of clean corn : this is at
the rate of 63| bushels (of 48 pounds) per acre.

The straw, after threshing, weighed 278 pounds ; or at the
rate of 5259 pounds ; but as a good deal was wasted in carrying
it several times from the field under cover, on account of the
rains, the produce may be very fairly taken at 65 bushels, and
the straw at 2^ tons per acre. The land was good ; but the
above experiments are wholly without manure.

Wheat Experiment, 1810.

March loth— Sown.

March 20th — Already come up, li to 2 inches long.

May 31st — Although not yet in ear, the crop has a very lux-
uriant appearance.

June 14th — A few ears appear — remarkably promising crop.

July 19th— Still green. — Ears long, but not filled.

August 14th— Cut two square rods as green fodder ; produce
weighed 294 pounds, say 300, including gleanings, would be
24,000 pounds, or more than 10 tons per acre.

This wheat and the preceding barley experiment were sown at
the most unfavourable season of the year : for there could be little

80 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

hope of its arriving at maturity ; but in making experiments with
a view of acquiring knowledge, all seasons should be tried. The
proper season, however, for sowing is about July or the middle
of August, as the crop would arrive at maturity in December,
when the weather is usually dry and warm ; but if intended to
be cut as a green fodder, to meet the low state of the grass lands
in the month of March, I should prefer sowing about the begin-
ning of November, and cutting it whilst green, which would
secure the after crops ; because if cut in the dry season of the
vear, when in a perfect state of ripeness, the sap in the stems,
being wholly evaporated, it would require a considerable deal of
rain to carry on the process of further vegetation.

The following extract from my journal was written at the
moment I was under this impression ; it relates to another
experiment.

February 28th, 1810 — " The wheat sown on the 9th of Novem-
ber is now in full ear, both in the seed-bed and in the adjoining
plot, to which some had been transplanted on the 20th of Decem-
ber. This experiment is very satisfactory ; it proves, how very
advantageous, at this dry season, it would be to have green crops
of wheat, barley, and oats, with a view of averting the fatal con-
sequences of a dry season. The grass at present is much burnt
up ; and the cattle begin to feel the effect of the drought. Fodder
of wheat, barley, or oats, would be very serviceable; and might
be had in succession, by sowing the seed during the months of
October and November."

In the course of my observations upon the opinions of the land-
holders respecting the extermination of the goats, as well as in
a minute, and some notes published in the Laws and Ordinances,
I have given such hints for the improvement of the island as I
can with confidence recommend, because they are the result of

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 81

more than two years experience in the culture of corn of all sorts,
of esculents, and a variety of trees, shrubs, &c. &c.

It is indeed not to be wondered at if some of my notions upon
improvements, may be by some considered as chimerical, parti-
cularly by persons who have never in their lives seen a field of
corn, and who have not even had the curiosity to look at the
luxuriant crops which have been already raised on the Plantation-
house and Long Wood farms. Such persons assert that the best
modes of cultivation must be those which their own experience
and that of their forefathers have taught them ; and they add,
that what may do well in England, cannot succeed in this island,
on account of dry seasons, a want of labouring population, and
such like excuses, for adhering to a system of management,
which has been, and ever will be, if continued, most ruinous,
both to themselves and to the Honourable Company.

If whatlhave recorded in the above-mentioned papers had been
merely matter of opinion and judgment, there might have then
been some plea for opposing new plans. Is it wise, or reasonable,
pertinaciously to persist in their old modes of husbandry, when
it has been incontestibly proved, from facts, that an entire change
of system would not only be of the most important benefit to this
place, but would also save the planters, in future, such losses in
cattle, as they have hitherto sustained in seasons of drought, as
well, as at those times when the rains have only in a partial
degree failed ?

Being extremely anxious to impress on the minds of the
planters, the infinite advantage which would proceed from a
spirit of exertion and industry being once excited, I have already
taken a general view of the effects that might be expected to
result, in pages 30, 31, and '32 of the Laws and Ordinances. I
shall, therefore, confine my present observations to a subject which

M

82 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

they themselves have always considered equally important to
their own interests, as it is to the original intention of maintaining
this establishment.

At the present moment the summer heats have burnt up all
the pastures to the eastward of the island,* I went yesterday and
inspected those at Long Wood, and was astonished to find them
so exhausted and bare. It is, however, by no means difficult to
explain the causes ; for those grasses are as old as the island ;
where they are eaten down there is no appearance, at present, of
re-production ; and where cattle have for many months been
excluded, the old wire-grass is become tufted, and as dry as
thatch, with naked intervals between ; moreover many places are
mossy ; and the whole extent of the pastures is hide-bound.

In some part of what is called the Gut\ (where the ground had
been loosened and stirred) even, at this dry time of the year, are
most luxuriant patches of fine, young and tender grass. — The
same may be seen at Plantation-house. Thus nature points out
a very simple process for improving any of the pasture lands in
this island.

The best writers on agriculture have most clearly demonstrated
the fertilizing effect which is produced by the atmosphere, upon
lands prepared to admit its influence. The earth in its natural and
compact state can receive no benefit of this kind ; for if the rains
are copious, particularly on the declining surfaces of St. Helena,
they run ofi^as fast as they fall, and if not, the compactness of the
surface prevents their sinking more than an inch deep ; so that
they are exhaled by the first hot sun — and consequently they can
leave little or no improvement. If, however, the soil were
loosened to the depth of nine or ten inches by the plough, it is

* November 29, 1810.

t The low ground which formed the lower garden at Long Wood.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. [ 83

evident that the rains, or moisture, from the atmospliere, would
generally penetrate beyond the reach of the powerful heats. Thus
a sufficiency of moisture would be secured for the purposes of
vegetation ; and when young grass, or any other crop, shall
have covered this surface of the soil, it would be a further security
and protection in retaining the moisture.

It is evident therefore, that ploughing the old pastures, and
raking out the old roots, or tufted grass, and burning them, and
then harrowing the lands, will be a vast improvement, particularly
in those parts of the island which are the soonest affected by the
absence of rains.

This mode of improvement, which could not be costly, after a
little practice in ploughing, would evidently be the best means
of securing good crops of grass, and thereby averting the effects
of seasons of drought.

In confirmation of what I have already stated, in pages 24 to
28 of the Laws and Ordinances, upon the advantages of raising
green corn crops for feeding cattle, I will here relate the com-
plete success which has attended Colonel Brough ton's experiment
at Long Wood.

About ten acres of oats were sown on the 1st of August, 1810,
and although there has been very little rain since that time, the
crop is green and beautiful ; whilst all the pastures have been
severely afflicted by the heats. The corn is now about three or
four feet high, very thick and just coming into ear. Colonel
Broughton, Mr. Porteous, and myself, had yesterday in our
presence cut down a square rod (that is, a square 16^^ feet). This
produce of exceeding fine fodder weighed 227 pounds, which
multiplied by 160 (the number of square rods in an acre), gives
36,320 pounds, or 16 tons and a quarter per acre. The whole
of the crop in its present green state, is immediately to be cut

84 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

down, hayed and stacked, and given to the cattle ; and I have
every reason to believe, from several experiments I have made,
that in six or eight weeks there may be a second crop, not much
inferior to the first : but supposing it to be a half, this would
be, in six months from the day the seed was sown, not less than
twenty-four tons of fodder from one acre ! and let any planter
compare this with the produce of his grass lands, and duly
consider all I have already stated on this important subject, and
he cannot fail to admit, if he will allow his reason to operate,
that eminent and great advantages would infallibly result from
the introduction of agriculture on this island. It is the unani-
mous opinion of Colonel Broughton, 3Ir. Porteous, and myself,
that an acre of this green fodder will yield in nourishment for
cattle, more than any hundred acres of the Long Wood pastures
in their present condition.

It must be evident, from the foregoing experiments and obser-
vations, that agriculture at St. Helena would be eminently suc-
cessful. Its importance was early foreseen by the Court of
Directors ; but the obstacles which long opposed its general
introduction (I mean the want of proper enclosures and the per-
petual trespasses of goats and sheep) have been suffered to
remain, and no extensive encouragement has ever yet been held
out to the cultivators. They were told to feed themselves and
not to depend upon England for provisions ; and, whilst they
were strongly urged upon these points, their efforts soon relaxed
in proportion as they were afforded an easy means of purchasing
every necessary of life from the Company's stores, at prices much
under those at which they could raise them.

The Planters are not aware that a want of industry, and this
mode of supply are the very causes that exhaust their substance ;
and that the import of any sorts of provisions, however low in

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 85

price, which can be raised on the farms, is an evil which operates
against their best interests. The labonr of their slaves and
servants is never fully exerted : much of their time is squandered
between the farms and James's Valley, where they acquire habits
of vice and idleness ; and the attention of the master has been,
from the causes above stated, unwarily withdrawn from those
pursuits which could alone improve his condition : and particularly
in a place where there is neither commerce nor manufacture.

The extent of cultivation has hitherto been barely sufficient for
a scanty supply of refreshments to the shipping ; and this has
been far less than in former times. In 1789, the quantity of
fresh provisions and vegetables furnished to the shipping, was
about three times more than in 1809, because the prices were
moderate, and not more than about one-third of those of the
present time.* The total value of exported produce to the ship-
ping, in 1789,was^6569..1..11 and in 1809, £6346..10..6. Hence
it is proved that the Planters receive less than they did twenty
years ago ; whilst the rest of the community and the shipping are
exposed to great inconvenience and expence, proceeding from
this limited scale of cultivation, and from the decline of industry
at tlie farms.

It is not in the nature of things, that if the value of the annual
produce of the farms be less than that of provisions purchased by

* Comparative Prices of the folloiving Articles, sold from the Farms in 17S3,

and 1811.

1789.

1811.

L, s. d. L. s. d.

L. s. d. L, s. d.

Beef, per lb.

-

0 0 6

0 1 2

Pork, per lb.

-

0 0 6

0 1 3

Sheep, e;'.ch

-

1 1 0

2 0 0 to 3 0 0

Turkie>, each

.

0 5 0 to 0 8 0

1 12 0 to 2 2 0

Geese, each

-

0 6 0

1 1 0 to 1 5 0

Ducks and Fowls,

each

0 1 6 to 0 2 0

0 7 6 to 0 12 0

86 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

the planters, that there can be any balance at the end of the
year in favour of the farms. That this must be the fact, appears
from a view of the annual purchase of provisions from the stores.
In 1809, i;'3540. was paid for beef and pork ; about i^oOOO. for
flour ; and .£3000. for rice and paddy ; in all, ^111,540. (exclusive
of spirits and other articles.) I have before stated that the ek-
ported produce of the lands was only o£6346.

Now, if the above sum of i;il,540. could be diverted into the
hands of the planters, (and that it is possible, by means of com-
mon industry, cannot be questioned) what an improvement would
it make in their condition, as well as that of other individuals
on this island ? But even much more than this might be done,
by favouring- and encouraging agriculture. Every one admits
that the soil in many places, is excellent ; and the climate is
such, that the powers of vegetation seem never at rest. What
then is wanting to make the lands productive but industry and a
skilful direction of the labour of the island ? One hundred and
twenty acres would furnish the island breweries with about 700
quarters of malt, which, according to an estimate in my posses-
sion from one of the brewers, would cost, if imported from
England, about 6 or ^7000. One hundred and thirty acres of
wheat, rating the produce at 35 bushels per acre, would yield
4550 bushels, equivalent to 204,750 pounds of flower, and 68,250
pounds of pollards. The value of these at the English prices of
what are sent here, may be fairly rated at o£4000. ; and, supposing
that no more than 120,000 pounds of fresh pork were to be annually
supplied to the garrison from the farms, this, at one shilling a
pound for the dead weight, would be <£6000. and the whole of
these sums would create an addition of .£28,040. to the present
exported produce ; making a total of about .£34,000. a year, for
products that might be in constant demand from the farms of St.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 8T

Helena whenever tliey shall be able to supply the articles above
enumerated.

Moreover, the quantity of straw produced from 250 acres of
corn may be rated at 500 tons, which would not only be a valuable
acquisition of fodder, but would also afford large quantities of
manure for the improvement of the lands. For both these pur-
poses it would be extremely valuable, where the price of hay has
been from ,£10. to <£12. a ton.

Here, I have supposed no more than 250 acres annually in
the cultivation of corn. This is only one acre in twenty-four of
the 6000 acres of free and lease lands, and could be no very
arduous task to cultivate, if a proper spirit of industry were once
excited amongst the Planters, and if the labour of their slaves
and servants were properly directed.

If lucerne, Guinea grass, silla, mangel wurzel, were added to
the above supplies of corn, together with a more extensive culture
of yams and potatoes, it must be evident that the greatest improve-
ment might be expected, and that the whole together would
soon render St. Helena abundantly productive of those neces-
saries of life for which the inhabitants have been, during the last
60 or 70 years, almost wholly dependant on other countries, a
dependence which has cost the Honourable Company many
hundred thousand pounds ; whilst the planters, so far from having
derived the smallest benefit, have lost sight of their real interests ;
and by relying upon the certainty of provision, they naturally
became less industrious, because the necessity of labour no
longer existed.

20^/i September, 1810.

88 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION XIV.

Observatiotis upon the Rainy Seasons, from the year 1711 to 1811 — Notices
on the Fall of heavy Rains, Jine Showers, and drizzling Rain, from the
1st of January, 1806, to the 31«^ December, 1811 — erroneous Notions
upon the Effects of heavy Rains at St. Helena ; sometimes damage the
lo%o Grounds, but ahvays favourable to cidtivated and pasture Lands.
Abstract of the Fall of Rain from February 1811 to February 1812.

It is generally believed by the oldest inhabitants of St. Helena,
that rain of late years, has fallen in less quantity than in former
times : and the cause is imputed to the diminution in the number
of trees. This is no doubt a plausible conjecture; since it is
admitted that trees have a power of attracting clouds, as well as
moisture from the atmosphere : but whether any change has
actually taken place is a point that cannot now be ascertained ;
because there is no record whatever of the fall of rain.

There are, however, upon the consultations, and in letters from
the Governments of St. Helena to the Court of Directors, several
passages that tend to throw some light on the periods at which
the rainy seasons formerly set in, as well as some notices of
unusual falls of heavy rain ; both during the seasons of rain, as
well as in the dryest months of the year.

The following are the passages and notices I have selected.

1711. January 23d. — " This is deemed the proper season for
planting."

1714. November 12th.—" On the 3d February, 1713, the
floods carried away part of the west curtain, and damaged other
places,"

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 89

1719. May 5th. — "Great floods descended from the hills;
supposed to have been occasioned by a water spout."

1734. April 3d. — " At this time the rains have ceased."

1735. March 29th.—" We have had a good season : the rains
set in on the 1st February."

1736. January 29th.—" The weather still continues very
dry."

1737. January 27th. — " Our summer rains began on Christ-
mas day."

1743. February 1st.—" The late rains have damaged the
store house."

1747. April 11th. — " Unusual drought for several months
past."

1753. August 27th. — " Great damage has been done by the
late heavy rains."

1754. February 11th.—" Rupert's and Banks's fortifications
have received damage by the late heavy rains."

1756. June 20th. — " A heavy fall of rain on the 19th instant
did great damage."

1763. June 6th, — " Great damage to the fortifications, by the
late violent rains.

1774. June 25th. — " The rains have done great damage to
the fortifications at Sandy Bay."

1781. March 5th. — " The fortifications at Sandy Bay sustained
great damage by the late rains.

1787. March 28th. — " The leeward defences suffered greatly
by the floods."

1789. March 24th.— «' The late flood has damaged th^ forti-
fications at Sandy Bay."

1797. April 27th. — " Great damage was done to the fortifi-
cations by the floods."

N

90 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

1809, March 4tli. — Heavy rains that fell in the short space
of one hour, damaged the road upon Ladder hill, overflowed the
water course in James's Town, and damaged several houses.

1811. February 22d. — '• Heavy rains overflowed the water
course in James's Town, and damaged some houses ; as well as
some plantations in Sandy Bay."

These passages will shew that the rainy seasons were expected,
and usually set in much about the same periods as in later times ;
that is in January, or February ; which are called " the summer
rains," and in June and July " the winter rains."

So far, therefore, as relates to the times of the rains setting in,
there seems to have been no difi'erence : but the floods that
happened on the 5th of May, 1719, and on the 6th of June, 1763,
are rather remarkable ; for the first was entirely out of season,
and the latter was mxich earlier than the rains usually set in.

In the preceding extracts I have given every record I can find
of damages sustained by the heavy rains ; and by those it appears,
that the fortifications of James's Town, Rupert's Valley, Banks's,
and Sandy Bay, and some plantations in the low grounds, have
all occasionally been subject to great damage.

It seemed to me, before I left England, that some vague accounts
of these floods, and of tlie great damage done by them, had gone
abroad, and had led to very inaccurate conclusions; for it was
a generally received opinion that there would be much risk in
loosening the soil of St. Helena, for the purposes of agriculture :
as it would be liable to be washed away by such violent torrents
of rain as had frequently happened.

But those who entertained such erroneous notions could never
have been informed of the real causes of the damages they had
heard of: nor could they have known that these damages had
been partial, confined merely to the bottoms of valleys or ravines,

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 91

and particularly to the mouths of the vallies, where the torrents
descending from naked and steep sides of the mountains, had
accumulated, and were forcing a passage into the sea. This was
evidently the case at all the four places above-mentioned.

At each of those places during those severe floods, the rains
that fell upon the upper surface of the ravines, which extend half
a mile and upward across, and penetrate from two to four miles
inland (and to which many small branches communicate) must
have been immense ; and the force of the accumulated waters
when confined in narrow channels in the low grounds, must have
been irresistible. It is to these circumstances that may be justly
ascribed the devastations that have taken place : but such evils
can never occur upon lands laying upon a gentle declivity, and
so situated, as to receive only those rains that fall perpendicularly
upon them. Even three or four inches of rain, falling in one day
upon fields of this description, (and particularly if they are
ploughed) so far from doing injury, would undoubtedly be of the
greatest advantage — because the loose soil by readily absorbing
every drop of rain, would long retain the moisture — and conse-
quently promote vegetation.

There are betwixt two and three thousand acres of the above
description on this island ; which I have no hesitation in declar-
ing might be broken up with the greatest safety — and made to
yield excellent crops of potatoes, mangel wurzel and corn — from
which the supplies of vegetable and animal food, would become
abundant — and the inhabitants might very soon be relieved from
their present dependence on foreign imports.

92

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

rjs
H

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July

August

September

October

November

December

-3
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£

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January

February -

March

April

May

June

H

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►- to ►- Iw C-. w

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HeaTj Rains.

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1808,

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1809,

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1810,

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1811,

ditto

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 93

Upon an average, the number of days, throua^liout the year, on
vvhicli rain falls, is 135. The wettest months are usually January,
February, and March ; and July and August.

As wet or dry seasons depend on heavy rains and fine showers,
the following is a comparison of the six years :

1806, heavy rains and fine showers, - 92 days.

ditto - - 79 days,

ditto - - 58 days,

ditto - - 71 days,

ditto - - 78 days,

ditto - - 60 days.

Now, as my measurement of the fall of rain, from the 22d
February 1811, to the 21st of February 1812, inclusive, gave
22,4 inches, and this in one of the driest seasons in the above com-
parison, it may be presumed that in wetter years the fall of rain
at St. Helena exceeds that in London, and in several other places
in England.

" Rain falls — At London, being the average of the following
years, 1774, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 80 ; 1789, 90, 91, 92 Inches 21.25
" Upminster _ _ _ _ 19.125

" Lincolnshire, in medium season - - 18

" Ditto, extreme wet - - - 24

" Liverpool - _ _ _ 34.5

" Townley, in Lancashire - - - 42.5

" Kendal, in Westmoreland - - 61.25

" Dumfries, in Scotland . _ _ 36.25

" Glasgow, ditto - _ - _ 3i"»

In India, there is a remarkably striking difference between the
seasons of rain, and at St. Helena, According to an exact mea-
surement, taken at Madras, by the late Benjamin Roebuck, Esq.
* Vide Philosophical Magazine, p. 79, Vol. XV.

94

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

from the year 1791 to 1803, it appears that the fall of rain from
the beginning of January to the end of May, is so trifling, as
scarcely to affect the rain-gage. Indeed, during thej month
of March, not a drop of rain fell in the period of thirteen years.
There were moderate showers during June, July, August, and
September ; and heavy rains fell in October, November, and
December. But at St. Helena, excepting in very dry seasons,
there are usually some heavy rain, fine showers, or drizzling rain
in every month of the year.

The natives of India provide for their dry months, by retaining
the monsoon rains in tanks or reservoirs, several miles in length:
which serve for their crops until the rainy season returns.

Abstract of Mr. Roebuck's account of Rain which fell at Madras,
from 1791 to 1803, inclusive.

Average fall of Rain in each Month during Thirteen years.

January
February
March
April

May
June

The average fall of rain was 49.3 inches per annum. It
sometimess happened in the month of November, after unceas-
ing rains, that the quantity which fell during 24 hours, measured
7 inches.

ches.

Inches.

0.7

July

2.6

0.5

August

2.5

0.0

Septemlier

4.4

0.4

October

9.0

0.3

November

18.3

2.0

December

- 8.1

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

95

Abstract of the fall of Rain at Plantation-house, from 22d Feb.

1811, to 2lst Feb. 1812.

1811.

In. lOths

In. lOths

February

1 5

August

-

1:6

March

4:6

September

-

1:8

April

0:5

October

-

1:5

May

2:4

November

-

0:1

June

2:2

December

-

1:2

July

1:6

1812.

January

-

0:8

12:8

Feb. to 21

.

2:6

9:6

9:6

Inches 22 : 4 Total fall of rain during 12 months.
This is less than it actually was — because evaporation is very
considerable here — and no allowance is made for what unavoid-
ably took place upon an open surface, 9 inches in diameter. Being
now provided with proper apparatus, which receives the rain
through a small tube into a bottle, the present year's measure-
ment will be far more accurate. I consider, that if evaporation
had been prevented, the last year's measurement (even in what
was reckoned a dry year) would have been about 24 inches —
instead of 22 : 4.

24;/t Feb. 1812.

m TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION XV.

On the Culture of Barley Wheat — Produce, per Acre — The tenth Part of
an Acre, dibbled, yielded 405 fur 1 — Deductions which prove that from
5y Ounces of Seed, 900 Bushels of Corn might be produced in nine
Months at St. Helena — successful Experiment in Malting and Brewing
from Island Barley Wheat.

In the St. Helena Register for November, 1811,* I have given the
progress, and result at that time, of two experiments in the cul-
ture of naked barley, or barley wheat ; and in that for December
(page 32), are added some further observations upon this ex-
cellent corn. On the 17th of December, I superintended the
rutting of two square rods of the second crop ; the produce of
which being 12 sheaves, is at the rate of 960 sheaves per acre.

The remainder of this crop was reaped some days after, and
the total number of sheaves was 1100

To simplify calculations, eleven only (being the 100th of the
produce) were thrashed on the 4th January, 1812. They yielded
of clean corn 46 pounds, and of straw 45 pounds : but as the
operation of thrashing, for want of a barn, was performed in the
open air, upon a temporary wooden floor : as a good deal was lost
by getting over the thrashing-boards, among the grass ; and as
the grain was not entirely separated from the straw, it may be
fairly reckoned that not less than two pounds of grain were lost:
wherefore the produce of clean corn and straw from eleven
sheaves should stand thus :

Of clean corn, _ - - 48 pounds
Of straw, - - - 45 ditto

* Vide Section XI,

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 97

The total produce, at this rate, from 1100 sheaves, would there-
fore be,

Of clean corn, - - 4800 pounds

Of straw, - - 4500 ditto

It will be found upon calculation, that this produce per acre is
4189 pounds of corn,* and 3927 pounds of straw.

This is no more than a return of 35 for oue ; but it must be
observed that this crop was sown broad cast ; a gjood deal was
destroyed by the grub, and by canary birds; and many grains,
laying on the surface, had not vegetated.

The value of the ai>ove crop, rating the barley wheat at two-
pence per pound, anil the straw at <£5. per ton, is ^43. .4, 2. per
acre, which is inferior to a potatoe crop at 8s. per bushel ; because
200 bushels at one crop would be <£80. : yet if potatoes be rated
at 4 shillings, and if the advantage of obtaining manure be con-
sidered, the barley wheat crop will be found equivalent to that
of potatoes.

The small experiment which preceded this crop was dibbled
on the 16th of March, 1811 ; and gave a much greater return :
five and one-third ounces was the quantity of seed. After the
produce was reaped, I inspected the stubble, and it appeared
that not a single grain of the seed had failed. The produce from
those five and one-third ounces was 135 pounds, or 2160 ounces,
which is 405 for one. If therefore these 2160 ounces had also
been dibbled, and with the same success as in the first experi-
ment, the result would have been 2160 x 405=874800 ounces,
which divided by five one-third ounces (the first seed,) gives a
return from the two crops of 164127 for one. Hence it is not
impossible, under the circumstances of the first crop, from the
five one-third ounces of seed dibbled on the 16th March 1811 :
* Because if 11 sheaves yield 48 pounds of grain, 960 sheaves should yield 4189 pounds.

o

98 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

supposing its produce had also been dibbled, instead of broad-
cast, on the 3d August, that from the second crop about the
middle of December, there might have been a return of 54675
pounds, equivalent to about 900 bushels, from not more than
three common sized wine glass full of seed grain : and this
within the short period of nine months, that is, from sowing the
first to the reaping of the second crop.

Nothing can tend more to develope the capabilities of this
soil and climate, than investigations of this nature. Let these
deductions be carefully examined ; and every one may satisfy
himself whether or not they are consonant to fair reasoning, and
let it be considered that the first experiment, on which these
deductions are founded, was on land unmanured, and the natural
inference must be, that it is practicable at Sf. Helena (although
not in any country in Europe), by due care and attention, to
effect even a larger produce from barley wheat, than what has
been deduced from the line of argument I have pursued.

I have peculiar satisfaction in adding, that the barley wheat
of the December crop has yielded an uncommonly sweet and
high flavoured malt, from which Mr. John Onions (who well
understands Shropshire brewing) has made some ale, equal in
quality to the best I ever tasted in that country. His success is
indeed the more surprising, as he laboured under the disadvan-
tages of malting upon a very small scale, and with a temporary
apparatus for drying. Wherefore from all that has been stated,
I trust it has been distinctly proved, that by means of the com-
mon practice of husbandry in England, the island breweries here
might be supplied (I will venture to say) with island malt, of a
fresher and superior qualit}', and at a much less expense, than
that which is imported from England.

23d March, 1812.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 99

SECTION XVI.

General Observations on Green-fodder Crops — loould prevent Losses of
Cattle in Seasons of Drought — One Acre equivalent to Fourteen Acres of
the best Pastures — Indian Corn, or Maize, cultivated in France, and at
the Cape of Good Hope, as Cattle Fodder — Its produce at St. Helena, in
less than Four Months from the Period of Sowing, was Thirty Tons per
Acre. Remarks on the Culture of Kidney Beans— Green-fodder Crops
of these recommended.

1 HE introduction on this island of green crops of fodder, for the
sustenance of cattle of all kinds, is a subject I have frequently
adverted to in several papers that have been issued from the St.
Helena press. I have there shewn the great advantages that
would be derived from imitating a practice — which has been
long and successfully established in almost all countries in the
world — but which, until lately, had never found its way to this
island.

I shall not recapitulate what may be found in those papers —
it is indeed unnecessary : for the facts I am now to relate, with-
out any reference whatever to my former statements, ought to be
sufficient to impress on every unbiassed mind, the importance of
green-fodder crops, which I trust every cattle breeder here will
duly consider: their introduction upon an enlarged scale would
undoubtedly be the very best means of securing his own interest
and of promoting the general welfare of the island.

By the introduction of cattle crops, I have formerly shewn how
easily those evils which had frequently occurred, might have been

100 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

alleviated — if not wholly prevented. It is well known what
heavy losses in cattle have been sometimes sustained in seasons
of drought : but, as it has been ascertained, that corn, when
once fairly established (even during unseasonable or scanty rains)
soon covers and shades the soil from the sun's heat, and from
the drying winds— and that it advances to maturity, even in
the driest weather ; it would be absurd to say that the common
precautions used in other countries to provide food for cattle,
and to avert calamities among them when the pastures fail, would
not succeed equally here as elsewhere. Nay, I have no hesita-
tion in declaring my opinion that this species of husbandry, as
well as every other would succeed ; and prove even more profit-
able to St. Helena cultivators than it is to English farmers—
who can have only one crop in the year : because, as vegetation
here is never obstructed by frost and severe winters, two certain
crops may be secured annually, if due attention be paid to the
proper seasons of putting them in the ground.

Confident as I feel in those opinions, which are founded upon

the basis of the most accurate experiments, I have been not a

little astonished at the pains which I find have been lately taken

to impress on the minds of several gentlemen in the direction for

the afTairs of the East India Company, the total impossibility of

introducing agriculture at St. Helena. Those who have declared

such sentiments could have known but little of the ample returns,

and unexampled profits, which have been derived here, from

lands brought into cultivation. There are now in England two

gentlemen (Lieutenant Colonel Greentree and Mr. Dunn), who

can readily correct such erroneous assertions. They have both

had considerable experience in improving their lands — and they

assured me, as I stated, in a letter to the Court of Directors,

dated the 10th of October 1809—" that in bringing land into

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 101

cultivation they have been always reimbuised the whole expense
by the first year's produce."

Is it possible to imagine, in any country, a greater incitement
to industry, and to extensive agriculture ? — Or can there possibly
be a stronger proof of the fertility of the soil, and of the certain
advantages that are within the reach of every industrious land-
holder? It has long been my belief that nothing but common
exertion, and a proper system of farming, are wanting to make
St Helena productive of almost every necessary of life for its inha-
bitants. There are at least two or three thousand acres of excel-
lent land capable of the highest degree of improvement, which
might be appropriated to this laudable purpose ; and as I have
already observed, that two crops a year are attainable from those
lands, they would be in fact equivalent to almost double that
extent in the northern climates. The following detail of experi-
ments will tend to illustrate these observations.

Green Fodder from Oats.

On the 5th of February last, some oats of a long thin sort,
received from the Cape of Good Hope, which weighed no more
than 31 pounds per bushel, were ploughed in upon about two
acres of some good land at Plantation-house, at the rate of two
bushels per acre. They were later in coming up than usual, on
account of there having been very little rain — for it was not until
the 20th that a good many of the young plants appeared. Some
fine showers however, early in March, succeeded by heavy rains
during the remainder of that month, speedily gave the crop a
very exuberant appearance : — By the 6th of April a few ears were
seen ; and on that day, after a lapse of two months from putting
the seed in the ground, we began to cut the crop for the purpose
of green fodder. Mr. Brearne, an experienced Norfolk farmer.

102 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

who manages the Company's farms liere, declares he never beheld
in so short a time after sowing, so weighty a crop. It was my
intention to have ascertained the weiglit at two months; but on
account of drizzling rains, which would have added to the weight,
I postponed it until the 9th of April ; when the crop was dry:
and in presence of Doctor Baildon, Mr. Breame, and some
others, a square rod was accurately marked out — the produce of
which weighed exactly 200 pounds avoirdupoise ; this is at the
rate of 32,000 pounds, or 14^ tons of tine green fodder per acre.
This, in the short period of 64 days from sowing the seed, is a
large produce ; although probably not so much as it may weigh
when farther advanced. It is my intention to ascertain the weight
of the produce of this crop of green fodder, at three and at four
months growth, conceiving that such trials might lead to useful
deductions.

In order to form a comparison with the produce of grass land
at the present time (and immediately after the most favourable
rains since my arrival in 1808) I marked out a square rod on the
lawn in front of the Plantation-house, which is as good as most
of the best pastures, and had the grass mowed — the produce
weighed only 12j pounds — or at the rate of 2000 pounds, or less
than one ton per acre. Consequently one acre of green fodder
corn in Q^ days from the seed, is equal to the produce of 14 acres
of the best pastures.* But this is not all — a crop of green fodder
may be secured almost at any season ; whereas, it sometimes
happens, in the months of November and December, our driest
and hottest season, that one hundred acres of pasture lands would
not yield a» single ton of grass. Compare also the short time
required, for a beast to take his full feed of green corn, with the

* Colonel Broughton's Experiment at Long Wood, in November 1810, yielded 16jtons
per acre. See Section XIII.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 103

many hours necessary in vainly atlempting to fill himself on
parched and I)are pasture lands. In the first case the animal would
soon be satisfied, and might go to sleep : but in the second he
must necessarily waste the whole day in wandering- over many
acres, until he is wearied — and after all he must lay down almost
famished : this is the fate of many poor neglected animals on St.
Helena ; who are left to provide for their own wants ; and of
which but too many indeed often perish for want of assistance, and
.sufficient sustenance.

Indian Corn, or Maize.

It appears by the Statistique gtnerale et particuliere de la
France, that this grain is cultivated in several of the departments
with a view to fodder the cattle — and, when ripened, it is used for
feeding^ poultry, &:c. Lord Caledon informed me, when he visited
this island in July 1811, that he always used it at the Cape of
Good Hope for his carriage horses, and had found it to be extremely
nourishing'. At that time I had a small patch, measuring 44 by
33 feet, which was then grown to the height of about eight feet —
and in seed. It had been dibbled three inches deep, and three
seeds in each hole (as many of the seeds were bad) on the 6th of
April 1811. On the 17th it had come up well, and afterwards
grew luxuriantly. On the 30th of July I ascertained the pro-
duce of one square rod to be 425 pounds, which is 68,000
pounds, or 30 tons per acre. The seed had been 115 days in
the soil ; and although the lower parts of the stems were at this
age rather hard, the whole was greedily devoured in the hog-
gery. But, as a green fodder for horses, or cattle, or for hogs, it
would be better to cut it after two or three months from the time of
sowing — uhen the steins will be soft, and more tender and juicy.
In this state it would prove a very nutricious fodder — and I

104 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

should suppose the produce might then be betwixt 20 and 25 tons
per acre.

Black speckled Kidney Beans.

St. Helena formerly abounded with " bean grounds," of which
traces are still to be seen : but of Ia(e years they have occupied
only a place in the gardens. Their culture appears to me worthy
of attention. Their growth is rapid — they are not liable to be
infested with vermin of any kind — they thrive in almost all soils.
In their young state they yield a very ihick foliage, but not
exceeding 18 or 20 inches in height from tiie ground — and they
have abundance of long pods, tit for table use, or for cattle, hogs,
&c. When ripe the bean produce is very great — exceeding ninety
bushels per acre.

On the 31st of October last, observing that some black speckled
beans, in the Plantation-house garden, (which the gardener had
left for .seed) had an extraordinary number of pods, I was in-
duced to ascertain what might be the actual produce of an acre
from such a crop, if sown in rows at one foot asunder. Accord-
ingly on that day, 33 feet of rows were measured, and the beans
carefully gathered, and taken out of the pods. I kept them in a
dry place until the 20th December ; when they were weighed ;
the 33 feet of rows yielded sixty six and one half ounces.

Novv^ as an acre planted in the above manner, would contain
43560 feet of rows, the extent of 38 feet is the 1320th part— con-
sequently this sum multiplied by 66^ ounces gives the produce
87780 ounces, or 5486 pounds, per acre.

Having found a jug, that held 30| ounces of wheat, to contain
exactly 30 ounces of beans, the weight of a bushel of those beans
may be rated at 59 pounds ; by which dividing the 5486 pounds,
the produce thus deduced is 93 bushels per acre.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 105

This crop was sown on the 27th June 1811, and therefore had
been 126 days in the soil. The drills in which the seeds were
planted were three feet asunder ; and the seeds were so close as
to touch each other. This appeared to me injudicious — because
the intervals between the rows exposed too much naked surface
to the sun's rays, and the young plants coming up too thick must
rob each other of nourishment, and consequently retard their
growth. I therefore directed the gardener to prepare a bed for
a different mode of culture.

I have found by experience that on this island, it is of much
importance to make a crop cover the ground as speedily as pos-
sible. When this is effected, as the soil is shaded, the moisture
cannot be easily exhaled — and every passing shower, as well as
dews, are of great service ; because they descend to the roots, and
promote vegetation. On the contrary, the dews or light rains
falling upon a naked interval, produce no effect upon the crop ;
for they are immediately taken up in the day by the sun's heat,
and by the drying winds. This is the case even on those days
when occasionally several drizzling rains, or light showers have
fallen : and that these are of no real benefit may be observed by
the pastures, where no improvement is seen until they have been
well soaked by heavy rains.

In the bed, which was prepared, drills at 15 inches asunder
were opened about three inches deep ; and the beans put in at
three inches from each other ; they were then covered with the
soil.

This experiment was begun on the 9th of January 1812. On
the 19th the young plants were finely come up ; and on the 20th
of February there were some in blossom. They were uncommonly
exuberant and strong — and had much larger leaves, and were in
every respect greatly superior to an adjoining crop, sown nine

P

106 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

days earlier — and treated according to the old practice here of
crowding the seeds in the rows, and having wider intervals.

This new mode succeeded beyond my expectation. The crop
in 42 days after sowing completely covered the soil, and was in
excellent condition as a fodder for cattle. That cattle and horses
and hogs will eat it has been ascertained — and it may be inferred
they are even fond of it: for some cattle having lately broken
into an inclosure, at Long Wood, devonred the uhole of a small
crop of this sort of bean.

On the 13th of 3Iarch it is noted in my Journal " that many
of the kidney beans sown on the 9th of January are now fit for
gathering." At this age (about two months) they resemble
French beans in the state they are used at tables in England, but
are much larger. On the 9th of April (that is three months after
sowing) the leaves of a great part of the crop had fallen off, the
pods had withered, and the beans were full grown. This experi-
ment proves that from black speckled kidney beans a weighty
crop of green fodder might be obtained in six weeks from the
period of sowing; and that in two months the pods and leaves
had become an excellent and nutritious fodder; whilst the pods
in their green state might supply abundantly the fleets that tuuch
here with a vegetable at a moderate price, which would l^eep
some time, and be highly conducive to the health of seamen after
their long voyages.

The following is a concise view of these two crops of beans,
and of three others that are now in progress.

EXPERIMENT, No. 1.

1811, June 27. — Sowed black speckled kidney beans — rows
3 feet asunder, and seeds very close in the drills.

October 23 — Cut 33 feet of rows — and collected the pods — their

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 107

contents weighed 66^ ounces — this, if the rows be one foot asun-
der, is at the rate of 5486 pounds, or 93 bushels per acre. The
beans in this state appear to be proper food for horses, or for
feeding hogs ; but being hard should be soaked in water or
bruised.

EXPERIMENT, No. 2.

1811, Dec. 31. — Sowed several rows of beans very thick in the
drills.

1812, Feb. 19. — The crop about 15 inches high, and in blos-
som, in 50 days.

April 12. —Not so well advanced at this time as No. 3, which
was sown 9 days later: this proves the superiority of placing the
seeds at some distance in the drills.

EXPERIMENT, No. 3.

1812, January 9. — Opened drills 15 inches asunder — beans
sown 3 inches apart in the drills ; and 3 inches deep.

January 19. — Finely come up.

February 20. — Blossoms appearing : this is 42 days after
sowing.

March 13. — Many pods in a green state— fit for gathering in
64 days.

April 9. — Leaves withered and falling of}'— many pods fully
ripe and fit for gathering in three months after planting.

EXPERIMENT, No. 4.

1812, February 22. — Sowed six rows 4 feet asunder: 3 inches
from bean to bean in the drills.

April 4. — In blossom — luxuriant crop — 18 inches high in 42
days.

April 10. — Observed a good many young i)ods in 48 days.

108 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c,

April 12. — Cut 33 feet of rows— Produce 26 pounds. This
being the 1320th part of an aore (if rows be one foot asunder) is
at the rate of 34320 pounds, or 15i- tons of excellent green-fodder
per acre, in 50 days after sowing the seed. During the growth
of this crop, the season was unusually favouralile — 7-r^ inches of
rain fell during the month of March.

EXPERIMENT, No. 5.

1812, March 3. — Sowed several rows of black speckled kidney,
and several rows adjoining with the negro or black bean.

April 12. — Some of the black speckled are in blossom ; in 40
days — the negro beans are not so strong nor so forward — season
favourable — copious rains.

Since I closed the preceding statement of thejive Experiments
in the culture of kidney beans, I have this day (the 16th of April)
ascertained the final result of No. 3, which was begun on the 9th
of January last.

The leaves having entirely fallen, the pods being dry, and in
a state of ripeness, 33 feet of rows were measured. The produce
in clean beans weighed 54 ounces ; which being from the 1320th
of an acre, give the produce (rows one foot asunder) 71,280 ounces,
or 4455 pounds, or very nearly two tons per acre. It will be per-
ceived that the same length of rows in No. 1. produced, on the
23d of October, 1811, QQ\ ounces : — but it must be observed that
in No. 1. the quantity of seed sown was six or eight times greater
than in No. 3. A jug that contained 30 ounces of No. 1. crop,
contained very nearly 32 ounces of No. 3. crop, weighed at the
time it was gathered: but No. 1. was not weighed until two
months after being gathered. It is therefore probable, when
No. 3. is also dried, that the same measure of beans will be of the
same weight as the other.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 109

I found that 49 beans of No. 3. weiglied one ounce — this is
784 beans to a pound : and, the produce of the 33 feet of rows
being 54 ounces, must of course be 2736 beans.

Now, as an acre planted in rows one foot asunder, will contain
43,560 feet of rows, and as four beans are reciuired to a foot (if
placed in the rows three inches asunder), the number of beans
required to plant an acre, in that manner, is 174,240, wliich
divided by 784 beans in a pound is 222 pounds two-tentlis, or
very nearly four bushels. If a reference be made to the deduced
produce, 4455 pounds, from No. 3, the return has been no more
than 20 from 1 of seed beans. This indeed is greatly inferior to
barley wheat, which, by dibbling, yielded a return of 405 for one !

From the preceding results it is clearly demonstrated that the
most protitable culture of kidney beans is in green fodder crops.
On the 12th instant, experiment No. 4, gave 34,320 pounds per
acre of nutricious fodder, from seed sown in the proportion of 222
pounds two-tenths per acre ; which is a return, in weight, of
150 fold ; and this in the short period of 50 days, after putting
the seed in the ground.

Mr. Jennings, the Company's gardener at Plantation-house,
who has, for several years, cultivated beans of various sorts, as-
sures me that the black speckled are superior to any other ; they
bear sooner, and yield a more weighty crop. At Lemon Vjxlley,
a warm and well sheltered place, not much above the level of the
sea, he has obtained six crops in the course of one year, y*roMi the
same spot of land. A reference to the preceding experiments
will shew that this is very possible : but, supposing only four
crops a year from the same land, and to be used as green fodder
in the state of experiment No. 4, when it was cut on the 12th
of April, and yielded 15^ tons per acre in 50 days, the total
annual produce would be 60 tons, or 134,400 pounds from one

no TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

acre of land. Now, if 50 pounds a day were allotted to each
beast, there would be 2688 rations, or sufficient to feed seven
beasts during the year, from one acre of beans.

Deductions of this kind are so far useful that they point out
capabilities; and, in the present case, clearly shew wh^t might
be accomplished at St. Helena, whenever a proper spirit of in-
dustry shall have been excited, and the practice of husbandry
generally introduced. Many people here may possibly assert
that such things are \m\iOss\h\e, ^' because they have never seen
them:" but unbiassed minds, when they see facts opposed to bare
assertion and opinion, can never be at a loss in deciding upon
points of this nature.

When to the preceding details, respecting green-fodder crops,
areadded all that may be seen in the Laws and Ordiupuces,
Goat Papers, and St. Helena Registers, upon my experiments in
the culture of corn, and particularly of barley wheat, a judgment
can easily be formed, whether or not it be practicable to succeed
in agriculture on this island.

Wth April, 1812.

#

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. HI

SECTION XVII.

On Adherence to Old Customs*

" There is an unaccountable prejudice to projectors of all kinds ; for which reason,
" when I talk of practising to fly, silly people think me an owl for my pains."

Addison.

OooN after I took up my country residence in England, I scraped
acquaintance with some of the neighbouring farmers, who now
and tiien called in, to take a pot of ale ; and I received them with
civility. Our discourse naturally turned to agricultural subjects ;
and, whilst I reasoned on new plans, my practical guests very
soon betrayed they had not the smallest faith in " book-farming,"
as they called it.

" Their own practice," said they, " must undoubtedly be the
best, because it was that which had been handed down by their
forefathers." At one of our meetings, I very strongly deprecated
this conclusion, and plainly told them they were all wrong. I
had no doubt their practice was good : but nevertheless, said T,
from books many useful hints, and much valuable information,
might be derived upon the better practice of other countries ;
and which, in my opinion, would succeed equally in Sussex, as
in other parts of England.

* I hesitated some tim.e before t determined to give a place to this and the succeeding
paper : but as this paper was calculated to overturn old prejudices ; and " Calculator's
confessions" convey a variety of accurate information upon points connected with the
old and new husbandry of St. Helena, and as the sentiments of the supposed Norfolk
farmer are precisely those which I entertain, in regard to the best modes of cultivating,
and improving, the island, it is hoped that these .considerations may appear sufficient
reasons, for having mixed papers of a ludicrous nature with those of a graver description.

112 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

Nettled at my arrogance, Homespun, who was the most talk-
ative at our meetings, the cock of the village club, and whseo
face, at this time, glowed with my October, exclaimed, " Pugh !
I care not a single barle3'-corn for your books ; give me practice ;
give me example : (thumping his empty jug on the table) these
are the best rules for farmers." " True, friend," said I, gently
rebuking him for his indecorum, " example has nodonbt, a pre-
vailing force on the actions of mankind ; I admit it is more
conclusive than the soundest reasoning ; and since I see it will be
impossible to persuade you by argument, I will take another
mode of bringing you to my way of thinking."

Homespun by no means relished my admonition, aud grinning
a sarcastic smile, he, and my other rustic guests rose, and left the
room.

It was not until >some months afterwards that he paid me
another visit, and this was during an unusually dry summer,
when all the pastures were burnt up. He looked dejected, com-
plained bitterly of the times, said he was almost ruined, that his
cattle were starved, and his cows were dry, and he had been
obliged to send them to Romney Marsh. ' " Mr. Homespun,"
said I, " you shall now be convinced that this is entirely the con-
sequence of your pertinacious adherence to old customs; if you
had listened to my advice, and to book-farming, all this mischief
would have been prevented. Come with me, and behold the
lucerne you despised. The crop was put in a few days after our
last debate ; and I have already had three cuttings. My pastures,
you see, are equally bare as your own : but my cattle are still in
good condition, and my cows yield twice the quantity of milk
they had ever done before: and all this is the effect of the crop
you treated with so much contempt."

Homespun looked grave, and as he approached a field of six

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 113

acres, he was struck with amazement ; he had never before wit-
nessed such a crop. His foret'atliers had none of the kind. It
was indeed uncommonly tine ; he viewed it, and handled it, and
exclaimed, " Well, surely this is a lamentable fine thing : I will
immediately set about tive acres : Oh ! fool that I was ! but I
really could never believe it was possible to have so weighty a
shew in so dry a season." He added, scratching his head, *' I
now perceive that you gentlemen farmers are not so much to be
despised as we thought of." I thanked him for his compliment.

Thus, by perseverance and example, I succeeded in removing
from Homespun, and the rest of my mulish guests, who were all
attracted by my lucerne, the strong prejudice under wliich they
laboured to.vards old custom, and against book-farming. Their
visits daily became more frequent ; my opinions were listened to,
and received, with more respect and decorum than was usual at
the commencement of our acquaintance. There was an end of
their sly jeering and jokes, which did not escape my penetration ;
and I soon became a sort of oracle amoiig them, whom they
eagerly consulted at those times when they came to see my " new-
fangled husbandry," as they called it, many parts of which they
did not, however, fail to imitate ; but not till they saw it was
their interest to do so.

In turning the minds of men from ancient custom, or deep-
rooted prejudice, we must naturally expect to encounter difficulties.
The most forcible arguments are of no avail : but once shew them
a successful example ; prove to them, practically, the advantages
they will derive, and self-interest will do the rest.

By such means no one need despair of converting the most
obstinate. Enlightened and liberal minds are, indeed, far more
easy to persuade. Indubitable testimony of what has already
been done, and even the opinions of men who have been dislii;-

Q

114 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

guished by their skill and knowledge in the matters of which
they treat, are received by those with scarcely less persuasi-ve
force than the evidence of facts. It is to this class of men I
submit the following extracts ; and whilst I recommend them to
their serious attention, I must remark that they will find the
opinions of Sir John Sinclair, and the experience of Sir Henry
Vavasour have most fully corroborated those opinions I have
ofFered in the St. Helena Registers, on the subject of increasing
the food of cattle, by means of arable land.

27th Juli/, 1812. K.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 115

SECTION XVIII.

Calculator's Confessions; — and his Opinions on the new Husbandry at

St. Helena.

To the Editor of the St. Helena Register.
Sir,

1 HAVE been amused, and I hope you will find edified, by your
correspondent K's conversion of Mr. Homespun, as related in your
last month's Register. I confess to you that I had long been a
downright branch of the Homespun family : I have had my
strong prejudices to old custom, and I verily believed it was
totally impossible to surpass our home practice : but I have lately
witnessed some things that have actually made nty hair stand on
end ; 1 see the ploughs, with two or three horses, managed by
two men, doing more work in one day, than any ten of my best
slaves could perform in ten days ; besides these fellows, Mr.
Editor, cost me a deal of money, for after the first purchase (dear
enough, to be sure) I must feed and clothe them ; and after all,
they are sometimes very saucy and idle. Now, thinks I, if I
could only teach Ciesar and Pompey, my two best men, to manage
this new machine, and if I were to clap-to a couple of my best
oxen, or horses, I should get more work from these two men, in
one day, than I could otherwise get from the whole of my gang :
and my cattle would not be a hair the worse for it.

I am a man of figures, Mr. Editor, and I can make calculations ;
lean uuiltiply pounds, shillings, and pence into each other, which,
i/ou will allow, is no snmll proof of my abilities ; and, therefore,
you will readily admit I am not ignorant of the connnon rules of

116 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

arithmetic. I have, indeed, reflected, very seriously upon Home-
spun's story, and as I think, it is clearly proved he was a bit of
a gooseacre, a .self-conceited obstinate fellow, until he got new
lights, I hope this confession, although at Homespun's ex-
pense, will prove to a man of your knowledge and penetration,
that I am not undeserving to be ranked amongst those of" en-
lightened and liberal minds," to whom K. has submitted the
practicability of keeping a cow and pigs upon a sjnall piece of
arable land.

I will now tell you my plain notions upon " the new-fangled
husbandry," as Mr. Homespun called it ; which we have lately
witnessed in this our island, where I have been born and bred,
and from which I have never been farther than the fishing banks.
You will, I hope, excuse me, if I should be a little long-winded ;
but, when we folks are beginning to write for the public view,
you cannot expect we can express ourselves in the same short way
as other folks would.

Well then, Mr. Editor, I must also confess to you, that I am
naturally what they call a sly fellow, and I own, when I first
heard of all these new things, I thought they were down-right
foolishness. I thought my grandsires knew all that was neces-
sary to know. They planted yams, and potatoes, and beans,
with the spade and pick-axe ; which had been the practice from
time immemorial ; and, as I had never seen a plough, I did not
like to shew either my ignorance or curiosity ; nor did I wish to
appear publicly an advocate for new things ; because I dreaded
the jokes at the Almond-tree.*

I therefore thouglit it best to take a peep, unsuspected, at what
was going on. I sneaked along the roads early of a morning,
iind had a good view of all that was doing, over the fences. I saw

• The " Almoud-trcc," in James Towrij Is the resort of idlers.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 117

Mr. Fisli,* with the said plonc^h, getting on at a great rate ;
tearing np the ground neatly on the Church fields : I saw Tom
Stream, t and Johnny Spring J no less busy, and I was wonder-
fully surprised to see how much they did in a short time. A
couple of horses, or three or four oxen, and a couple of men,
were all they needed ; indeed, I am told, in Scotland two horses
and one man do the business ; and when once we get our half-
starved beasts and horses in good order, and in strength, by the
green crops of corn I have also seen, there is no reason why we
mayn't do the same likewise.

Now, thinks I to myself, if I can get Csesar and Pompey, with
a few of my cattle, at present doing nothing, to do all these things,
what a great saving it would be. These two able men, and one
of the new machines, (that rolls on wheels like a wheel-barrow)
with some of my beasts, would, I am positive, do me more ser-
vice than 50 Ceesars and 50 Pompeys. Away then, says I to
myself, with your spades and your pickaxes ; and let me try the
same things. The first cost will be nothing compared with what
I shall gain.

After attentively observing the method of ploughing, I thought
other things might be seen — I watched ; and saw drills opened
with the jjlough, and potatoes dropped in, and then covered up.
I then saw the said Fish, Stream, and Spring, (and favourably
ominous I think it is, that these allied names come together) still
using a plough to take the potatoes out of the ground ; nay, I
saw more ; for the harrow was used ; and I wondered at the
scraping it made ; for at one scrape, it scratched out, in a couple
of hours, more potatoes than twenty of my slaves could gather

* Mr. Breame, of Norfolk, the superintendant of the Company's farms.
t Thomas Brooke, Esq. Secretary to the Government, and author of the History of St.
Helena, | John Defountahi, Esq. Storekeeper.

118 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

in the course of the day. Such things are truly surprising : but
when I considered the power of a claw haunner in drawing a
nail, I concluded there must be something not less wonderful,
although unfathomable to me, in the power of the new machine
we have had introduced here, because I well know, that if I and
my whole family, who are pretty numerous, were to try, with our
fingers to draw a well-hit nail, we should not succeed. I have
no knowledge of what they call mechanics ; I know nothing of
the principles ; but this I know, that a claw-hammer will do the
business with a small twist of the hand ; and so I take it to be
with the plough.

Now, Mr. Editor, after seeing, (which you know is believing)
I set to work : I bought a plough and a couple of harrows ; and
I succeeded far beyond my expectation.

I then began with my calculations ; and I clearly convinced
myself, and I hope I shall convince others, that by saving expense
in labour I should be a great gainer. I ascertained I could
bring into cultivation a wondrous deal more land ; that I could
sell much more of my produce to the shipping ; that by having
plenty of potatoes I might not only feed my family and slaves
without the expense of buying, and tlie trouble of bringing from
the valley ; and raise pigs, and assist my cattle when our seasons
fail ; but tliat I should likewise keep more money in my pockets ;
which have been rather empty of late ; and if I and my fellow
planters could once contrive to furnish the breweries with barley
for mailing, we might get a deal of the money that is now sent to
England, and this I understand amounts to eight or ten thousand
pounds a year : and as Mr. Brabazon's brewery is now getting
up, there will, no doubt, be a greater demand.

What a great gain would all this be to us planters. Being a
man of calculation (as I told you before) without pretension to

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 119

much knowledge, I can easily satisfy myself, that a penny saved
is a penny got ; and I perceive also that if all our pennies go
into the Company's stores, or into the hands of the shipping
gentlemen, or are sent to England, our purses must be very lank;
and this is, I verily believe (nay I am perfectly convinced), the
reason we are not so rich as we might be. I never thought of this
until I read Homespun's story ; which made me think it was at
least probable there was something wrong or rotten at bottom.

Now I see it plainly ; and I will no longer be slack in trying
to mend my ways, and my fortune ; by such means as are in ray
power. And, now, to conclude. — From all I have said, I think
I have shewn you clearly, that I am no longer of " the mulish
tribe." I heartily wish my conversion maj' open the eyes of my
dear countrymen, whose welfare I have sincerely at heart, in
order that they may follow my good example.

There is one thing I forgot to mention, and I hope it is not too
late, that if we can raise barley for the breweries, we can at the
same time have plenty of straw for our cattle, if a dry season
should happen, and also we might have plenty of manure, which
I see by two or three papers in your Register is reckoned a good
way of making our lands yield better crops. Perhaps you may
have heard that we have not much come into this practice yet,
and that we do tolerably well without manure, that is, we can
have twenty or thirty successive crops of potatoes, without ever
once thinking of manure, and yet I find it is considered absolutely
necessary, and is very much the practice in the country you came
from.

But to tell you the truth, Mr. Editor, I have not found that my
lands pay so well after so many croppings. Something there-
fore is wanting, and this something, I take to be manure. So
very bad indeed are some of the lands near me, that after 10 or

120 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

15 years of our Homespun management, we find, although the
crops seem to grow well, they do not come to perfection ; they
get what we call the rot. No doubt manure would act like a
medicine, and might soon restore the lands to health and vigour.

The diseased farm I allude to, is that near the High Peak,
and as I have long had an eye to that farm, but that its case
seemed to me a desperate one, I thought it advisable to consult
Mr. Fish ; who, no doubt, we may reckon our best land doctor
here ; for as to Stream and Spring, they are as yet only young
beginners, and cannot be expected to know much of these things.

When I asked Fish, " what he would do with that land ?" he
replied," Do with it ! why, I would make a mine ofit." I did not
immediately comprehend him, and he explained, he would make
his fortune by it — " How so?" said I — " Easy enough," said
he, " for the land is good, and a great part ofit, tit for the plough.
In front of the new house, both in the vale or ravine, as well as
on the west side, there are many fine acres, at present covered
with coarse and useless grass.

" There is also a good large space inclosed around the premises,
which I see it is needless to plant, unless it goes through a proper
course. Land, you must know, is in a manner like your stomach,
which I fancy you would not like to have constantly crammed
with the same food ; and witiiout any sort of seasoning : in time,
you would not relish it; and disorders might follow. Now I
understand this land, or stomach, has tasted nothing for the last
fifteen years but potatoes; consequently, it loaths that food, or,
as we English farmers say, " it is tired of' the crop." This ex-
pression is very common with us, for we say such a field is
" tired of clover," and the like ; although this is a mode of expres-
sion, on which some of our best agriculturists have differed. One
thing, however, is certain, that if land, in its nature tolerably

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 121

good, has been drained by repeated, or improperly managed crops,
the best remedy for recovering such exliausted land, is by a few
months fallowing ; and by frequently stirring it, and clearing it
of every sort of vegetable substance. By this plain and easy
mode (a sort of abstinence, if I may so express myself,) not only
will its tone be recovered by the influence of air and moisture
from the atmosphere, but weeds will be extirpated, and insects of
every sort (and particularly the grub) will be effectually destroyed
by being dejjrived of that food which is absolutely necessary for
their subsistence, at the time the solar heats occasion a change
from the oviparous state."

I did not clearly understand the whole of those odd expres-
sions ; but I however perceived, that Mr. Fish is, as I imagined,
a very learned land doctor. I therefore candidly told him that I
understood, only in a general way, all he had said, in which there
seemed to be no small portion of good sense. I therefore re-
quested him to go on, and tell me particularly the mode he would
pursue with that farm, if it were in his own occupation.

He continued — " If that farm were mine, and I should be
glad it was, if I had not so many other fish to fry," (here he con-
descendingly suited his expression to my comprehension,) " I
would, in the first place, clear the garden, comprising several
acres, of all its rubbish, and lay the whole under a clean fallow,
for at least six months. I would frequently stir the soil, and
would not in all this time allow a weed to rear its head. Whilst
this operation is carrying on, I would enclose 10 or 15 acres of
the most level and best land, and pare off the sward and coarse
grass, forming small heaps all over the field, and then set fire to
them. The ashes should, if possible, be ploughed in immediately.*

• We observe by the Agricultural Report for 181 2, a full confirmation of this practice.
it is there stated, " that the newly enclosed lands in England, have in general proved

R

^ '

122 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

I would endeavour to give it two or three ploughings and as many
harrowings, so as to pulverise the soil perfectly before I put a
crop in it. I would then, just before the setting in of the rains
(in January or June) open furrows, nearly level, and at the dis-
tance of two feet asunder ; and drop potatoes in them, at one
foot apart in the rows. These, T would cover with the plough ;
and by such means I should secure myself a good crop from this
fresh land ; a crop which I am convinced would nearly repay all
my expenses ; if I could sell it at the island price, which is eight
times what I got for potatoes in England. But as I might not be
able to do this, I would take care to have a good breed of pigs to
consume the surplus produce at the farm ; I would give them and
my sheep and cows a part ; and by keeping all those and my cattle,
in what we call a farm yard, (and of which I have seen nothing
of the kind in this island) I would soon have plenty of manurcj
or muck ; from which I should derive great profit by its meliorat-
ing effects on the lands when I am to prepare them for wheat ;
or as they begin to fall off in the powers of vegetation. My pigs
would soon increase in number and size ; and for which I should
never be at a loss for a ready sale ; which is a vast advantage to
a farmer : and whilst taking two successive crops of potatoes from
the garden, and the new land, I would prepare another new field
of the same size as the first, and treat it in the manner I have
described ; and so on, till I had all the best land in cultivation.

fertile ; and the mode of breaking them up, in all improved districts, is by paring and
burning. All the old objections to which having been proved futile and groundless,
where subsequent good culture is persevered in ; namely — working the eradication of
weeds, pulverising the soil, and giving these lands a fair portion of manure."

The good effects of paring and burning have been frequently manifested here, by a
comparison of crops, that have had the benefit of turf ashes, with those where no ashes
were spread. The superiority of the former is so great, that few would believe it, if they
had not seen it.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 123

The first field and garden should next have a smothering crop of
barley or oats, sown rather thick, and which, in two months from
the seed, would yield me 12 to 16 tons per acre of green fodder.
This would be a valuable acquisition to my stock; and by haying
and stacking some, it would secure me against losses that I might
otherwise sustain in my cattle, if a bad season should arrive.

" After these three crops, from each of these portions of land,
I would again sow them with a crop of barley for malting ; and
for which I should also have a ready sale to the breweries ; and
gradually I would bring these lands by manuring, into a state,
fit for bearing wheat : for furnishing a portion at least of that
flour, which is at present imported here from other countries. It
is by such means only, Mr. Calculator," said he, " that you
farmers can ever expect to be wealthy, like some that I know in
England. You have the same, nay better means ; you have a
charming climate, and a fine soil, and your lands give you two
crops a year. The sale prices are high ; and you have always a
ready market. What more can a farmer desire ? All you want,
my friend, is a little industry; and I am happy to see that many
of you begin to be sensible of these truths."

I was exceedingly pleased with Doctor Fish's lecture. My
mind had been prepared to receive every word he uttered ; I was
however at times rather puzzled : but I hope I shall hereafter
convince you, by my next communication, that his care to instruct
me, has not been thrown away.

I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant, and constant reader,

August 6th, 1812. CALCULATOR.

124 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION XTX.

On the Importance of introducing Agriculture on the Island — Erroneous
Notions regarding Rats; not more numerous at the Farms than in
England— successful Method of destroying them.

An earnest wish to promote the interest of this island, has
induced me to devote my leisure to various agricultural experi-
ments, which have from time to time appeared in the St, Helena
Register.

The results of those experiments very soon satisfied my mind
of the practicability of a change of system, from which the greatest
improvements might be expected. I was aware, however, of the
difficulties I should have to encounter in overcoming strong pre-
iudices in favour of customs that had existed from the earliest
period of the establishment. Thesamesort of prejudice is, indeed,
peculiar to farmers of all countries, and is, perhaps, equally
strong in England as in any other part of the world. I could not,
therefore, blame those who differed in opinion : but I was by no
means discouraged, I was fully persuaded that perseverance and
successful examples, would ultimately succeed in turning the
minds of even the most obstinate, to a change, which, I can easily
demonstrate, is obviously for their advantage. This change,
indeed, appears to me the only possible means of ameliorating
the condition of the landholders: and of extricating them from
the difficulties they experience from the limited and narrow views
they have long pursued ; by which they could hardly expect much
more than a bare subsistence.

There is, at length, a prospect of the objects I have long had in

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 125

view being fully accomplished. My experiments have attracted
notice. Much more land is in cultivation ; and several instances
of the new husbandry have already been manifested.

The laudable examples of Messrs. Brooke and Defonntain, in
substituting the plough and harrow for the spade and pickaxe,
and the exertions of Mr. John Kay and Captain Sampson, deserve
particularly to be noticed. Their success may prove even far
more convincing to the landholders in general, than the soundest
reasoning or the clearest deductions ; although they have been
drawn from experiments, conducted with the greatest care and
attention ; a mode, unquestionably the very best, and most cer-
tain of increasing our knowledge in the agricultural, as well as in
other arts.

Those gentlemen, 'therefore, have well established claims to
commendation and to encouragement ; bfing the first who have
led the way, and given their attention to the wise and judicious
order of the Court of Directors, dated the 7th of March, 1794 ;
' " to render every acre of ground, capable of cultivation, as pro-
ductive as the nature of the soil will admit."

Not doubting that some others will soon imitate these begin-
nings, (since they will find it their interest to do so) and that they
w ill adopt the plough and harrows, by which they may, without
mil/ addition to the manual labour they now possesfi, greatly ex-
tend cultivation, it would be superfluous to offer any further
arguments with a view of enforcing what has been already stated
in my several communications upon this most important subject:
I shall, therefore, only recommend to all the landholders, that they
•^direct their attention to the many acres of excellent land, at
present in a state of nature, lying, in a manner, waste and un-
profitable ; that they duly reflect on the deteriorated state of the
pastures in seasons of drought, and their former losses in cattle ;

126 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

and compare the immense diiference in produce between even
the best pastures and a crop of green fodder of oats or barley,
(Goat Papers, page 76. St. Helena Register for April, page 6)
and then ask themselves this question — " Have not our lands, in
many places where they have been tried upon a small scale,
yielded abundant crops of corn and esculents #if ice a year?" The
answer is too obvious not to confound the most sceptical, or I
should rather say, the most obstinate, who may yet persist in
declaring, that " agriculture here can never succeed." Such
assertions must appear most futile and unfounded, when contrasted
with numerous facts that have been already so clearly and incon-
trovertibly established.

It is now four years that I have given my attention to this sub-
ject ; and after distinctly proving the capabilities of the soil and
climate, I have not the smallest hesitation in declaring my opinion,
that if 6 or 700 acres, of the two or three thousand, that are
capable of being brought under the plough management, were
allotted to corn crops, the present population might be supplied
with bread corn in abundance, the stock of cattle and sheep
augmented by means of straw and green fodder crops; avast
number of hog's reared ; the lands meliorated by manure ; and
the breweries furnished with a sufficiency of barley for all their
demands. I will now proceed to examine the effects that would
be produced from so laudable an appropriation of even that small
portion of the pasture lands.

According to an investigation detailed in my minute of the
31st August 1810, (published in page 6 of the " Laws and Ordi-
nances)" it will be found that the consumption of flour at St.
Helena in the year 1808, was 878994 pounds. Doctor Adam
Smith reckons 2000 pounds of wheat to be the produce of an
acre : but I will take it at 1800 pounds of flour ; at which rate

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 127

about 500 acres of wheat annually, would suffice for the island
consumption.

The import of malt this year was 790 quarters (say 800) or
6400 bushels. This quantity might be produced from the barley
wheat, which is undoubtedly the very best for malting-. (Register
for March, 1812, page 4.) Supposing 50 bushels to be the ave-
rage produce from an acre, 130 acres would annually supply the
breweries. It may therefore be inferred that 6 or 700 acres in
the cultivation of corn, would render the import of wheat and
malt almost unnecessary, and the landholders might not only by
this means retain among them the sums that are annually sent to
England for flour and malt — but they might also derive ample
sustenance for their cattle. The fodder of straw from the 700
acres, may be rated at twelve hundred tons. This added to occa-
sional green crops of fodder, which, (after two months from sow-
ing the seed), would yield from 12 to 14^ tons an acre, (Register*
for April 1812, page 4) would place the proprietors of cattle be-
yond all risk, when the grass lands are bare and parched by the
sun's heat.

Now supposing the wheat to be, at first, sold at 3d. per pound,
or 15 shillings a bushel, f and that 900,000 pounds is the annual
quantity required, the value would amount to ^£1 1,250 0 0
6400 bushels of barley wheat when malted, if) o d^a n n

K^

sold at 12«. a bushel, would be
And, 1200 tons of straw, at ^2. - - 2,400 0 0

i:i7490 0 0

As the St. Helena beer is in high estimation at the Cape of

* The experiment referred to was with Cape oats.

t After the first three years of cultivation, the island price should keep pace with the
London market.

128 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

Good Hope, it may be presusned tlie demands for it will yet in-
crease. The farmers of St. Helena might therefore, by means of
industrious habits, and a proper course of husbandry, obtain from
these new sources, a return equivalent to 17,000 pounds sterling
annually from one crop, exclusive of what they derive from their
cattle, and potatoes, and other articles of farm produce. From
this concise view of our home consumption, and the prospect of
export, it must be obvious, that no farmers in the world can pos-
sibly have a stronger incitement to exertion, than those of St.
Helena : for they are at all times, assured of a ready sale, and
even more than a reasonable price, for all their products. If then
they would only strive to be purveyors to the population, instead
of allowing the whole to be buyers, of flour, malt, pork, &c.,
imported here, it requires no uncommon degree of penetration to
discover that a vast improvement would soon take place in their
condition.*

To these objects I would therefore recommend the capital and
industry of the island being employed. Some persons here may
possibly consider that the plans recommended are upon too grand
a scale ; but I will ask them. What are 700 acres of cultivation
in the hands of a few English farmers ? — Lord Karnes, in his
" Gentleman Farmer," has stated, (in page 292) " I will venture
to say that in most soils, fifty acres of corn may be commanded
by a single plough ; provided the crops be distributed through
the year, to afford time for managing all of them with the same
men and cattle." According to this estimate, which I believe is
generally admitted to be correct, in England and Scotland, the

* It is true that flour and malt cnn be conveniently imported from other countries :
but surely it is an object of the first importance to promote the prosperity of the land-
holders. This can never be effected whilst all their scanty earnings are expended on
foreign produce. Such has been, and is, the practice at St. Helena.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 129

whole proposed extent of cultivation on the island of St. Helena,
and from which so many advantages might be obtained, could
easily be managed by fourteen ploughs or fourteen petty far-
mers;.that is, if they confine themselves to one crop only in
the year.

I would not however propose that any one should, at first,
attempt the cultivation of 50 acres. I would have all to do a
little — to feel their way — and to proceed gradually, according to
the extent of their means. In this, there can be no hazardous
speculation ; and as there are between 60 and 70 landholders,
and above 200 blacks attached to the farms* — surely among these
collectively, the 700 acres proposed would require no very extra-
ordinary degree of exertion.

For carrying into effect the plans I have here recommended,
there is a sufficient number of horses, and many cattle, that usu-
ally remain idle on the pastures. These might soon be trained,
as well as the slaves, to the several purposes of husbandry. Those
who have only small patches of land might use the spade, or hire a
plough, as suggested by Sir John Sinclair in his paper on Cottages.
Others who have a greater extent of land might begin with only
8 or 10 acres of their choicest land. In both cases the new lands
should be inclosed with good fences, the process of paring and
burning adopted, and after the soil has been well cleaned and pul-
verized, there should be two or three successive crops of potatoes
taken ; and, at the time the new lands are under this manage-
ment, I would recommend, that the present old potatoe grounds
should be ploughed, and sown with barley wheat, or Cape barley
or oats, in the proportion of two bushels per acre for the first crop
— this would yield a weighty produce of green fodder, which

* In addition to these, the farmers can hire Chinese labourers from the Company's
establisliment, at two shillings per day.

s

130 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

would keep the working cattle in good condition, and furnish
some portion of manure for those lands, that have been exhausted
by a long succession of incessant cropping.

The second barley wheat crop should be raised with a view to
malt for the breweries: and finally, these old potatoe grounds
might be brought into a condition fit for crops of wheat, provided
attention be paid to making manure, by collecting all the cattle
of the farms at night into an inclosure, and feeding them with
the green-fodder crops.

By such means the landholders might put into their own
pockets those large sums that are now expended for the purchase
of flour and grain ; and, in the course of a few years, they would
undoubtedly become more affluent than they can ever expect to
beif they confine themselves to the comparatively limited demands
of the shipping. They would also derive an inward satisfaction
in thus being obedient to the Honourable Company, and in con-
tributing to the general good of the island, and to the comfort of
all other classes of the community : they would, moreover, prove
themselves deserving of the favours and indulgence of the lords
proprietors ; which they and their families have invariably received
at their hands.

Although a due consideration of all those advantages (which I
have no doubt are attainable from the extension of agriculture)
will, I trust, excite a considerable degree of emulation and exer-
tion, yet it is my intention to recommend that certain premiums,
or prizes, should, be given to those who shall first distinguish
themselves as able cultivators. And with a view of animating
their exertions, I mean to propose that there be six classes of
merit. The first prize to be given to him who shall have broken
up the largest portion of uncultivated land, or delivered into the
Company's granary, in James's Town, the greatest quantity of

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 131

barley wheat : because this is a corn that can be most easily raised.
The other prizes to be allotted in gradation according to the
respective proportions of newly cultivated land and of corn deli-
vered : but no person should be entitled to any prize who shall not
have broken up five acres of uncultivated land, and delivered not
less than two hundred bushels of corn, the produce of his farm.

I shall further recommend that the first six candidates for
prizes within the first twelve months from this date, in addition
to honorary prizes, should receive a remuneration equivalent to
the original cost of one plough and a pair of harrows.

No expensive buildings would be required for the proposed
improvements, because the corn could be received into the Com-
pany's granaries in James's Town, or deposited in a small building
appropriated, or erected for the purpose at each farm, imme-
diately after it has been thrashed and cleaned. These operations
might be performed in the open fields, a practice which is usual
in India and in Egypt, and even in the colder regions in the
North of Europe.*

But the advantages which the landholders would derive from
the appropriation of 700 acres to the culture of corn, would very
far exceed what has been stated. It must be recollected that the
St. Helena lands produce two crops a year, consequently, the
wheat and barley grounds might yield, annually, a second crop,
either of potatoes, mangel wurzel, cabbages, beans, or turnips,
and the like ; or of green fodder from corn, or from maize ; or
even, in some instances, a second crop of barley and oats, for
grain ; so that it seeuis possible to supply the proposed quantities
of flour and barley wheat by means of less than 700 acres — and,
therefore, it may be reasonably suppuS' ' that between 4 and 500
acres of corn land, would be oisnd sufficient, and the other two

* Vide, Section III.

132 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

hundred acres would yield a sufficiency of potatoes and other
esculents. After a spirit for cultivation has been once excited, I
have no doubt it would rapidly increase, and be carried far beyond
the scale I have here suggested.

I must however remark that if two crops a year are taken from
the proposed 700 acres of cultivation at St. Helena, they will
require nearly double the number of ploughs and labour, that
they would in England — that is 28 ploughs, instead of 14.

Hence it seems, that if 700 acres were constantly cultivated
with corn, they might produce, annually, more wheat and barley
than would be immediately wanted for the island consumption.
Part of the second crops, or green crops, if given to cattle and
sheep, would soon augment the island flocks;* and the number
of hogs that might be reared by means of those crops, for sup-
plying the garrison occasionally with fresh pork, would be im-

Several persons, in England, appear to have entertained doubts as to the propriety
of breaking up much land on this island, from an apprehension it would interfere with
the grand object of raising stock for the supply and refreshment of the shipping : but so
far from lessening the supplies, either of cattle or vegetables, I trust, I have distinctly
proved that it would be the best possible means of increasing them.

There is another erroneous notion regarding St. Helena : " rats," it is said, " are so
numerous and destructive that it would be wholly impossible to raise corn." This mis-
take has evidently originated in the fate of a few square rods of corn ; which had been
the utmost extent of former trials. So small a quantity, growing near the abodes of these
animals, would soon be devoured in any country : but where several acres of corn have been
cultivated on this island, even the first crop did not suffer more than it would have done
near the homestall of an English farmer. Tiie succeeding crop sustained no injury what-
ever : for, at the time of reaping the first crop, care was taken to destroy every rat that
had burrowed — the number was one hundred and twenty — and the consequence was, that
when the second crop was cut down, only three rats were found in a field of six acres.
In the same manner the Plantation-house garden, of seven acres, has been effectually
cleared of rats. Four years ago they were extremely troublesome ; but during the last
two years they have been wholly extirpated.

TRACTS ON VARfOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 183

mense, compared with what it now is. The Company have
agreed to purchase it at the rate of one shilling per pound : so
that for pork, there would be no want of a ready sale. Besides,
by the rearing of these useful animals, together with stall-feeding
of cattle, large quantities of excellent manure would soon be ob-
tained, by which, even the poorer lands might be brought into
a state of improvement, fit for the purpose of raising wheat. I
have, indeed, already had some exceeding fine specimens of this
corn, cultivated in good land, without manure. In short, proofs
are not wanting to establish, in the clearest manner, the certainty
of success : but, a total change of husbandry, and a proper appli-
cation of our manual labour, and of the muscular strength of ani-
mals, are absolutely necessary. By such means, I am confident,
that in the course of a few years, there would be effected a change
in the value of this island, which would be highly beneficial to
the interests of the Company as well as individuals. It might
lead to the most important consequences ; particularly if it should
be deemed expedient to convert St. Helena into a depot, or mart,
for Indian and China produce, a plan that has been more than
once suggested.

20th August, 1812.

134 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION XX.

On Transplanting WJicat— further Remarks on Grubs — and on Barley

Wheat.

vJn the 7th of July 1812, two acres at Plantation-house were
sown broad cast with nine pecks of barley wheat, which were
ploughed in, bnt not harrowed. Although this is the sixth crop
from this land, since it was broken up, without using any ma-
nure, the barley wheat became so extremely thick, in seven
weeks after sowing, that it was apprehended, the crop might be
lost unless it were thinned. Mr. Breame, an experienced farmer
from Norfolk, and indeed every other person who has viewed it,
declares he never beheld so exuberant a specimen of corn. All
agree it ought to be thinned — and various modes have been
proposed.

That which I have preferred is one T can pursue with confi-
dence, as it is the same I adopted in the year 1809, with some
wheat that became too thick and exuberant in the spot where it
was sown. As the process which was then used, differs, I believe,
in some respects from the practice in Europe, and particularly in
the age and size of the transplanted corn, I shall here transcribe
the notices I have retained of the crop alluded to.

1809, Nov. 9. — Sowed a small parcel of wheat received from
Van Dieman's land.

1809, Dec. 20. — At this time it was grown 12 to 18 inches high,
and so extremely thick and exuberant, that it becomes necessary
to thin it. Two beds were this day prepared, each measuring
two rods in length, and half a rod in breadth. In No. 1, whole
tufts, the produce of one grain, as drawn from the seed bed, were

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJFCTS, &c. 136

dibbled : the rows one foot asunder ; the plants 9 inches distant
in the rows. In the same manner half tufts were dibbled in No. 2.
The leaves of the plants of both were cut off 3 or 4 inches above
the roots, previously to their being dibbled in the beds.

1810, January 12th. — The half tufts in No. 2 have withered
and died. The whole tufts in No. 1, as well as those in the seed
bed, are in a most flourishing condition.

January 25th. — In the seed bed a good many ears appear —
the transplanted wheat a little backward, but very strong, not-
withstanding a long absence of rain.

February 5th.— Some of the transplanted wheat is now in ear
— i. e. 89 days from the seed.

February 11th. — In the seed bed all in ear — There are two
sorts, one is short-headed, without beard, 33 inches high — ^the
other sort with long ears, measures 44 inches high. In No. 1,
only half a dozen ears have as yet appeared.

February 28th. — The wheat in the transplanted bed and seed
bed, is all in ear — this is 112 days from sowing the seed.

March 6th. — The ears of both beds are now well filled. Trans-
planted com rather more backward than the seed bed.

March 21st. — The transplanted bed still greenish. The corn
in the seed bed was cut down two days ago, fully ripe : ears well
filled : it has been 4 months and 10 days in the soil.

April 1st. — ^Examined the transplanted bed. The short headed
wheat without beard is the most exuberant. Taking 4 plants of
this sort indiscriminately, the number of ears produced from
each seed were these :

No.l

-

-

24 ears.

2

-

-

29 ditto.

3

-

-

32 ditto.

4

.»

_

58 ditto.

136 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

April lltb. — Gathered some fine specimens from the trans-
planted wheat, and sent them to England. Their growth was
5 months and 2 days from the seed.

I regret having omitted to notice the average number of grains
produced from a single grain. I intended the transplanted bed
should have determined the produce per acre— but having suf-
fered a good deal from Canary birds, this was prevented. I shall
therefore only add, that the transplanted specimen, before it was
attacked by birds, had as fine an appearance as any crop of wheat
T ever beheld. This success, although upon a small scale, most
unequivocally proves that St. Helena is capable of producing
wheat of excellent quality. In several other printed papers I have
also shewn, that the culture of wheat, as well as of other corn,
may be extended even to more than the present population can
possibly consume.

A paper I have seen on the subject of transplanting wheat, by
Mr. John Ainsworth, of Glen, recommends the practice as one of
the best means of providing against a scarcity of this necessary
of life. The saving of seed is undoubtedly a considerable advan-
tage, since it is stated that half a peck sown in a seed bed, would
furnish plants for an acre. Besides this saving of seed, there are
in England some other advantages pointed out : but as they do
not apply to the more temperate climate of St. Helena, it is unne-
cessary to notice them. Upon the whole, however, it seems that
this excellent mode of culture is deserving more attention in
England, than has hitherto been paid to it.

In India and China, transplanting is the common practice.
Seed beds of rice are thickly sown for the purpose of furnishing
plants for the lands. The young plants are deemed sufficiently
strong for transplanting in 30 days : even until 60 days they con-
tinue fit to be removed. It will be seen by the foregoing wheat

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 137

experiment, that tlie plants removed from the seed bed, lia<! been
24 days in tlie ground — they were strong, and from 12 to 18 inches
high. This mode possesses several very material advantages,
which appear to have escaped the observation of those who have
treated on the subject.

By sowing the seed-bed at the proper season, which may be
from a month to seven weeks before the period of transplanting, a
farmer may crop many acres of land that otherwise he might not
have had leisure to prepare before the season for sowing had
passed. His transplanted crop would not be more than three weeks
behind that which was sown. In new land too, where the grub
might be destructive to young and tender plants, whose sweet
milky matter is their favourite food, a tirst crop of transplanted
corn might be put in, without much risk ; because these older
plants having larger stems and roots, and harsher juices, are, I
conceive, far less nourishing to the young grub ; and are also
less liable to the depredations of those of larger size. At all
events, the labour of those insects, in destroying a crop well
advanced, would evidently be many fold greater than for one that
is attacked at the time the corn begins to sprout.

These are matters that will soon be decided ; for I have at pre-
sent, a crop of young barley wheat (now five inches high) ad-
joining some that has been transplanted. If the former should
sutfer, and the latter escape injury from the grub, it would es-
tablish a very important point in farming : for by the transplant-
ing mode, a first crop of barley wheat (or other corn) might be
taken from newly broken up land, which, if dibbled close, would
give a large quantity of green fodder, or even of corn, whilst its
shading the land from the sun's heat might prevent the hatching
of eggs that may remain in the soil.*

* At Long Wood die grubs lately commenced their depredations on the edge of a
barley wheat crop which was well grown, and covtred the field. But whether it is that

T

138 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

The barley wheat, sown on the 7th of July, was begun to be
transplanted on the 25th of August : that is 49 days after sowing.
The whole of the two acres was, at this tiine, so extremely thick,
that plants for many acres might have been well spared ; whilst
the thinning of this large seed bed will, no doubt, make it more
productive of corn. Alleys, in breadth about 15 inches, have
been opened in parallel lines six feet asunder. These alleys admit
air through the crop, and furnish numerous plants ; they also
form the paths for the men to enter, and thin the intermediate
beds ; which is tlius done without trampling the corn.

About four acres have been already transplanted.* The plants
are remarkably fine, measuring 18 to 24 inches high, exclusive of
the root: each plant is the produce of one seed. Some were cut
at 6 inches above the root ; and others at 9 inches ; that is, just
beyond the spindle ; according to their size. I conceive th.it
presenting in this manner open tubes to the atmospheric air and
moisture and dews, will be advantageous, by admitting these
internally to the roots, which might be prevented in some mea-
sure, if the entire plants were set. These, at the extremities, are
apt to wither and dry, and consequently become less fit for
imbibing moisture ; which, at any rate, could only be received
externally on the leaves. The best of these two modes will also
be soon ascertained, as several hundred plants have been set out
in the state they were drawn from the seed bed : this will afford
a comparative experiment.

the roots and stems, when strong, do not yield the proper nourishment ; or that it is
noxious to these insects to be deprived of the sun's warmth, and enveloped in damp and
moisture at the roots of green corn, the fact is, all that entered, only a few yards, were
found dead.

* Transplanted wheat, at St. Helena, will not succeed, unless the season be wet for
some time after the plants are set out j and long continuance of very dry weather proved
fatal to this crop.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 189

Another mode of cultivatincf corn has been suggested by the
exuberance of my present crop of barley wheat. It seems to me,
that it is possible, at St. Helena, to raise a double crop on the
same field ; that is, one of green fodder, the other of corn. This
may be accomplished by reaping (at six or seven weeks growth)
the green crop in parallel alleys. If these alleys are two feet wide,
and six feet apart, and are crossed by others at right angles 18
feet asunder, they would form beds, G feet by 18 ; or of 108
square feet. Thus a current of air would be admitted all around
and through these beds, by which the growth of the corn might be
promoted sufficiently without thinning. The effect of this mode is
to be ascertained by the barley wheat sown on the 7th of July last.

That barley wheat is a crop of great importance in St. Helena,
I have clearly demonstrated in several of the St. Helena Registers;
and that it might be of infinite utility in the United Kingdoms,
by keeping down the high price of bread, appears to me very
possible. It is as easy to grind and make it into meal as wheat
itself; and if this meal were mixed with one half, or a third of
wheaten flour, it is likely it would make a pleasant and whole-
some bread.

When, to these circumstances are added, that 60 bushels can
be obtained from one bushel sown on an acre ; that it will grow
on lands (without manure) of very inferior fertility to tiiose re-
quired for wheat crops ; and also that it yields the finest sort of
malt, it seems truly surprising that a grain so valuable, in many
respects, should have been hitherto so very little noticed in
England.

The only accounts I have as yet read of it, are by Warren
Hastings, Esq. ;* by Mr. C. W. Paget ;t and by R. Flower, of

* Retrospect of Discoveries, No. 25.

t Agricultural Magazine, No. 3.0. Retrospect, No. 26.

140 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

Maisden, Herts.* All these agree in pointing it out as a corn
most worthy of attention. I shall postpone offering any further
observations until the experiments now in process are completed.
These regard the different modes of culture : the making the
meal into cakes, and loaves, and the sort of bread it may pro-
duce, when mixed with certain proportions of wheaten flour,

1 4th September, 1812.

• Relrospectj No. SI,

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 141

SECTION XXI.

On Terracing Lands, and preparing the Sides of Hills for Cultivation.

1 HE Chinese form the sides of their hills into terraces before
they bring- them into cultivation. The same practice obtains in
other countries. At the island of Madeira, many of the vine-
yards occupy terraces, of this sort, from the summit to the base
of mountains, where the declivities are equally abrupt as the
eastern side of Ladder Hill.

Sir George Staunton, in his Account of the Embassy to China,
describes those terraces in the following words : —

" Throughout this short land journey, and far from all great
roads, not a mile was travelled without a village ; nor a spot
observed, except mere rocks, or perpendicular heights, that was
not under cultivation. The villages were not surrounded by
walls, but were adorned with handsome gateways at their ex-
tremities. The rocky places appear to have been denuded of the
earth which had covered them formerly, in order to place it on
a surface where it might become more conveniently a medium
for the nutriment of plants. Where the face of the hill or moun_
tain is not nearly perpendicular to the level surface of the earth,
the slope is converted into a number of terraces one above another,
each of which is supported by mounds of stone. By this manage-
ment it is not uncommon to see the whole face of a mountain
completely cultivated to the summit. These stages are not con-
fined to the culture of any particular vegetal)le. Pulse, grain,
yams, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, turnips, and a variety ot

142 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

other culinary plants, are produced upon them. A reservoir is
sunk in the top of the mountain. The rain water collected in
it, is conveyed by channels successively to the different terraces
placed upon the mountain's sides. In spots too rugged, barren,
steep, or high for raising other plants, the camellia sesanqua,
and divers firs, particularly the larch, are cultivated with
success.

" The collection of manure is an object of so much attention
with the Chinese, that a prodigious number of old men and
women, as well as of children, incapable of much other labour,
are constantly employed about the streets, public roads, banks of
canals and rivers, with baskets tied before them, and holding in
their hands small wooden rakes to pick up the dung of animals,
and offals of any kind that may answer the purpose of manure ;
but above every other, except the dung of fowls, the Chinese
farmers, like the Romans, according to the testimony of Columella,
prefer soil, or that matter which is collected by nightmen in
London, in the vicinity of which, it is, in fact, applied to the same
uses ; as has already been alluded to in describing a visit to the
Lo-wang peasant, in a former part of this work. This maniue is
mixed sparingly with a portion of stiff loamy earth, and formed
into cakes, dried afterwards in the sun. In this state it sometimes
becomes an object of commerce, and is sold to farmers, who
never employ it in a compact state. Their first care is to con-
struct large cisterns for containing, besides those cakes and dung
of every kind, all sorts of vegetable matter, as leaves, or ro<ts, or
stems of plants, mud from the canals, and offals of animals, even
to the shavings collected by the barbers. With ail these they
mix as much animal water as can be collected, or of common
water, as will dilute the whole ; and in this state, generally in
the act of putrid fermentation, they apply it to the ploughed or

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 143

broken earth. In various parts of a farm, and near paths and
roads, large earthen vessels are buried to the edge, in the ground,
for the {iccouimodation of the labourer or passenger who may
have occasion to use tiiem. In small retiring houses, built also
upon the brink of roads, and in the neighbourhood of villages,
reservoirs are constructed of compact materials to prevent the
absorption of whatever they receive, and straw is carefully thrown
over the surface from time to time to stop the evaporation. And
such a value is set upon the principal ingredient for manure,
that the oldest and most helpless persons are not deemed wholly
useless to the family by which they are supported."

The Chinese mode of terracing is, however, attended with great
labour. It seems to me that the object of retaining the rains
and moisture on the sides of sloping grounds, might be nearly
as well attained by easier means. If land have only a moderate
descent,* it may be ploughed uninterruptedly from the lower to
the higher parts ; and if double furrows, or channels, were made
on lei-el lines, at distances of 12 to 24 feet, (varying accord-
ing to the declivity) the water might be intercepted as elFectually
as by the more expensive mode of terracing. The steeper the
side of the hill, the nearer to each other should these furrows
be made.

-'^ On very steep hills, I would advise, instead of terraces, that
belts of the sward (5 or 6 feet in breadth) should be left at the
time of preparing them for cultivation. These belts might be
accurately marked out by a mason's level, in a level direction,
leaving spaces between them 12 to 16 feet broad : which alone
should be ploughed or trenched.

By this method of preparation, not only might all the rain

* In St. Helena, tliere are above 2O0O acres, that niiglit be as easily ploughed as any
lands in England.

144 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

water which falls within an inclosvire be retained, but the soil
would be prevented from sliding down ; which it is apt to do in
very steep places, when it is fully saturated with water.

Those belts would also 3'ield occasional cuttings of grass for
cattle, &c. ; so that, although the whole field would not be in
cultivation, yet no part would be useless.

Whoever has attentively observed the diiierence between a crop
at the upper and lower parts of a sloping field, must be convinced
of the advantage of retaining throughout an equable portion of
moisture. The upper part is always poor; because it has been
deprived of moisture, by the natural tendency of water to de-
scend : on the contrary, the lower part is the most exuberant, as
it becomes the repository of almost all the rain that falls within
the inclosure. This fact may be perceived in several parKs of
this island : and it might be further exemplified bv an easy
experiment.

Let any one cultivate a square rod on the natural slope of a
hill, and let him take another square rod adjoining, and make it
perfectly level, plant them both in the same manner with pota-
toes, or corn : and it will be found the level spot will be infinitely
superior in produce.

In regard to manuring, a great deal might be done without too
servile an imitation of the Chinese practices. Manure, indeed, is
deserving all possible attention : because it is the best means of
ensuring good crops ; and of obtaining, proportionally, a larger
profit from the labour bestowed in cultivation.

I hope these observations maybe serviceable to those at present
engaged in breaking up the new lands. 1 cannot, however, con-
clude them without strongly recommending, that when the
terracing mode is not adopted, furrows, or belts, should never be
omitted : no field, upon a sloping surface, can properly be culti-

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, Sec. 145

vated without one or the other : but as I have before observed,
they must be carefully made upon perfectly horizontal lines ;
for if these furrovi^s or belts, were to deviate from a true level,
they would operate as drains and carry off the water : and thereby
defeat the very purpose for which they are intended.

24th September, 1812.

U

146 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION XXII.

Useful Notices on Husbandry at St. Helena — Crops liable to Attacks of
Caterpillars and Aphides — Crops not liable to Injury from those Insects
— Lord Bacon's Idea of the Generation of Caterpillars apparently sub-
stantiated— Method tried to prevent their Generation — the Haulm of
Potatoes suggested as an auxiliary Food for Cattle — Experiments to
determine the Produce of Cos Lettuce — yields, in three Months from
the Period of Sotving, about 15 Tons per Acre—an excellent Food
for Hogs.

It is an essential part of husbandry, to make clioice of those
crops that can be most advantageously raised in the country where
it is practised. Almost every kind of esculent and grain may be
cnltivated here with facility and success ; and the returns, from
the time of sowing the seed, are much more rapid than in colder
climates ; seldom exceeding from four to four months and a half.
Some plants are, however, more liable than others to attacks of
the caterpillar and aphides. Amongst these may be reckoned
the potatoe, cabbage, turnip, mangel wurzel, and radish : but
the potatoe rarely suffers so as materially to injure the crop ; yet
the haulm, from this cause, and the present system of culture, is
entirely lost to the farmer.

Amongst the crops least liable to injury from those insects, are
corn of all sorts ; kidney beans, carrots, and lettuces ; wherefore
these are particularly deserving attention.

In regard to the loss sustained in potatoe haulm, it seems to
me, there is a very simple, and perhaps an advantageous mode
of averting it. I have observed that caterpillars generally make

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 14T

their appearance at a certain stage of the growth of the plants,
which seldom happens until they have been some time in blossom ;
and probably the generation of those insects, as supposed by Lord.
Bacon,* may take place at the time when a certain, yet invisible,
change has operated in the leaves of the haulm ; that is, when
they begin to have a tendency to putrefaction. This opinion
seems to be strengthened by recent observation ; for, accidentally,
I had a small patch of potatoes in the Plantation-house garden,
considerably more advanced in growth than a crop which closely
surrounded it; and I observed the haulm of this patch was swarm-
ing with caterpillars, and the whole was soon after destroyed,
whilst the adjoining younger plants were wholly untouched : nor
were these attacked until about a fortnight afterwards, when
they had arrived at a more advanced state of growth.

It seems to me that the generation of the caterpillar may be
prevented by keeping the haulm in a young and tender state :
and this can readily be done by cutting it down after it has been
some time in blossom. If this cutting were to commence at about
9 or 10 weeks growth, f and to continue for a fortnight, the
potatoe farmer would secure about four or five tons per acre of
green fodder for his cattle, which would well repay any small
difference there might be in the produce of the potatoes. I have,
indeed, good reason to believe that this difference would be far

* Lord Bacon observes, " the caterpillar is one of the most general of worms, and
lireedeth of dew and leaves : they breed in the spring chiefly, because then there is both
dew and leaf. And they breed commonly when the east winds have much blown ; the
cause whereof is, the dryness of that wind ; for to all vivification upon putrifaction, it is
requisite the matter be not too moist. Caterpillars, both the greatest and the most, breed
upon cabbages, which have a fat leaf, and apt to putrlfy."

t A surer guide is to cut the haulm about ten days after it has blossomed : red blossoms
appear in 10 or 12 weeks ; and the white in 7 or 8 weeks after planting.

148 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

less than in England ; owing to the almost unceasing powers of
vegetation which are observable in this climate. It is probably
from this cause, that the gooseberry, the currant, and some other
shrubs become evergreens, and bear no fruit. If then, in these,
we observe so great a change in the process of nature, it is at least
probable that similar changes may take place, although not per-
ceptibly, in other vegetable productions.

I have not yet completed my experiments upon the effect of
cutting potatoe haulm : but so confident of success do I feel, from
the observations I have already made, that I mean to adopt the
practice upon a crop of two acres allotted expressly for the pur-
pose. My former trials were indeed imperfect, on account of
cutting the haulm within a field of potatoes, so that when the
uncut haulm was attacked and devoured, the caterpillars naturally
crawled to the young and tender sproutings of the cut haulm, and
eat them off as fast as they appeared.

That the cut haulm will reproduce leaves I have frequently
ascertained. The following are some notices I have retained of a
small experiment : but, the comparative produce of potatoes from
the uncut and cut haulm was accidentally omitted.

On the 12th of February, 1809, the potatoes were planted. On
the 4th of April, whilst in blossom, a square rod was mowed. It
yielded 67^ pounds of fine tender haulm, which is at the rate of
10,800 pounds, or 4| tons per acre. The haulm of the adjoining
crop was left uncut. I observed on the 28th of April, the uncut
haulm had become brownish, and was much eaten by caterpillars,
whilst the haulm that was cut, (having reproduced leaves) was of
a fine green. The last notice I took of this experiment was on
the 14th of May, when the cut continued in green leaf, that is,
40 days after it had been mowed. This is sufhcient to prove that
the powers of vegetation do continue in this climate long after

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 149

tlie haulm is cut : and if furtlier trials should fully confirm what
is here related, the discovery of a new mode of culture would be
of infinite advantage, because the potatoe haulm, hitherto lost to
the farmer, would become valuable as a food for cattle and hogs ;
and would consequently be of great service when the pastures are
low ; and would also give him the means of enricliing his lands
with large quantities of valuable manure, which might be made
by consuming the haulm either as food or litter (or both) in his
farm yard.*

Lettuce is an esculent which I have never observed here to be
injured b}^ the caterpillar or aphides. Its growth is quick, and it
may, I believe, be raised at all seasons. I lately ascertained its
produce per acre : which proves it might be a valuable acquisi-
tion to the hoggery, and an auxiliary food for cattle. The cir-
cumstances of the crop alluded to are as follows :

On the 13th of August, last, a seed bed was sown with cos
lettuce, received from the Cape of Good Hope. It was trans-
planted on the 28th of September, at the distance of 15 inches
from plant to plant. On the iSth of November, although well
grown, the plants did not entirely cover the soil, wherefore, they
might admit of being set nearer to each other, that is, at one foot
asunder. In this case an acre would contain 43,560 plants.
Twenty plants cut close to the roots on the 13th of November,
vielded 16 pounds of excellent fodder ; consequently an acre
would produce 34,848 pounds, or about 15 tons. It is probable
it might even exceed this quantity, and that the average weight
of full grown plants might be one pound in three months ft-om

* Rating the present potatoe grounds at one hunded and fifty acres, and tlie produce
of haulm at 4 tons per acre, this would be 600 tons of green fodder from one crop, or
1,200 tons from the two crops in the year. The practice here suggested, will, I trust,
attract the attention of the landholders.

150 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

sowiiiii- the seed : for two of the largest plants having heen selected,
one weighed one pound and six ounces, and the other one
pound.

In the annexed paper on the use of hay tea, the hog feeders
will derive much valuable information ; and I very strongly re-
commend their attention to lettuce crops, as I am confident they
will find them equal, if not superior, to any other in feeding sows
and pigs, and particularly during the summer months.

Mr. Arthur Young informs us, in his Calendar of Husbandry,
that he first observed the sowing of lettuces for hogs, practised
in a pretty regular system on the farm of a very intelligent cul-
tivator (not at all a whimsical man) in Sussex. He had, every
year, an acre, or two, which afibrded a great quantity of very
valuable food for his sows and pigs." He adds, that " it yields
milk amply, and all sorts of swine are fond of it." And he thinks
that" the economical farmer, who keeps many hogs, should take
care to have a succession of crops for these animals, that his carts
may not be for ever on the road for purchased grains, or his
granary open for corn, oftener than is necessary." These obser-
vations may well be applied to this island, where grain is dear,
and where the carriage to the interior is difficult, being upon an
ascent of 5 or 600 yards from James's Town.

It gives me peculiar satisfaction to observe that my endeavours
to promote the prosperity of this settlement, by publishing the
results of experiments, and by communicating every useful tract
I find, on subjects connected with the important objects I have
had in view, have not been fruitless : at this moment a spirit of
improvement in husbandry is clearly manifested in all parts of
the island, and the happy consequences resulting from it are
already felt in a degree that scarcely could have been credited
by those who, not unnaturally, were averse to new practices.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 151

What has already been effected, merely by the extended culture
of potatoes, and by some most exuberant specimens of corn, are
sufficient to prove the surprising change that will soon be pro-
duced in the value of this long- neglected island ; a change which
will be not less beneficial to the lord's proprietors than to the
landholders, and all other classes of the community.

It is also with gratification I observe, at the Cape of Good Hope,
the same energies, and the same pursuits, carrying on under the
auspices of his Excellency Sir John Cradock. His observations
upon the importance of agriculture, and upon its slow progress
in that colony, are so truly applicable to St. Helena, that I shall
conclude this paper with an Extract from a Government adver-
tisement (in the Cape Town Gazette) dated the 17th of October,
1812. This paper contains sentiments exactly similar to those
that were connnunicated in the St. Helena Register for October,
1812, in Jin Extract entitled " On the Cultivation of the Soil."
This coincidence, as to the time of publishing, is not less remark-
able, than the coincidence of the subjects ; that two neighbouring
colonies, remote from the mother country, which have been so
long occupied without having made the smallest advances in the
arts of husbandry, should, at the very same time, be roused from
inactivity to useful and laudable exertion.

In the advertisement referred to, Sir John Cradock makes the
following observations.

" It is now established on the authority of the most eminent
and enlightened men who have written upon the sulyect, that
agriculture forms the true basis of the AYealth of Nations ; and
that commerce and manufactures, although powerful auxiliaries,
are considerations of secondary importance. Agriculture too,
or the cultivation of soil, is naturally the primary object of all
emigrations from civilized nations to foreign countries : and such

152 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

productions are most cultivated as experience may point out to
be most congen al to the climate and soil.

" When it comes to be considered, the number of years that
this colony has been possessed by an enlightened and industrious
nation, it is a matter of surprise that the progress in agricultural
pursuits has not been more rapid. This observation is plain to
every understanding capable of considering the inadequate pro-
portion which the increase of cultivation bears to that of the
population of th6 settlement.

" His Excellency, with a lively sense of this growing evil,
and an ardent desire to lend his full support and countenance
to the support of agriculture, as well as the improvement of
cattle of every description — objects so highly essential to the
permanent welfare of this valuable and growing Colony, judges
it expedient to re-organize the Board of Agriculture ; and is
pleased to accept the resignation of the gentlemen hereafter
named, (members of the late board), who for the reasons they
have severally assigned, cannot afford such portion of their time
as becomes necessary to give efficiency to the institution, and em-
brace the various objects which must at least for some time, com-
mand the attention of the board."

" His Excellency has therefore taken upon himself, the Pre-
sidency of the Board of Agriculture."

These judicious sentiments ought to serve as a farther proof to
our cultivators, and to convince them that the change which has
happily been effected here, is conformable to what is universally
admitted as the true basis of the Wealth of Nations. It has been
well observed in an able Essay on the Spirit of Legislation,
" that without agriculture, ivJiich is the base of the prosperity
and power of the state, there can be neither commerce nor
manufacture. It is to agriculture that we ought ever to attend

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 158

as the most importuiu point. She furnishes nourishment, fuel,
clothing, and the first materials for every thing. Population
is created by agriculture, which gives subsistence to all without
exception — to the farmer and the workman, as well as to the
merchant."

20/A November, 1812.

On the Use of Hay Tea in feeding Hogs.

The use of hay-tea, in the fee ing of hogs, has been attempted
by Mr. Saunders, of Stroud, (jiouc.-stersh i-e, with much success.
He was led to the use of this liqni<! from considering its effects
in wf'oning calves. In his experisnents, as stated in the Agricul-
tural M;i"azine, the sorts o^hay made u^e of, were clover, sainfoin,
and lucern ;* and he thickened the tea or wash indiscriminately,
with either grains, or bran, or pollard, or any kind of meal, or
boiled cabbages, or boiled potatoes (carrots, though excellent, he
had none ) sometimes adding two or more of these articles, as his
stock of either most enabled him. And he had the greatest
sati<5faction to tind, that he made a single sack of boiled potatoes,
when mixed with wash, and without any other ingredient, go as
far as four or five sacks, (though boiled) when he gave them to
the pi;4s alone ; and the expense of the wash thickened with
potatoes, is considerably lower than potatoes alone. With the
view of showing the practicability of prosecuting the plan indi-
vidually upon a larger scale, he gradually increased his stock to
upwards of four hundred ; and in the course of his experiments,

• The wire-grass has been used with success, at Long Wood, in rearing calves : and
appears equal to any other grass for the purpose recommended. K.

X

154 THACTS on various SUBJECTS, &c.

he used nearly fifteen hundred hogsheads of the Wash, consuming
when his stock was at the highest, about five hogsheads daily.
And, incredible as if mayappear, he maintained them, collectively,
at the very loW rate of one penny a head per day ; and in ex-
cellent store order, and many of them fit for the butcher. It
deserves particular attention, he says, that, in a week or fortnight
after he had commenced his experiments, the pigs which he had
before been feeding with potatoes alone, improved in their coats,
which from looking coarse, assumed a gloss, and became tine and
short ; a proof, surely, of the great nutrition of the food, and of
its perfectly agreeing with pigs.

" Nor is it, says he, less remarkable, that this voracious animal,
though fed with this food but twice a day (which he prefers to
oftener) would lie down contented for the remainder, provided he
was well-ringed, and had a warm and dry place to shelter him-
self under.

" And this he attributes to the following causes, besides the
nutritive properties of the wash :

" He found it beneficial to store the boiled potatoes in large
casks (in which he conceives they would keep good above a
twelvemonth) and when they had remained in them some time,
freed from the water they were boiled in, (which is considered
noxious) they not only went further, but they generated a spirit ;
and the wash being also, as he apprehends of considerable strength,
they disposed the animal to betake himself to rest from their
soporific and intoxicating qualities ; a circumstance evidently
conducive to his quicker growth. Nor can an objection be raised
to this food when applied to the flesh of the animal. So far from
possessing any pernicious quality, it communicates, perhaps, a
richer and more delicate flavour to the pork and bacon than they
receive when fed after the common mode ; and the butchers.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 155

and others, not only eagerly purchased his pigs, but commonly
remarked that they rapidly improved when put up to fatten."

" And hence," says he, " arises another most important con-
sideration.

" He is confident he could make one sack of meal, of whatever
description, go as far as two sacks in the common mode of fat-
tening. For, by gradually thickening the wash with meal, it
forms, he thinks, the best introduction to the higher and last
stages of fattening, both for pork and bacon ; indeed that method
should be followed throughout the process, using the wash instead
of water. The increased quantity of a cheap and highly nutritious
food, thus administered, will satisfy the voracious habits of this
animal, and yield, he says, the greatest profit ; and this alone
would cause an immense annual saving of corn, which would
tend to ensure plenty and cheapness ; the grand desiderata in all
experiments. For the price of a commodity, in a great degree,
depends on the relative quantity produced, and the regular con-
sumption ; to lessen the consumption, therefore, diminishes the
demand, and has the same effect as increasing the supply, which
must necessarily cheapen the article."

And his calculations of the daily expenses of this mode of
feeding, are the following :

He observes, that " clover, or sainfoin hay, at <£4..13..4. per ton,
is 4*. Sd. per hundred, or |rf. per pound ; and that twenty pounds
of either, well boiled, will make with the addition of the incor-
porating ingredients, sufficient wash or food to maintain, through-
out the day, fifty store pigs, from three months old, to an indefinite
age up\vards.

156 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

Estimation of daily Expenses of feeding Jifty Store Pigs.

L. s. d.

To potatoes, two bushels, (1201b. at 5s. per sack,) - 0 2 6
To clover, or sainfoin hay, 201bs. (which will give 10

quarts, or 2^ gallons of liquid food to each pig)
To coal, ^ bushel, (at 6d. per bushel, average value)
To attendance, boiling food, serving, &c - -

Total 0 4 1
This is Id. short of Id. a head per day.

Again :

Potatoes, 1 bushel, (601bs.) - - - - 0 1 3

Grains, 2 bushels, at 6d. per bushel, - - 0 1 0

Clover, &c. - - - - - 0 0 10

Attendance, -- - - - -006

Coal - - - - - -003

0

0 10

0

0 3

0

0 6

Total

0

3 10

This is 4d. short of Id. a head.

Or,

Potatoes, 1 bushel - - - -

0

1 3

Meal of any description (particularly oat-meal, as being

the cheapest) or pollard _-.._-

0

1 4

Clover _ _ . - -

0

0 10

Coal _-_---

0

0 3

Attendance, _ « _ - -

0

0 6

Total 0 4 2
This is exactly Id. per head.

It is remarked that " carrots, either raw or boiled, are excel-
lent ; and these, with oatmeal and grains, would makea cheap

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 167

and good addition. And ihat tlie liay when pnt into tlie furnace
to boil slioidd be put into a net, or a basket with a lid to it, or
in a tni kettle and cover, tilled with large holes, and the potatoes,
(or carrots, &c.) should be steamed over the tea, while gently
boiling or sitnmering. This may easdy be done, by fitting to the
furnace, a vessel having a number of holes, of the size of a
common auger, bored through the bottom of it, so as to allow
the steam to pass through the potatoes, with which the vessel is
filled ; and having a little moist clay, or a wet flannel or cloth
put circularly round the bottom, where it rests on the mouth of
the furnace, so as to secure the steam from escaping. By this
mode of steaming the potatoes, a considerable saving will be
made in the article of coal. The potatoes should be but slightly
steamed or boiled, and not reduced to a pulp,* and whilst hot
should be trod or rammed in casks for future use. The hay, after
boiling, may be dried, and perhaps offered to store cattle : or else
thrown to the pigs as litter, or, to add to the dung heap. The
wash should be carefully given to the pigs in a lukewarm state,
and if meal, or pollard be added, it should be thrown into the
tub, or cooler, immediately after boiling the wash, and well mixed
together ; but steaming the meal, or pollard, and even the grains
might be a further improvement. The water where there is a
sufficent fall, may be led into the furnace without any trouble
whatever, by means of a leaden pipe ; or may be conveyed into
the furnace by a spout from the pump ; and the tea may be drawn
off, through a cock into a cooler, which should be placed by the
side of the furnace. To convey the wash to the pigs he used an

* Tlie steaming operation would, no doubt, be much facilitated by previously slicing
the potatoes, by means of the potatoe cutters ; of which a few were lately received at tliis
place, from England. K.

158 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

open barrel or hogshead, suspended upon a pair of shafts with
wheels to it, drawn by a single horse.

It is added, that " in the estimates of the expense of maintain-
ing the pigs, it should be observed, that he has taken no credit
for the article of manure ; and thus his pigs will make the farmer
a present of their dung, as well as pay him a good price for their
keep. Fifty strong stores, with a sufficient quantity of stubble,
(which is frequently and very improperly, ploughed into the land)
or carpenters' shavings and saw-dust, or virgin earth, or sand,
especially sea-sand, (where obtainable) laid down in the yard,
will make, he says, in the course of the year, from two to three
hundred waggon-loads of excellent manure : the sea-sand will add
saline particles to the manure, and check evaporation." And he
thinks it " necessary to remark, as a most favourable circumstance,
that the hay-tea binds the dung of swine, and rentiers it hard and
black, like sheeps' dung; and if it does not produce this effect,
it must assuredly be either bad in quality, or not properly boiled,
or not rendered sufficiently strong ; all which particulars should
be most carefully attended to ; and the state of the dung is an
admirable guide to go by. The hay should always be of an ex-
cellent quality ; and that which heated best, and contains most
of the saccharine juices should have the preference. Bad hay is
certain destruction to the pigs. Clover stands first, next sainfoin,
and lastly, meadow hay. Indeed, most of his experiments were
made, he says, (though not by choice) with meadow hay."

Extracted from " The Complete Farmer" — by K.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 159

SECTION XXIII.

Homefolding of Siieep recommended.

1 HE subjoined paper, addressed to the Editor of iht Agricul-
tural Magazine, seems deserving attention on this island ;* where
the little regard paid to sheep is obvious to every observer. In
general no care whatever is taken of them, and they are suffered
to wander every where, like wild animals, to the great annoyance
of the industrious, whose crops are often destroyed by their
depredations. The laws which enjoin the tending of flocks are
never heeded : nor do the proprietors appear to be sensible of the
real value, and importance of those animals, nor of the great
improvement they are susceptible, when treated with due care
and attention.

The plan proposed by Old Suffolk might be introduced here,
at a very small expense, and with few deviations: for instance,
instead of the fold being made along the side of a barn, any
stone fence wall, having a northern aspect, is equally well suited
to the purpose. The covering of the fold might be of furze, or
coar,«e grass, and the nightly provender for the sheep, instead of
hay or turnips, might be at first (until straw is more generally
introduced here) the refuse of potatoe crops. Even a small allow-
ance, placed within a dry, warm, and well sheltered retreat,
during the rainy seasons particularly, would very soon tempt
these naturally tame, quiet, and inoffensive animals, habitually
to seek for their homely dwelling and food, after a very little
* Dated 23d October, 1811, and signed " Old Suffolk."

160 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

attention of the shepherds in training them to come to it at a
certain hour in the evening. I am persuaded that whoever may
try the experiment, will soon be satisfied that the expense and
trouble incurred will be amply repaid, by the improvement of his
sheep, and by the valuable manure they will produce: and if
the experimenter should happen to have a real gout for good
mutton, I have no doubt he will be very thankful to Old Suftblk
for the good advice he has given.

18th December, 1812. K.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 161

SECTION XXIV.

Progress of Agricultural Improvement in 1810-12 — beneficial Effects of
extending Cultivation — the Government commend the Exertions of some,
and animadvert on the Obstinacy and Idleness of others— flourishing
State of St. Helena in the Year 1675.

1 HE tracts contained in the preceding Sections are selected from
many others which were publislied in the St. Helena Register,
between November, 1810, and January, 1813 ; and as it was
observable tliat they had produced a considerable change in the
sentiments of the landholders — by tlie plough gradually coming-
into use, and by the cpiantity of land in cultivation having been
doubled during the above period, it was, therefore, deemed ex-
pedient officially to notify the progress of improvement — to com-
mend the industrious, and to animadvert on the conduct of those
who seemed obstinately determined to adhere to their old practice,
and to withhold their aid from the grand object of general im-
provement. This measure of the Government, it was hoped,
might operate as a further stimulus to exertion ; and with this
view the following Proclamation was issued :

" Island of St, Helena, Wth January, 1813.

" The Governor and Council liave derived much gratification in
observing the laudable spirit of industry which has for some time
past, been manifested amongst several respectable landholders ;
and in contemplating the progress in agricultural improvement;
by which a fair prospect is now held out of St. Helena becoming,
in a short time, far more abundant in its internal resources, and

Y

162 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

in the means of refreshing fleets, than it has ever yet been since
its first establishment.

" Comparing tlie annual Reports of the farms for 1810 and
1812, there appear to have been added since November, 1810,
ninety-one acres to the cultivated lands : of which 49j acres have
been thus improved by the exertions of individuals.* The bene-
ficial effects resulting from this increase of cultivation, have been
felt by the garrison and the community at large ; by His Majesty's
and the Honourable Company's ships having been enabled to
provide potatoes at moderate prices, in quantities sufficient for
their crews during a long passage ; and by a part of those sums
formerly expended in the purchase of imported food, having
become a saving to the island — proportionate (at the least) to the
diminished expenditure of flour and rice.

" Amongst those whose exertions have been conspicuous in
producing this beneficial change, and whose merits are deserving
particular notice on the present occasion, are Messrs. Brooke and
Defountain, Miss Mason, Captain Sampson, Mr. Samuel Knipe,
Mr. John Kay, Mr. Bagley, Mr. Hayward, Major Wright, Mr.
Legg, Mr. George Leech, Mrs. Alexander, and Mr, Alesworth.

" It is to such examples (which evince a strong conviction in
those persons of the importance and advantage of agriculture)
that the Governor and Council look forward with confidence to
its more general introduction ; which is undoubtedly the best
possible means of promoting the prosperity of the island, the real

* Although these beginnings may appear trifling to English farmers, there being only
" 91 acres added to the cultivated lands since 1810;" yet when it is considered that
prior to that period 88 acres were the total in cultivation ; and that this statement is taken
from the official return, dated in May last, which comprises but a small portion of the
year 1812 (since which time many more acres have been added,) the whole improvement,
under all the circumstances of this place, is as much as could have been expected.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 163

interests of the Honourable East India Company, and those of
individuals.

" The greatly enhanced prices of beef, pork, and flour from
England, and of rice and paddy from India, during the last five
years, together with the present state of affairs with America, are
circumstances which should operate as a further stimulus to exer-
tions ; for by still extending the culture of potatoes and corn, and
raising crops suited to the feeding of live-stock, the demands
for the above-mentioned articles of import might be greatly
diminished ; and little inconvenience would be felt in this remote
part of the globe, from those causes which unavoidably have led
to the high price of provisions in England.

" These observations will have due weightwith those landholders
who have already manifested a laudable disposition to promote
the improvement of the island : but the Governor and Council
can entertain but little hopes of their making any impression on
the minds of others, who occupy extensive farms, have large
establishments of servants, and who still persist in their former
habits of inactivity, or absolute idleness ; thus betraying equally
a total disregard to their own interests as to the Company's orders.
It is therefore once more recommended to the landholders of this
description, that they examine the ' Laws and Ordinances,' in
their possession, and inform themselves of the Orders of the Court
of Directors, particularly those stated at length in the General
Letter, dated 30th March, 1810, (page 86 to 90.)

" It is also proper to apprise the persons alluded to, that annual
Reports of the farms, and lists of families and servants are regu-
larly transmitted for the information of the Court of Directors,
by which will be seen the relative industry of individuals; and
consequently the deserving and the undeserving tenants are thus
brought to light. Wherefore, if the Court shall discover that

164 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

neither their repeated orders, nor arguments, nor successful ex-
amples, will rouse this class of landholders to exertion, it is indeed
highly probable they will order them a fate similar to some of
those ' drones' who are noticed in the 13th page of the ' Laws
and Ordinances ;'* not by a removal from the island, but from
the lease lands, in order that these may be placed in the hands of
persons who are willing to contribute to the general welfare of
the community.

" By Order of the Governor and Council,

T. H. BROOKE,

Secretary.

* Extract of a Letter from the Court of Directors to the Governor and Coimcil ,

dated 8th March, 1675.

" We are pleased to hear from you that tlie island is in such a flourishing condition,
and that all things thrive well with you. But yet we find there is wanting industry and
pains taking in many of the inhabitants, which we will not permit to continue to be
amongst you ; for they that will not plant and take care for provisions of their own, we
will not supply them ; rather send them home under the title of drones." On the 1 1th
of January, 1709, the Court again ordered " the drones to be sent away" — and in this
letter it is added, " We are pleased with the account Governor Roberts gives us, that he
effectually checked that lazy disposition of too many of the planters, to let all run to ruin ;
and by removing some of the drones, and speaking well of the industrious, has mended
the temper of the rest, that they are as busy as bees," &c. &c.

rRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. ]65

SECTION XXV.

Feeding Sheep with Potatoes, and Soiling Cattle recommended.

1 HAVE selected two extracts for insertion in the present montli's
Register, upon subjects, which I think are deserving the atten-
tion of every landholder.

The first, " On Feeding Sheep with Potatoes, '' * shews that
potatoes were particularly serviceable to ewes and lambs " at a
trying season ;" that bullocks and sheep, although they had
plenty of good hay within reach, preferred the potatoes : which
were given to the cattle raw, unwashed, and whole. These are
valuable facts; since they prove decisively that the extension of
the potatoe culture is an excellent means of guarding against
losses in cattle and sheep " in trying seasons;" (as seasons of
drought undoubtedly are) against which it has not been the prac-
tice here, as in England, to make any provision.

The paper on feeding sheep further teaches, that five bushels
of potatoes, given every morning to 100 sheep, and afterwards
turning them out to pasture (instead of fresh straw twice a day)
might be sufficient to keep them in good condition ; but as
English sheep fire much larger than those of this island, even
half the above quantity might be a vast benefit : and in this case
two bushels and a half would suflice for a hundred sheep ; being
a daily allowance of about a pound and a half to each. At this
rate, supposing an acre to yield, from the two crops annually,
400 bushels : these are equivalent to 16,000 daily rations ; or
sufficient for more than 40 sheep throughout the year.

* Young's Annals pf Agriculture.

166 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

Surely this application of one acre of potatoes on a farm would
be profitable in many points of view ; the sheep would no doubt
be improved by an increase in flesh ; the milk of the ewes would
be more abundant ; the Iambs would of course thrive better; and
the practice of home-feeding would soon tame the whole of the
flocks ; and particularly " the common sheep," which are, at
present, a great nuisance throughout the island ; besides, by
littering the feeding yard with coarse grass, or straw, &c. a con-
siderable quantity of valuable manure would be obtained, that
would amply repay the trouble and expense ; and would be of
great value in restoring exhausted lands. When all these circum-
stances are considered, it must be admitted that the practice of
feeding with potatoes would be extremely beneficial. If it were
once introduced, it would soon convince the landholders, that
however extensive the culture, there could never be any want of
consumers, even should there be a disappointment in the sale.
One of our potatoe farmers, some time ago, assured me he had lost
five hundred bushels, which had rotted, as there was no demand
for them. I did not pity him ; because if he had been in the
habit of feeding his servants and cattle at that time, in the manner
here proposed, or of lowering and suiting his prices to the market,
such a loss could never have happened.

The paper in question further proves that potatoe grounds are
an excellent preparation, as I have formerly noticed, for crops
both of barley and wheat.

The second Paper " On Soiling- Cattle," * is at present not so
applicable to the state of this island as the first : but it contains

* Soiling is a phrase in husbandry expressive of the practice of mowing certain ci;ops
in a green state and giving them to horses, cattle, &c. in stables, stalls, and yards. There
are some judicious remarks, in page 311 of Mr. Arthur Young's Farmer's Calendajj
relating to this mode of feeding, to which the reader is referred.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 167

much useful information, and may possibly induce our cultivators
to turn their attention, when husbandry is a little more advanced,
to clover, rye-grass, and lucerne, which in England are esteemed
valuable crops for this system of feeding. In the mean time, I
again recommend the practice of green fodder crops from barley-
wheat, oats, or common barley ; for all these have already been
found the most certain, and most rapid in growth in this climate.
Their produce is immense, being from 12 to 14 tons per acre in
two months from putting the seed into the ground. It is indeed
my opinion that these crops are preferable here to clover or rye-
grass. The lucerne, however, thrives well, and certainly deserves
attention ; because, when once established, it will last for many
years without any other expense than harrowing and weeding ;
which are necessary for the purpose of keeping it clear of weeds,
and op^^ning the soil for the admission of air and moisture.

Mr. Curwen's Paper* also contains some useful hints on the
subject of soiling, that are equally applicable to the crops I re-
commend as to those he made use of.

February 24th, 1813.

* Communications to the Board of Agriculture, Vol. VI. Part I.

168 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION XXVI.

Doctor Berry s official Letter to Governor Beatson — suggests the Culture of
Ketv Nopal and Cactus Tuna, the Arabian Date, and Guinea Grass —
Doctor Berry's fermenting Balls an excellent Substitute for Yeast — Captain
Haig's Report on Nopal — a nutritious and valuable Antiscorbutic.

To the Honourable Colonel Beatson, Governor, S^-c. Sfc. Sfc. St. Helena.

Honourable Sir,

Having, whilst traversing the most interesting parts of this
extraordinarv volcanic island, seen, with much satisfaction, the
very beneficial consequences that have resulted from your zealous
and unremitted endeavours to encrease the means of subsistence
to the inhabitants, and to render the island thereby a less ex-
pensive tenure to England, I trust you will excuse the liberty I
now take of enclosing a letter from Captain Haig, commanding
the ship Regent, detailing the advantage he has received for
his ship's crew ; and of expressing my confident hope of this
public address being the means of also adding the culture of the
Nopal to the list of your objects of public improvements.

The leaves that Captain Haig has been able to obtain for his
crew, are from a prickly Cactus, supposed in India, to be a native
of the Mauritius, and there used only as a fence before the Tuna
was generally known and distributed. If these leaves have been
found as a vegetable so much superior to the watery poor vegeta-
bles procurable for sailors, and these even in inadequate quantity,
and at a price too high to be furnished for any length of time,
how much superior would the leaves of the Kew Nopal, and of

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 109

the Cactus Tuna be found ; as the many publications of the late
revered Doctor James Anderson, of Madras, have so amply
shown.

These publications extensively distributed, and the numerous
supplies of Nopal and Tuna that were issued at Madras, always
with a view of part being landed at this island, as plants that
would be of the greatest value to the crews of the large fleets
that resort here, and are detained for often a long period of
time, from their capability of thriving on the barren inhospita-
ble looking exterior of this island, render it unnecessary for me
to say much on this part of the subject, it having engaged so
much the attention of the philanthropic Doctor Anderson ; and
which must be well known here from his many publications
received.

Having stated thus much. Honourable Sir, it is impossible for
me to avoid mentioning my disappointment at not being able
to find one plant of the Cactus Tuna, and but a very few of the
Kew Nopal : so few as to be more an object of curiosity than
utility.

The Kew Nopal being, however, the Cactus of most value,
both as a plant for rearing the fine cochineal, and therefore called
Cactus CocMnilifcr , as well as its superiority as a vegetable for
sea-stock, I hope the endeavour I made while at Madras to sup-
port Dr. Anderson's most anxious wish of establishing the culture
of the Nopal and Tuna as a vegetable, principally for sea-stock,
and as a vegetable for the poor, will be some apology for the
the liberty I now take in pressing this subject on the attention of
the government of St. Helena, and of recommending that a por-
tion of the Botanical Garden, as it is called, in James's Town,
may be appropriated for this most useful purpose. I mention
this garden as being public property, and from its being enclosed,

Z

170 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, «S:c.

and thereby protected from any depredation by goats, and where
nearly an adequate culture of Nopal plants may be made, at little
or no expense to government, without much encroaching on the
ground that may be thought necessary for the culture of vegetables
for the family inhabiting the house there ; and if even a small
sum was charged on the supplies of Nopal leaves furnished, to
reimburse any expense incurred, and for transport, if necessary,
to the shipping ; I should consider it proper, as attaching some
value to the supply, which being furnished g-ratis, might tend to
diminish ; — such being the general tendency of mankind to prize
according to the difficulty of obtainment, 1 feel the less hesitation
in recommending this principal culture in that garden, as its
object as a Botanical Garden has been frustrated, and from its
limited scale, and the little that is growing in it of a foreign and
valuable nature : from the many seeds from many quarters, and
particularly from India, that have been forwarded, it would seeui
badly calculated for the continuance of such an object. But for
the culture of the Kew Nopal, it will answer well, the only
thriving plants of this Cactus being there ; the very few at Plan-
tation-house and Long Wood being of so stunted a growth,
though long in the ground, as to show that either the ground
or the elevation is not favourable to the luxuriant growth of this
esculent plant. There is also another species of Cactus growing
in the Botanical Garden of a large size, what Dr. Anderson
called the China Nopal : I wish attention to be paid to this dis-
tinction in making plantations, as the Kew Nopal is alone the
object of culture as a viegetable ; the leaves of the Kew Nopal are
more retuse, narrower, and less thick, >vith fewer and shorter
thorns, and the full grown leaves, not too old, are of a dark green,
while the other, or China Nopal leaves are of a lighter green, and
with a less lucid surface : these distinctions will prevent any

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 171

mistake. There being no Tuna plants on the island ; and the
plant for the fortifications and for the enclosures against the
depredations of goats, being what is denominated the Mauritius
Cactus, I will request some baskets of the Tuna leaves, and of
Tuna seed to be sent here by the first opportunity, in the ex-
pectation that it may meet with attention, so as in a few years to
form fences and enclosures in James's Valley — thereby affording
an equally formidable fence, while its leaves will be a more
agreeable vegetable for its more acid nature.

Having now stated. Honourable Sir, all that can be necessary
for me to say on the subject of this address, which I trust will
meet with your approbation ; I will take the liberty of trespassing
a little longer on your time, by mentioning what appears to me
of import, next in consequence to the increase of agriculture,
which has so successfully engaged your attention ; the benefits
resulting from it, I have heard acknowledged in the most honour-
able and gratifying manner, by such of the old soldiery as I have
met in my excursions, who have uniformly stated, that in the
reductions of the prices of articles of food, and particularly in the
abundant supply and reduced prices of potatoes, they have sub-
sisted better since your government commenced, than they ever
did before.

The government, by taking agriculture on an extensive scale
into their own hands have done this general good : but from the
wide field that is yet open^ the whole of the interior of the island
for six or eight miles in every direction, being capable of cul-
tivation, a long perseverance must still be given to make this
island what it should be, favoured as it is by situation in the
tropic. I almost despair of its being effected, unless there are
some small divisions of land, and some villages established in
situations where there is water, there being in the interior only

172 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

proprietors of land and slaves, from which there is little stimulus
to industry.

It must be evident that the apathy and difficulty of increasing
agriculture — of there being no adequate supply of milk, and
much less of butter, where there are so many cattle and sheep —
and the scanty supply of eggs, where there should be an abundant
stock of poultry, can alone be under such circumstances, from
there being no lower class of inhabitants dependant on their own
industry, and no establishment or settlement for the slaves when
grown up.

There are no villages for them, or small spots of ground to
cultivate, as is the case in the West Indies.

The Chinese also who are here, are not so much employed in
agriculture as in labour. I think an experiment may be made
with prospect of future benefit, by establishing men in small com-
munities in a few places on the island, and to insure their industry,
by the ready sale of what they may rear, in a public market,
giving them premiums at first, and land on perpetual lease, and
such annual quit rent after a certain lapse of years, as may be
agreed upon ; in this manner the government land may be sold
with public and private benefit.

But to ensure the moisture and rain, on which extensive agri-
culture must depend, it will be necessary to clothe the summit of
the mountainous ridges in the interior with trees, all the elevated
ridges being naked, there being no trees higher than the ridges,
by which, clouds are not attracted, nor vapours condensed : the
rocky summits of mountains of the exterior, tending still further
by their naked surface to keep vapour clouds elevated, by which
they are blown past, to fall in rain at sea. The few gum-wood
trees which are said to be indigenous, seem to have so little hold
of the ground on the sides of the ridges of Diana and High Peak,

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 173

as to be of little value either as a wood of utility, or for firewood.
It should therefore be cleared away at Long Wood, where it inter-
feres with agriculture, leaving only intermediate rows for shelter,
for it occupies at present, ground capable of agriculture without
being of the smallest use, and is not sufficiently elevated to answer
the purpose I am recommending : the peaks that should be
covered with Avood, being elevated far above the level of Long-
Wood.

As it would be an undertaking of labour and expense, more
perhaps than would be given to cover the sides of the ridges towards
the summits with wood, I have suggested to some gentlemen,
and particularly to Major Hodson, as Arabian dates are sent here
for sale (the seeds of which will grow), that if he would put some
of these seeds in his pocket on going to these peaks, and make
his servants stick them into the rich soil on these elevated ridges,
he might clothe them with trees in this easy, slow, but general
manner, that would not be eaten by the goats, would take strong-
root, and from its luxuriant growth in Mysore, which in climate
and elevation approaches that of these peaks, there can be little
doubt of their thriving, and when any more useful trees can be
reared these trees may be cut down or thinned. I have also sug-
gested that the seed of the Guinea grass scattered on these
summits would grow and distribute itself, and be the means of
afl^brding the best of fodder to the tine English cattle reared on
the island.

The fir tree which you have reared with the same view, and
mean to distribute at low rates, will be planted where they can
be enclosed, and taken care of, but even some of these may be
planted on these peaks, and if surrounded with a circular wall for
a few feet, may be then left without further care, a ftw prickly
pear leaves covering the top of the enclosure. In India, where

174 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

there is more heat, you must have seen considerable plantations
made this way, and as on these peaks there cannot be any other
attention required or for watering, a good deal may be done, by
employing some of ihe Chinese in this way. Lower down there
are springs, in which many of the forest trees of the Malabar
mountains will grow. In furtherance of this object, I will transmit
a copy of this letter for introduction in the public prints in India,
with the view of soliciting seeds being sent here, and will make
particular requests myself to be more certain. I shall request
them being directed to the Town Major of St. Helena, to be re-
ported by him, and disposed of as government, or individuals may
wish.

It gives me pleasure to learn from you that the fermenting balls
which I described in the Madras Gazette of the 22d February,
1812, had been so useful as to afford excellent fermented bread
to the fleet that sailed at that period for Ehgland. I have not
been able to do any thing in the way you wish, of endeavouring
to make a similar ferment to improve the bread at St. Helena —
not having received the plants I requested, nor a bottle of the
juice of the gum-wood tree : but from what 1 tasted of this juice,
I think it will afford all that can be required in this way, it being
a saccharine juice, which when allowed to approach the acetous
fermentation, will so nearly approach the Cocoa nut or Palmira
Toddy, as to be equally useful as a ferment.

On speaking to the baker in James's Town respecting the
weakness of his ferment, and of his bread not being sufficiently
raised, he attributed the failure to the impurity and badness of
the wheat flour: this may certainly be obviated by having grain
sent instead of flour, to be ground at St. Helena, by which there
would be little danger of its being spoiled or impure. I men-
tion this to show that I have not been inattentive to your wish,

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 175

but as you have taken the subject into consideration, I shall ad<l
no more to this already too much extended Letter.

I have the honour to be, with respect, Honourable Sir,
your very obedient Servant,

S^. Helena, Utk Marck, 1S13. ANDREW BERRY.

To Dr. Berry.
Dear Sir,

As you are well acquainted with the virtue of the Nopal, I send
you some that has been gathered by my Lascars on this island ;
on the arrival of the Regent, I incurred an expense of 18 to 20
shillings per day for a supply of greens for my ship's company,
which (consisting entirely of Lascars) was far from being agree-
able to them, and having accidentally discovered the Nopal near
Major Hodson's house, my men have since constantly preferred
using it. I have no doubt that from this preference a more
beneficial eflect must result to them than from the light waterish
kind of greens usually suppb'ed to the shipping ; as it is a plant
that requires little care in rearing, and scarcely any soil, I think
under the auspices of the present Governor, it might be raised in
great abundance on the rocks of this island ; there are many
ships that seldom give potatoes to their Lascars or Chinese ; and
those nations of India who have once experienced the benefit of
its antiscorbutic cpialities, will be able to continue it without
expense, and when properly strung over a ship's stern, it will
afford a good nutriment long after potatoes are decayed.

I am. Dear Sir, your's obediently,

JAMES HAIG.

Ship Regent, March 5th, 1813.

176 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION XXVII.

Reply to Doctor Berry's Letter — English Husbandry acknotcledged by
St. Helena Farmers superior to their Own — Soil and Climate peculiarly
favourable to Cultivation — Accounts Received of the spreading Property
and Re-production of Potatoes upon Islands in the South Seas — Experi-
ments to ascertain these Points — Lead to a Singular and Advantageous
Mode of Potatoe Culture in tropical Climates. — Potatoes a good Prepa-
ration for Corn Crops. Fishery at St. Helena formerly Productive —
Evils of the present System — Improvements suggested. Establishment of
Chinese at St. Helena — Differs from that generally adopted — Their Pay)
Rations, and Occupations. Trees attract Moisture and Rain — Ctdtivated
Land has a similar Tendency. Experiment in reaping Barley — Wheat
— Yields per Acre ]0^ Tons of green Fodder, in tico Months from the
Time of Sowing — Loss of Weight uhen hayed, 100 Pounds in 146. —
Hints suggested fur ascertaining the relative MoiMure imbibed by culti-
vated and uncultivated Land. — Nurseries of Trees established at
St. Helena. — Pineasters preferable to Arabian Date for Cloathing the
Summit of the Hills. — Favourable Report of Doctor Berry' s Fermoifing
Balls.

To Andrew Berry, Esq. M. D.
SIR,

Your oflioial letter, dated the 12tli of March, contains some
judicious remarks and valuable hints which are well deserving
attention. These, and the testimony you have borne, in confir-
mation of opinions I have long held and promulgated, in respect
to the capabilities of this island, are highly gratifying to me ; for
being thus spontaneously offered by one whose long experience
in pursuing objects of improvement, similar to those in which I

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 177

Lave been engaged for nearly five years past, will, no donbt,
have some weight with the remaining kw ; whose minds have
yet a bias to the absurd and erroneous idea " that St. Helena is
" a barren rock, and can never be made productive."

How can such assertions stand against your declaration of the
quantity of land capable of cultivation ; against my own opinion
(communicated officially) " that between two and three thousand
acres are fit for arable land ;" and against all that has already
been done in the extension of the Company's farms ; as well as
by the recent laudable exertions of several individuals ?

The present crops on Plantation-house farm were lately in-
spected by one of our principal cultivators. He had long been
adverse to a change of system, but he now acknowledges their
superiority, and the advantage of using the plough, and ex-
presses astonishment at seeing such exuberance on lands which
he had predicted would never repay the expense of bringing into
cultivation.

This favourable change of sentiment has, indeed, for some time
past, been pretty general : at length it is strengthened and con-
firmed by incontestible proofs. There can, therefore, be no doubt
that the English practice of husbandry will gradually establish
itself in all parts of the Island : since it tends to reduce the ex-
pense of labour, and to ameliorate the lands. These circum-
stances will prove highly beneficial to the landholders : particu-
larly if they will seriously turn their minds to those sources of
wealth which have been pointed out to them in a paper entitled
" On the importance of introducing agriculture on the island of
" St. Helena," published in the St. Helena Register for August,
1812.*

Every day produces some further proofs that this soil and cli-

* Vide, Section XIX.

Aa

178 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

mate are as favourable as any in the world for cultivation. I
need not recapitulate various successful experiments, which 1
have already published in the St. Helena Registers, on potatoes,
barley, oats, and wheat ; and on Indian corn, beans, &c. Sec. ;
nor have I leisure to arrange many others that have been com-
pleted, or are now in process : yet I cannot deny myself the
gratification of relating some circumstances regarding a very
cheap method of cultivating potatoes, which originated in infor-
mation I received from some captains of whaling vessels (who
had landed on islands in the southern ocean), and in the present
crops at the Plantation-house farm.

Those captains assured me, that they procure potatoes, in
abundance, at some of those islands where a few were planted by
that distinguished navigator Captain Cook. It may be supposed
that in planting them they had not all the advantages of a well
prepared and pulverised field : nevertheless they grew, and con-
tinue to grow, and now spread over a considerable space of land.
This fact of the re-production of potatoes, during a period of forty
years, and their spreading property appeared to deserve notice. I
accordingly established the following experiment, with a view of
ascertaining the second point ; but which, however, was not so
clearly and satisfactorily determined as the first ; and this has
given a result far exceeding what I expected.

The deductions that may be formed from a successive re-pro-
duction during so many years, are of such a nature as will leave
no doubt of the possibility of simplifying the potatoe culture at
St. Helena (and in all similar climates where vegetation is not
checked by frost) ; and of lessening the charge of labour to a
mere trifle in comparison with what is required in the colder
climates.

The experiment alluded to was this : on the 18th of June, 1812,

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 1T9

I marked off two square rods in length, and one in breadth, of
potatoes that had been planted in rows on the 20th of January,
1812 : the haulm was completely fallen. Each row, in this oblong-
space, measured 33 feet in length ; and there were twelve rows
in the breadth. With a view of ascertaining the spreading pro-
perty of potatoes, I took up six intermediate rows ; leaving the
same number for re-production. The six rows taken up yielded
78 pounds of small potatoes, or at the rate of 13 pounds from
each 33 feet of row, or 223 bushels per acre.*

Five months afterwards, that is on the 20th of November, and
some weeks after the haulm had again completely fallen, the six
rows which were left in the soil, were also taken up. These
yielded, of very fine large potatoes, 292 pounds. Thus, the in-
crease, by leaving the crop in the ground, was in the proportion
of 78 to 292, or from 223 bushels to 834 per acre. This calcula-
tion is on a supposition that if the six first rows had remained,
their produce would have also increased to 292 pounds.

Besides this large produce in potatoes, the preceding crop was
plainly discovered b}' the seed being entire, and of a darkish hue,
and in some degree shriveled. These seed potatoes were sepa-
rated, and weighed 75 pounds ; and, although not marketable,
have been eaten by hogs. Wherefore, by retaining a crop in the
ground, when not likely to be productive, or for which there is
not a ready sale, it is proved that very little of it is lost, and a
very great produce maybe expected from the succeeding crop.

From this statement it will be seen that the difference between
the produce of the six rows on the 18th of June, and the seed
potatoes gathered from the remaining six rows on the 20th of
November, was no more than three pounds : the former being
78 pounds, and the latter 75.

* A St. Helena bushel is 56 pounds avoirdupois.

180 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

The experiment I have now detailed, led to another : which
is, indeed, the old-established practice ontliis island; and which,
on mj'^ arrival here, I was disposed to condemn, as being so very
opposite to English husbandry.

This practice is to leave in the ground, at the time of taking
lip potatoes, a suthciency of seed for the following crop, and this
is called " a self-sown crop."

Comparing a crop of several acres of the Church fields, treated
in this manner, there is at present every appearance of its being
even superior to a part of the same field that was regularly
planted in rows, and with seed from the same crop as that left in
the ground. This " self-sown crop" is, indeed, much more for-
ward : which may be easily explained. It is evident that the
seed, by remaining in the soil, had suffered no check in vegeta-
tion : whereas the other seed, by being taken up and exposed to
the air in a building, for several weeks previously to being
planted, must have been drier, and therefore less susceptible of
the powers of vegetation, at the time they come into action in the
regular course of nature.

Hence it is obvious that a succession of crops of potatoes may
be obtained here, after a field has once been brought into culti-
vation, without any other expense than taking them up, and then
harrowing the field. All that is necessary is to leave the requi-
site quantity of small seed potatoes in the ground at the time of
taking up ; and I would recommend that the gathering of the
crops should be postponed as long as possible, so that the pota-
toes, to be left in the soil, may receive some check in vegetation,
by which the new crops may more nearly meet the most favourable
seasons for vegetation ; that is, in the rainy months.

By this simple mode of cultivation, there would be no less than
six expensive operations saved to the farmer ; the first is, the

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 18]

taking up the seed ; the second, carrying it to the store-room ;
the third, returning it to the field ; the fourth, opening the fur-
rows ; the fifth, putting in the seed ; and the sixth, covering
the seed.

Wlien all these circumstances are duly considered, it must be
admitted that the saving of labour in the culture of ptoatoes on
the island of St. Helena, would be immense ; and consequently
that this essential article of food, for man and cattle, ought to he
in the greatest abundance, and at very moderate prices ; particu-
larly as St. Helena tenants are neither subjected to high rents,
nor to poor-rates, nor to taxes of various descriptions, which bear
hard upon English farmers.

These observations on potatoes will shew how little labour is
required to bring the new lands into cultivation for corn ; for
after enclosing, and paring, and burning the sward, spreading
the ashes, and twice ploughing and harrowing, the furrows are
opened with the plough, the seed dropped in them, and then
covered. These last operations are, in fact, a third ploughing;
which will bring the land into the finest state of pulverization ;
and no further trouble, as I have already noticed, will be recjuired
for the two or three following crops, than to take them up with
the plough about three weeks after the haulm has fallen ; leaving
a sufficiency of small potatoes for seed. After the third or fourth
crop is gathered, the land may be sown with barley-wheat, with-
out danger from grub or other insects. This process has been
successfully pursued at the Plantation-house farm : but if corn
l)e attempted as a first crop, there is great risk of losing it by the
ravages of the grub : this is the case in other countries as well as
at St. Helena.

You must have observed, from the printed papers I occasionally
transmitted to you whilst at Madras, that the main objects of my

182 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

agricultural pursuits have been the extensive cultivation of corn,
potatoes, and all sorts of esculents. The minute details I have
given of many successful experiments on a variety of island pro-
ducts, cannot fail in carrying conviction to the mind of every
reasonable man, that my views for the improvement of the island,
are by no means speculative : being founded on the solid basis
of facts incontrovertibly established : and which is, unquestiona-
bly, the surest mode of guarding against error.

There are, however, many other points that merit attention.
Every thing that tends to increase our internal resources for the
support of the inhabitants, or for administering to their comforts,
or for the refreshment of ships, is undoubtedly deserving a place
in the system that is now carrying on ; and which, if pursued
with ardour, will ultimately prove of infinite advantage to the
landholders, and will tend to relieve this island (in a great degree
at least) from its present dependence on other countries.

The virtues of the different species of Nopal, as an antidote
for scorbutic disorders, have been so well established by the pub-
lications of your worthy relative, the philanthropic and much
respected Doctor Anderson, and the advantages Captain Haig
derived from the prickly Cactus, which abounds on Ladder Hill,
and many other dry places here, afford the strongest arguments
in favour of your suggestions on this subject. Due attention shall,
therefore, be paid to the appropriation of a part of the Botanic
Garden as a nursery for the Kew Nopal ; from whence, after being
naturalised to the climate, it might readily be transplanted to the
sides of the hills on either side of James' Town : which would
serve for utility as well as ornament, and would also be conve-
niently situated for the supply of shipping.

The prickly, or Mauritius, Cactus, is apparently a hardy spe-
cies. It grows well even upon the rocky surface, and the sides

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 183

of Ladder Hill ; and thrives in a colder temperature, both to the
northward and southward of Plantation-house, as well as at
Long Wood. The hedges that have been already formed at those
places, will soon become nurseries for its further propagation ;
and as it possesses a triple advantage, by making the most im-
pervious fences, by being useful as a vegetable, and by guarding
itself against goats and other animals, I think that every means
should be used to extend its culture.

The plants already growing on Ladder Hill, cover several acres.
I shall recommend that the leaves of these, at proper seasons,
should be planted all down the north-east point of the mountain :
in order that ample supplies of this Cactus may be at hand for
the shipping.

I acknowledge my obligations to you for your endeavours to
send supplies of the Nopal and Tuna to this island: but of all
you sent, I received no more than sixteen leaves. These arrived
in the rainy season, and were immediately put in the soil, -but
most of them were destroyed by white maggots that had bred in
them, which I think is a strong proof they do not delight in
moisture.

I concur in your idea that the establishment of a iev/ villages
in the interior would be desirable ; but this plan cannot conve-
niently be carried into effect until husbandry is farther advanced ;
for at present most of the necessaries of subsistence, excepting
potatoes and vegetables, are brought from James's Town : but
when pork shall be raised at the farms, together with grain for
feeding poultry and hogs, and wheat also raised, and ground in
the interior into flour, the convenience of country habitations will
be far greater than at present.

It is certainly a most serious evil that we have scarcely any
class of inhabitants who are solely dependant on their own

184 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

industry. Almost all are paid, dolhed, and fed ; and it is to this
evil may be traced the want of adequate supplies of milk and
butter, of poultry and eggs, and I may well add of fish : for if
there were persons here, whose existence solely depended on their
exertions to provide those articles, they would be in the greatest
pleniy, and at reasonable prices. The fishery is, indeed, upon
the most wretched system. The boats are private property. The
fishermen, in general, are either soldiers or slaves ; and as both
are clothed and fed, and the former paid, what stimulus can they
possibly have to exertion ? They set out in the evening, and have
the option of being active, or of going to sleep in the boats ; and
if they return in the morning with a very scanty supply, they
imagine they have done all that could be expected ; or if they
have caught more than they bring to the landing place, the
surplus is either sold on shore for money, or to the shipping at
the anchorage for spirits. Thus the present St. Helena fishery is
unproductive ; tends to promote idleness, dishonesty, and intem-
perance : and it costs the annual labour of 1-30 able men : who,
after a night's fishing, or sleeping and drinking, in the boats, are
little disposed to labour during the day.

I am of opinion that thirty or forty expert fishermen, having-
an interest in their labour (upon an establishment similar to a
South Sea whaler), farming the fishery at a very moderate rate,
merely to give an exclusive privilege (as at Batavia, and I believe
Columbo), would bring more fish to the inhabitants, and to the
market, than the total number of men above-mentioned. This
may be fairly presumed, from the comparatively great success of
the gentlemen fishing parties when they return from a night's
amusement.

From what has been said, you may perceive that a plan might
easily be formed for availing ourselves of those innumerable

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 185

bounties of nature, which are so abundantly spread around this
small island. It is said, that not less than seventy-six different
kinds of tish are in these seas,* some of which are large, and of
excellent quality : and if double or triple the quantity that is now
supplied to individuals, could, by any means, be procured, it
would evideutly diminish the demand for imported beef and
pork, t

* Tlie fish most commonly taken and used, are mackarel, albacore, cavalloes, jacks,
congers, soldiers, yellow tail, old wives, and bull's eyes ; and of shell-fish, stumps and
long legs.

f During the active and meritorious administration of Governor Byfield, between the
years 1727 and 1731, the quantity of fish caught was more than the blacks could consume.
The consequences are stated to have been very advantageous to the Company's interests,
by reducing (or rather withdrawing) the demand for salt beef and pork: and it seems the
health of those who had formerly subsisted on salted meat, was much improved by a
change of diet to fish and potatoes.

If we suppose a population of 3600 to consume 2400 pounds of fish per day, and the
established average price to be two-pence per pound, instead of the present rates, the
value would be 20/. per day, or more than 7000/. a year. This, exclusive of salting fish,
would be a good speculation for a few professed fishermen from England ; having proper
fishing-boats like those used at Brighton. In these they might anchor at the distant fish-
ing banks, and daily send on shore the fish iu the smaller boats

Extracts from the General Letters to England regarding the Fishery, \'J27 to 1731.

1727. Mai/ 6th. Paragraph 36. " We have taken care tiiat your blacks have always
had their belly full of provision. We still get fish in great plenty, and have done so the
year round, and in the coldest weather ; and don't at all doubt of getting the like plenty
this year ; for we don't loiter our time and dream out our days, but attend to our duty
and mind your interest. If the fish, in cold weather, go a great way out into deep water,
where our yawls can't la)', we get coarse salt on the mountains, fit out our long-boat,
and go after them, and catch what we want, and salt them upon the spot ; and it often
happens that they return with a very great quantity of neat fish, after their guts are out
and their heads off. Those who say otherwise deceire you : what we write is truth."

Bb

186 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

In respect to the Chinese, they are a good deal employed in
agnculture ; that is, in fencing the lands, in paring and burning.

Paragraph 27. " No care is wanting to keep your blacks in heart, that they may be
able to labour : and for this last twelvemonth, in which they have been fed with fish,
have been more healthy than in any one year."

1728-9, February 22d. Paragraph 7- " Your Honours' slaves, of whom we had the
misfortune to loose five, together with the long-boat, as they were going for lime (as your
Honours will see in our consultation of the 29th of October)> have enjoyed their health
since they have been fed with fish remarkably better than they ever did, when, at a very
great expense, they were allowed salt provisions : and we have had, and still have, such
good fortune in our fishery, that we weekly catch more than they can well consume, and
doubt not but our faithful endeavours to secure your Honours from any charge upon this
account, will be attended with the like good success for the time to come : so that those
who formerly told your Honours that fish were not to be had the year round, did it on
purpose to deceive you : or knew not what they said — which latter seems most likely.

March 30th. Paragraph 24. " We have still such good luck in our fishery, that we
often catch more than your blacks can eat ; and we will be particularly careful to save
your Honours the heavy cliarge of salt beef and pork."

1729, Decemher lOth. Paragraph 6. " Your slaves continue to thrive upon their diet
of fish and potatoes. We hear very Ihtle now of fluxes, aching bones, or pains in the
belly, though when they were fed with salt provisions, it was common to have 20 or 30 of
them laid up at a time. Their food is now wholesome and not expensive ; the gi-eat
plenty of fish which we still continue to catch, having effectually secured you from the
former heavy charge of salt meat, and we faithfully assure your Honours we have exerted
ourselves in such manner, that there is no likelihood you should again be at that expense ;
it was what gave us great disturbance and uneasiness, and we could not rest till we ha
found means to remedy it."

1730, ^pril I9th. Paragraph 18. " We continue to catch fish in great plenty, with
which your blacks are very well pleased."

May 26th. Paragraph 2. " In our several letters this season we have been so full
and particular in our account of matters of most consequence, that we have little material
to lay before you now ; that of greatest moment is, to acquaint your Honours that having,
with great pains and industry, supplied your blacks for these last three years with great
plenty of fish, the greatest part of that superfluous chargeable cargo of salt provisions,
sent for by Mr. Smith, at a great expense to your Honours, lies upon our hands
unsold."

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 187

in driving carts, in planting and gathering potatoes, and many
other offices ; and some are already become expert ploughmen.
But the establishment here is necessarily different from that in
any other place. At Java, at Prince of Wales' Island, and other
settlements, I am told, they are the leading persons in farming:
and at Ceylon this was unsuccessfully attempted ; for they culti-
vated nothing more than for their own immediate wants, and were,
in consequence of little service to that colony. If provisions were
cheap, the experiment might be worth a trial here : but, in the
present state of St. Helena, it would certainly fail ; because, if
Chinese had lands, they would do as their neighbours ; for it
could not be expected they would sell at lower prices. It was
these considerations that induced me to form them into a reeular
establishment. The Company pay the labourers a shilling a day,
and find them in rations ; and by this mode, their military services
may be at command, and very useful in aiding the corps of
artillery, in dragging of cannon, and carriage of ammunition ; in
short, in employments similar to those of the artillery Lascars in
India. As they are all placed under the direction of European
overseers, it cannot be doubted that much more labour is obtained
from them than if they were left to themselves. This mode of
management, the Rt. Honourable Lieutenant-General Maitland
admitted was far better than that he had introduced on the island
of Ceylon, by giving them lots of land. It is the mode I recom-
mend, as the most advisable at first, in all places where Chinese
may be introduced ; and where the prices of the products of the.

1731, April 2d. Paragraph 1 7 . " We will dispose of the salt beef as well as we can ;
the blacks will little want it, for we still continue to catch fish in great plenty, and that
yearly saves your Honours a great sum.

December 28th. Paragraph 6. " We have still good luck in our liihery the year
round j upon which, and beef and pork, your blacks are plentifully fed."

188 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

lands are high ; and particularly if the object should be, throui^h
their means to reduce those prices.

Your observations on the attraction of moisture and rain,
appear to be judicious. Trees have usually been recommended
for that purpose. 1 am of opinion, however, that cultivation has
also a tendency to produce the same etlect ; and in proportion to
the extension of arable fields, so will be the increase of moisture.
This will readily be conceived by attention to the following facts.

On the 5th of May last, I cut down a square rod of barley
wheat, that had been two months in the ground, from the time
of sowing. The produce in a green state, was 146 pounds, or
about 10^ tons per acre. Jt was carefully collected and dried in
the air, nntil the 26th of May, when it weighed no more than 46
pounds ; consequently, 100 pounds of moisture had been evapo-
rated ; and if only half this weight be supposed to have been, at
the time of cutting, absorbed in the soil and roots, under the
thick shade of an exuberant crop, the total quantity of moisture
would be 150 pounds on a square rod, or above ten tons upon an
acre. These circumstances lead me to believe there is a more
accurate mode of determining the comparative moisture, on
ploughed and unploughed lands, than by the vapour glasses
lately introduced in Engfland.

As the planting of trees, for useful timber and fuel, is an im-
portant object here, I have always intended it should keep pace
with cultivation. During the last four years several thousand
pineasters and oaks have been set out, and there are still a good
many in the nurseries. This year the nurseries are to be estab-
lished on a larger scale. Every cone from the pineaster and
cypress trees at Plantation-house has been collected, as well as
the seeds of the Botany Bay willow. These trees, and the indi-
genous red wood, together with the largest species of Morgossa

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 189

[Melia Azederach*) are, without exception, the finest trees for
this island. Their growth is rapid ; they are all evergreens ;
stand the trade wind in the most exposed situations, are extremely
ornamental, and most of them are equally uselul for timber as for
fuel. Under all these advantages, I should prefer them to the
Arabian date for clothing the summits and sides of the highest
ridges ; and as upon these there is a cooler temperature, and a
greater degree of moisture, it may be expected they would grow
with more luxuriance than those in the vicinity of Plantation-
house. I do not, however, object to the Arabian date, since it
would tend to the objects in view, and would be a valuable ac-
quisition to the fruit trees of St. Helena.

The fermenting balls which you described in the Madras
Gazette, of the 22d of February, 1812, were found to surpass even
your most sanguine expectations. Some of the passengers in a
ship where they were daily used, assured me, that, during the
voyage to St. Helena, they had the lightest and finest bread they
ever tasted on board ship : they compared their breakfast rolls to

* I have, at present, some beautiful specimens of the Melia, from seed received from
Dr. Roxburgh, which was sown on the 26th of February, 1812. The young trees were
transplanted on the 3d of October, 1812, and some are now three feet high, spreading out
horizontal branches, and forming a tliick foliage about four feet in diameter. The young
trees when transplanted at seven months growth, had tap-roots, like a small parsnip. These
roots were as long as the stems above ground, and both together, of the largest plants,
measured from 18 to 24 inches. They are, therefore, peculiarly suited to this climate j and
are, by far, the best of all the Indian trees I have received. Neither the Teak nor Sissoo
seed, nor any other of the many timber trees, for which I am indebted to Dr. Roxburgh's
kindness and attention have succeeded at Plantation-house ; notwithstanding they were
sown and treated according to his directions. However, the trees I have enumerated
would be sufficient for every purpose ; and if the planting system he followed up, St.
Helena, in the course of even twenty years, would yield a considerable supply of useful
timber, and abound with fuel.

190 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c,

the French rolls in London. I should hope that a similar ferment
may be produced here, by following your directions, and using
the juice of the gum-wood tree, as you recommend, as a substitute
for the Palmira, or cocoa-nut toddy.

Permit me to conclude, by expressing my best acknowledgments
and thanks for your suggestions, and for the interest you take in
the welfare of this island. I have endeavoured to make some
I'eturn, by conveying to you such information as I conceived
might be acceptable.

I am. Sir,

your most obedient, humble Servant,

ALEXANDER BEATSON.

St, Helena, 17 th April, 1813.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. m

SECTION XXVIII.

Mr. Miller's Directions for rearing Scotch Pine are applicable to the Finer
aster — St. Helena Pineaster Wood described — weightier than common.
Fir — thrives upon poor Soil — average Growth about two Feet in the Year
— sometimes grows more than three Feet. Plantations of Firs at St.
Helena more profitable than in Europe — Computation of their Value in
twenty Years. Negligence and Inattention to the planting Law much to
be regretted — The fittest Trees for St. Helena Plantations enumerated —
Furthet Notices upon the Growth of Trees — and upon the necessity of
extirpating Goats, and tending Sheep.

JVlR. Miller's directions for planting the Scotch pine are in
general applicable to the Pineaster, which is the species of pine
growing at Plantation-house, and at other places on this island.
This is described in Miller's Gardener's Dictionary. " Pine
" tree with two thick smooth leaves in each sheath, and pyramidal
" acute cones; the Wild Pine, or Pineaster."

The wood of St. Helena pineaster of twenty-four years growth,
which has the appearance of pale mahogany, is weightier than
common fir, in the proportion of 6 to 5, and apparently surpasses
in quality all the sorts that are usually imported here. It grows
even upon poor, hard, clay soil, and consequently may be culti-
vated with better success in many places : but particularly about
the middle of the island, where there is better soil, more moisture,
and a cooler temperature.

According to personal observation and particular attention to
pineasters of different ages, I have observed that, in general, their
average growth is about two feet in the year. This is upon dry

192 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c,

land : npon better soil, the growth would no doubt be quicker ;
for, in some cases, I have seen them shoot three feet in twelve
months. A good many of these trees may be seen at the east side
of the lawn at Plantation-house, which are already well grown.
The seed-bed was sown in May, 1809, and the young trees trans-
planted in May, 1810: one of which, in four years, already
measures ten feet eleven inches high. Even this small specimen
of a pineaster plantation is sufficient to shew the advantages that
would, in a few years, be derived from the establishment of large
plantations. Judging from the size of some pineasters, planted
by Colonel Patton, about eight or nine years ago, I am of opinion
that the^r*^ thinning of St. Helena plantations might take place
in nine years from the seed ; at which time, the stems would yield
many pieces of small timber, fit for a variety of purposes ; and
the branches would furnish abundance of excellent fuel ; an
article at present so very scarce on this island.

According to Mr. Miller, the first thinning, in the northern
climates, takes place at sixteen or eighteen years growth ; because,
he says, they are four years old when transplanted : but here they
are set out after being about ten months, or one year, in the seed-
bed. I conceive their quick growth in this climate, may be
ascribed to the powers of vegetation not being at any time sus-
pended : which is not the case in cold and frosty regions.

The advantages therefore of forming plantations of tirs at St.
Helena are much greater than in Europe ; the expenses will be
much sooner reimbursed ; and the best trees, being left for growing
timber, will be of great value ; and at this island would establish
fortunes for the younger branches of even the present generation.

It may not be unprofitable to take a view of the advantage that
would accrue from the proposed plantations. The result will, I
trust, operate as a powerful stimulus to exertion, and will, I hope.

I

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 193

keep up that spirit for planting- which has happily this year shewn
itself, by many applications for trees from the Plantation-house
garden. Seven thousand one hundred and eighty-four tine young
plants have, within these few days, been distributed in various
parts of the island. These will very soon determine the best sites
for the plantations. That number, and about four thousand
transplanted during the years 1811 and 1812, make, collectively,
an addition of above 11,000 pineasters to this island: the value
of these, in twenty years, according to the following computation,
may be estimated at about c£12,500. sterling.

I will suppose a landholder to establish a plantation of only
two acres upon land at present useless : and according to Mr.
Miller's directions, that he places the trees at the distance of four
feet. In this case, each acre will contain 2722 trees, say 2500, or
5000 in the two acres.

After nine years growth the thinning of the plantation
would yield 2500 trees, about 18 feet high ; and worth
as timber and fuel 10«. each, or - - - <£1,250

2500 trees of standing timber, at twenty years growth,

estimated at 40«. each _ _ _ _ 5,000

Total value of two acres at 20 years growth ^6,250

But if we take a more enlarged view of the proposed plantations,
the advantages will appear immense. Supposing then that the
old planting law, requiring one acre in ten to be planted with
trees, so often repeated, )iut never attended to, had been enforced;
and that those trees had been pineasters, and planted twenty years
ago. The quantity of land thus planted would have been 600
acres, having 1250 trees of standing timber upon each acre, or
750,000 trees upon the GOO. These, at twenty years growth, are
certainly undervalued at St. Helena, when reckoned at only 40*.

194 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

each ; consequently their value at the present time would have
been at least £1,500,000. : this is exclusive of immense quantities
of fuel that would also have been furnished by thinning the plan-
tations during that period.

How much then have the present generation cause to lament
the negligence and inattention of their fathers ! If those planta-
tions had been established, fuel would have been, during the last
twenty years, in abundance ; and there would have been enough
to supply the numerous ships that annually touch here ; whilst
the aspect of the island would have been beautified : and in all
probability an improvement in the climate effected, by the attraction
of a greater degree of moisture from such extensive plantations.

Surely these reflections are enough to rouse the attention of the
present landholders ; and as every facility will, in future, be
given to forward so laudable an object, by establishing proper
nurseries in the Company's gardens at Plantation-house, from
which all the fittest sort of trees for this climate will be supplied,
at moderate rates, I therefore entertain a sanguine hope that the
present beginnings will be pursued with ardour.

If, after what has been said, and I hope clearly demonstrated,
there should be any occupier of land, who is not impressed with
a conviction of the infinite importance of plantations of pineaster
and other useful trees, and who does not exert himself in rearing
them, I should consider such a man as totally blind to his own
interests ; regardless of himself and family ; and of little or no
use to the community of which he is a member.

I cannot quit this subject without again adverting to what has
been stated in my letter to Dr. Berry, in pages 15 and 16 of the
last month's Register.* Experience, during five years past, has
clearly shewn that the pineaster, stone,pine, cypress, Botany Bay

* Section XXVII.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. ^ ]95

willow, the indigenous red wood, and the large species of Mor-
gossa [Melia azederach), are without exception, the very best
trees for this island. They are of quick growth, and all evergreens ;
they stand the trade wind in the most exposed situations ; and
most of them are equally useful for timber as for fuel. To this
list I may venture to add the Bois noir, or black wood. Of this
tree I lately received some seed from Governor Farquhar at the
Isle of France, who is of opinion that the black wood might be a
valuable acquisition to the St. Helena plantations. So far as I
can at present judge, I have reason to believe it will succeed
admirably. The young plants are already finely Come up, and
are much more forward than any other of the seeds that were
sown at the same time. " The JBois noir-, at the Isle of France,
" is beautiful during nine months of the year, grows surprisingly
" quick, and yields a timber that is excellent for ship-building,
" and other valuable purposes."

Of the trees I have here enumerated, there is, I believe, only
one (the JHorgossa) which is fit for underwoods ; and as these
would be extremely serviceable for fuel, because they re-produce
after being cut down, I would recommend extensive plantations
of Morgossa, China peach, island peach, fig, guava, orange, and
lemon trees, all of which bear cutting, and, after being once es-
tablished, would yield a succession of fuel for many years.

Plantains, too, are deserving attention. If the low grounds,
where there is a good supply of water, were filled with groves of
this excellent fruit, they would not only be a great acquisition as
food for man, but their stems would yield, after the fruit is ripe,
abundance of nutritious fodder for cattle ; which would secure
the landholders from such ruinous losses in cattle as have, at times,
occurred in seasons of drought ; and which I am fully convinced,
from all I have read on this subject, and from the successful trials

196 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

I have made of green -fodder crops from corn, are entirely to be
ascribed to improvident management, and to depending solely on
pasture lands.

I shall conclude these observations with the following notices,
reirardina the urowth of trees on the island of St. Helena, which
are recorded in my journal.

Fehruary 9th, 1813. — At Long Wood there are some China
peach trees, on the east side of the offices l)ehind the house (a
Very exposed situation), raised from peach stones put in the soil
by Colonel Broughton about four years ago. These trees blos-
somed last year, but had no fruit. At present they are ten to
twelve feet high, and have a good many peaches on them. This
proves that very valuable orchards of peaches might speedily be
raised at St. Helena^ A few acres, planted in sheltered and
warm situations with peach stones at four feet asunder, would be
much sooner productive of fruit ; and when thinned, at four or
five years growth from the seed, would yield plenty of fuel : and
the best trees being left, would continue for many years to pro-
duce great abundance of fruit, which would be serviceable to the
inhabitants and shipping, and what might be to spare would
afford an admirable food for hogs ; as these animals are extremely
fond of the fruit, and more so of the kernels, they might be suf-
fered to range in the peach orchards as they do amongst oak trees
in England. Thus they might be fed, during January, February,
and March, without any expense to the proprietors.

These observations apply equally to orchards of figs and guavas ;
which come in season immediately after the peaches, and would
give a further supply of food to those animals during the three
following months.

Some young pineasters which Colonel Broughton received from
the seed-bed at Plantation-house, sown in May, 1809, are now.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 197

at three years and a half growth, 9^^ feet high. Some red wood
trees of the same age are from 6 to 8 feet high, with fine straight
stems now in red blossom.

3Iay 20fh, 1813. — At Plantation-house there is amongst the
pineasters sown in May, 180.9, and transplanted in May, 1810, a
remarkable fine tree which this day, in four years, measures ten
feet eleven inches. Some Morgossa trees (the seed of which was
sown on the 26th of February, 1812), transplanted the 3d of
October, measure S^ feet high ; with horizontal branches which
cover a space of 4j feet in diameter. This is a surprising growth
in fifteen months from the seed. I also this day measured a beau-
tiful young cypress which was a seed on the 8th of April, 1811,
and transplanted on the 2d of July, 1812, and has now attained
the height of four feet and five inches. These few notices may
be of use hereafter to refer to; and are, undoubtedly, suflicient
to convince all unbiassed persons here, and elsewhere, of the
facility with which plantations of useful timber, and of fruit trees,
might be raised at St. Helena. It is, indeed, much to be lamented,
that any obstruction whatever should stand in the way of these
extensive and valuable improvements. If the goats are not ex-
terminated, and the sheep tamed and tended, there is but 'too
much reason to apprehend that those animals will be a 'constant
source of vexation and loss, to those who have really a desire to
contribute their efforts to the general good of the island,

3Iat/ 20th, 1813.

198 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

SECTION XXIX.

Means of collecting Water on the driest Parts of the Island, and Observations
on the Advantages resulting from this Practice.

In the year 1809, I made an attempt to introduce the Indian
mode of forming tanks, or reservoirs, by means of a mound or
embankment. It seemed very practicable ; but the soil not
being sufficiently tenacious for retaining water, the first trial did
not succeed ; a second, however, was completely successful, and
affords a positive demonstration of the practicability of retaining
water, collected during the rains, in even the most barren and
driest parts of the island.

This had long been a desideratum at St. Helena ; and as
nothing tends more to general improvement of a country than the
introduction of water in those places, capable of cultivation,
which are destitute of natural supplies of this element, I shall
here give an account of the successful method which has been
carried into effect ; and which already has rendered a considera-
ble portion of land fit for habitation and other useful purposes ;
which, before the formation of the reservoir, had always been
considered as barren and unprofitable. This reservoir was origi-
nally intended for the supply of the soldiers composing the
garrison of Ladder Hill ; who, ever since a military post was
established there, had been stinted in the supply of water, on ac-
count of the laborious task allotted them of bringing it in kegs
from James' Town. To relieve them from this fatigue, and to
furnish an adequate supply, a tank has been formed on the south
side of High Knoll, which, by means of small channels cut on

J

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 199

this hill, as well as on the adjoining hill, called " Merriraans,"
will receive the whole of the rains that fall on a space of several
acres. As those hills are mostly covered with grass, the rain
water which rnns from their declivities, is much cleaner than that
from the more level surface of Ladder Hill ; where, for want of
vegetation, the soil is readily loosened, and carried off" by the
streams ; which are, at all times, extremely muddy.

The tank, or reservoir, has been excavated in stiff clay, at the
distance of 2800 yards from the new fortifications on Ladder Hill.
The prevailing south-east wind, coming down a valley immedi-
ately beyond it, keeps the water in constant agitation, and pre-
vents it becoming stagnant or muddy. As the descent from the
tank to the fortifications is one foot in ten, the stream moves
quickly. A cut stone water course has been laid the whole of the
distance. At those places where the ground is tolerably even, it
is raised about six inches above the surface. The small ravines,
or gullies, are crossed by walls, having openings or gutters for
the free passage of the rain, under the water course, so as to pre-
vent the nmddy water from Ladder Hill, mixing with the purer
stream from the tank. The reservoir contains about 4000 tons ;
and as it may be expected to be filled twice a year, (during the
two rainy seasons) the total annual supply will be about 8000
tons. Allowing 10 tons a day for Ladder Hill, there would re-
main 4 or 5000 tons for any intermediate gardens ; or for cottages
that may hereafter be erected between High Knoll and Ladder
Hill. The whole of Ladder Hill, comprising about 300 acres,
has ever been devoid of water, and of no value whatever ; but as
a few small cisterns at proper distances can be established near the
choicest spots of land, they may possibly invite persons to build
and to cultivate. It seems to me that the culture of the melon,
pumpkin, grape, and all sorts of esculents, might be carried on

200 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

extensively ; not by the costly mode of breaking up a great part
of the land, and clearing it of rocks and stones, but merely by
digging holes two or three feet in diameter, and filling them with
good mould and manure. This method, with occasional water-
ing, and particularly in situations sheltered from the south-east
wind, would promote the growth of many sorts of vegetables ;
and by thus having water, passing through this, at present desert
tract, there might be many places selected, suitable to the pur-
poses of cultivation, and of rearing hogs, poultry, &c.

To form some idea of the immense quantities of pumpkins that
might be raised in the manner I have suggested, and which would
not only be a valuable acquisition to shipping, but a cheap food
for hogs, it will be sufficient to state, that from a dry bank at
Plantation-house, of light soil, measuring 360 feet by 12,* in
which holes were dug, and a few seeds sown in October, 1810,
there was, from the first crop, a return of 3583 pounds of excel-
lent pumpkins : several of which weighed 70 pounds each. I
have been informed that this produce is even inferior to that
which has been obtained in other places of this island.

* This being 4300 square feet, is about the tenth part of an acre; the produce would
therefore be about 35,000 pounds of pumpkins per acre. The seeds were sown on tjie
27th of October, 1810, and the last of the crop was gathered on the 9th of July, 1811.
Mr. Henry Alexander, Colonial Secretary at the Cape of Good Hope, informed me that
the Dutch farmers there sow pumpkin seed amongst their corn, and by this meansobtaina
double crop. This practice is deserving attention on this island.

V

^

.V. ■-

5i

^

V

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 201

SECTION XXX.

Further Observations on the Importance of planting Trees at St. Helena.

1 HE iinportance of introducing, on this island, extensive plan-
tations of trees, for the purposes of timber and fuel, has been so
frequently brought to the notice of the landholders, through the
medium of the St. Helena Register, that it seemed scarcely requi-
site to add any thing more upon this subject ; particularly as a
spirit for planting has been evinced, which may lead to great
improvements, and prove highly beneficial to the present, as well
as future generations.

Lately, however, I met with a paper upon Mr. Curwen's
plantations. It is indeed truly applicable to the circumstances
of this island ; and as it contains the result of experience, and the
opinions of a respectable individual who has very largely engaged
in the improvement of his estates by " making- plantations on
many indifferent mountain pasture lands," I am inclined to think
this communication will attract attention.

The account of 3Ir. Curwen's plantations is peculiarly calculated
to confirm that laudable spirit which has been awakened, to
stimulate exertion, and to impress on the minds of those, who may
entertain doubts as to the advantages of converting some of their
hill lands into plantations, that " no speculation can hold out a
more flattering prospect."

Bnt, the prospect here is far more promising than that inferred
by Mr. Curwen. Let any one examine, and duly consider the
deductions which have been given in the Register for July, 1811,

D d

202 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

p. 17;* let him compare the facts on which those deductions are
founded — let him look at those trees, the growth of which has
been recorded — and he will, I trust, find the reasoning incontro-
vertible : besides, in regard to the trees that have been noticed,
of twenty-six years growth, it is proper here to observe, that there
is not one that has been treated as it ought to have been : they
have all been placed too much asunder, and thereby deprived of
the advantage of sheltering each other, and of being drawn up
into straight timber. Their stems have been denuded of their
branches to the height of 18 or 20 feet ; the soil in which they
grow has been thereby too much exposed to the sun's rays, and
from these causes there cannot be a doubt they have received a
considerable check. Had they been planted and treated accord-
ing to Mr. Miller, there is good reason to believe they would
succeed better : but taking them as they are, they are now valuable,
both for timber and fuel.

Mr. Curwen estimates his trees at sixty years growth, and
their value at three hundred pounds per acre. The estimate I
have taken is at twenty years only ; and the value (at this island
price of timber and fuel) exceeds ten times that sum. What a
vast encouragement is this to a speculation which is generally
admitted in England to be one of the most profitable, in which a
landholder can engage !

When it is considered also that a single individual (Mr. Johnes
of Havod) has formed the resolution of planting one million of
trees annually, ought not this to stimulate the united efforts of
the seventy landholders of St. Helena ? who might assuredly, with
ease accomplish one tenth of this number every year. If such a
resolution were adopted by them, it would, in the course of a few
years render St. Helena abundant in fuel ; and in twenty years,

* Section XXVIII.

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 203

or less, there would be a sufficient quantity of timber for all the
various purposes required in buildings and at the farms.

The object of plantations is indeed so important in every point
of view, the certainty of success on this island, so clearly esta-
blished on the basis of facts, and the advantageous consequences
that would be felt by the Lords Proprietors, as well as individuals,
so very great that it deserves the most serious attention, and in
my opinion, ought to call forth every possible exertion, both
public and private (for some years to come) in order to restore
wood to this long neglected and denuded spot.

PART II.
NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY,

IN DECEMBER, 1811.

207

PART II.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, IN DECEMBER, 1811.

Colonel Beatson's Report to the Honourable the Court of Directors for the
Affairs of the United East India Company.

Honourable Sirs,

A MOST daring mutiny having broken out in the St. Helena
infantry, on the night of the 23(1 ult. for the avowed purpose of
seizing my person, and subverting this government, it becomes
my duty to lay before you a general view of the causes which led
to these licentious, and highly criminal proceedings ; together
with a detail of every circumstance that occurred, as well as the
measures I adopted, from the commencement of the mutiny, until
the surrender of the mutineers ; which happily led to the com-
plete re-establishment of military subordination.

Your Honourable Court is well aware of the state of St. Helena
at the time you did me the honour to appoint me to this govern
ment. On my arrival in July, 1808, I found a population of
3600 living almost wholly upon the public stores ; and obtaining
most of the necessaries of life in profusion, at prices not exceeding
one third of the prime cost. The consequences of so unprecedented
a system (as might naturally be expected) were the neglect of
cultivation, — the decline of industry, — and an immense augmenta-
tion in the annual charges of the island.

208

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

This augmentation between the years 1800 and 1808, had been
gradually progressive from .£51,030. to ^114,961. per annum.*

* The sums 2/51,030. and XI 14,961. are the " net charges." Freight and contingent
losses upon provisions, and stores, received annually from England, India, and China,
being settled at the India-house, are not included in the island accounts.

Rating freight from India at Z<30. per ton (which is less than the average in time of
war) and adding this rate, and the contingent expences, to Zrll4,961. in 1808, I find the
actual charges of that year amounted to Z'157,356. ; and if the same proportion of freight,
&c. be added to 1.51,030. in 1800, the total is X69,000.; consequently the charges of
this small island had risen from L6y,000. in 1800, to Zl57,356. in 1808.

This augmentation of Z,88,356. in the annual charges, originated chiefly, in a new
and very extraordinary system, which had gradually crept in, of feeding the population
from the Company's stores. The cause of those additional expences being ascertained,
it was easy to apply proper remedies ; but in doing so, I certainly could not expect to gain
the good will of the St. Helenians : this will explain the " general dissatisfaction"
alluded to.

It may be proper in this place to observe, that the effect of the measures introduced
since 1808, has been to reduce the expences from Z'157j356. per annum, to Ll04,880.
in 1812 — thus, producing a saving to the Honourable East India Company of £-52,476.
per annum. This observation will be illustrated by the following Statement which was
laid before the Honourable East India Directors, in April, 1814.

' :i Comparative View of St. Helena Charges, 1808 — 1812-

Total Charge

Total Charge

DiflFerence, or

1808.

1812.

Saving

L.

L.

L.

Si

Net Charges, per Island Accounts,
''Deviation, in lieu of freight, to store-

114,961

91,743

23,218

Charges not
included in t
Island Accour

ships from England,
Freight from India and China, atLSO.

5,000

3,000

2,000

per ton. - _ _ _
Loss upon arrack leagers,
.Loss upon beef, pork, and flour casks,

31,290
951

7,560

23,730
951

5,154

2,577

2,577

1

Total

157,356

104,880

52,476

This saving of L52,4'J6. in the annual charges, was the effect of regulations and re-
strictions upon the issues and sale of provisions from the Company's stores ; and of intro-
ducing the plough, and giving examples of English husbandry, which have led to a larger
scale of cultivation.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 209

I found a garrison, as well as many of the inhabitants, immersed
in the grossest intemperance, from the facility of obtaining, and
their excessive use of, spirituous liquors ; and I found that abuses
obtained in some of the departments. The measures I resorted
to, in correcting so many existing evils, (and whicli have ])een
honoured by your entire approbation), must be in the recollec-
tion of your Honourable Court.

Whilst I was carrying forward my official duties, upon princi-
ples of strict justice between the Company and individuals, I
was often assailed with reports of intended mutinies. These
were sometimes conveyed in anonymous papers, and circulated,
no doubt, with a view of intimidating me from persevering in a
system of reform, which had become necessary, and which I was
firmly resolved to pursue. Although these vile means, and some
other circumstances, evinced a general dissatisfaction, yet, con-
scious of the uprightness of my conduct, I totally disregarded
them, and those factious and discontented men, who took the lead
in these despicable and seditious attempts, finding that their mean
and unbecoming artifice had not the desired etfect, were apparently
lulled for many months past. Very lately, however, when a
temporary inconvenience was felt, arising from our reduced stock
of flour, and the total want of rice in the public stores, this
occasion was eagerly laid hold of, and became a plea for the
revival of unreasonable demands, accompanied with menaces of
mutiny and rebellion.

The want of bread corn was the pretended cause of dissatis-
faction : but circumstances have since clearly shewn that the
sole object of the late violent measures, was to compel this govern-
ment to give spirits to the garrison ; an object in which every
drunkard on the island iV'lt'a deep and warm interest.

The first symptoms of discantent appeared on Sunday morning

Ee

iilO NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

the 22d of December : the particulars will be found in the fol-
lowing General Orders;

James's Toivn, 2^d December, 1811.

GENERAL ORDERS.

" On Friday last, when it was reported to the Governor that
no supplies of potatoes had been sent to market, and that con-
siderable inconvenience was, in consequence, felt by the soldiers
in garrison, he instantly adopted the only measure which was
practicable for removing that inconvenience. Accordingly, a
Proclamation * was issued, which, he has no doubt, will secure
supplies of that necessary article of food, in sufficient quantity to
meet the imports of flour and rice that are hourly expected.

'• The Governor's consideration for the comforts of the soldiers,
was again manifested, by the orders that were immediately issued,
for a Court of Inquiry to assemble, for the purpose of investigat-
ing the real and true causes of the inconvenience complained of.
On Saturday evening he was furnished with the proceedings of
the Court ; by which he plainly perceived, that for want of pota-
toes having been sent to market, and a premeditated design to
make complaints, a temporary inconvenience was created. Never-
theless, he felt every inclination to remove it; for, when it was
reported on Sunday morning, that there was no bread in the
messes, he immediately ordered twenty bushels of potatoes from
Plantation-house farm to be sent to James's Town.

" The Governor natm'ally hoped that such dispositions, to
relieve as much as lay in his power, under present circumstances,
the wants of the soldiers, would have been received as testimonies
of his solicitude to promote their comforts. But how different
was the reception ! Some of the men made purchases in the

* Appendix, A.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 211

market, at the accustomed price of potatoes sent from Long Wood
(and they of course, must have considered them reasonable) ; but
soon after those purchasers returned the potatoes, and said they
were too dear, in which the whole garrison seemed to combine.
This was, indeed, the first complaint that occurred against the
late reduced price of potatoes. If the soldiers will but look back
to the difliculty they formerly experienced, and to the exorbitant
rates that were extorted from them in procuring that excellent
substitute for bread (so eagerly sought after, three years ago.)
and compare the immense quantities that have been furnished
them from Long Wood, during the last two years, they must be
sensible they have derived peculiar advantages from the late
enlarged scale of cultivation. Those advantages are, at least,
equivalent to former indulgences, which it is, at present, impossible
to grant, of purchasing rice and peas from the Company's stores.
" In all countries, and in all situations, temporary inconveni-
ences of this kind will occasionally arise ; and which no human
foresight can prevent. Disappointments in the arrival of flour
from England and America, and of rice from India, and other
causes, have, unavoidably, occasioned a difference in the supplies
to the garrison. But, in the year 1795, when the corn crops in
England had failed, what was the state of the United Kingdoms.^
The very first families there were glad, and contented, to use the
only substitute for bread corn that was procurable, and this sub-
stitute was potatoes. Are soldiers then, of all men in the world,
whose profession often leads them to the severest privations
and hardships, to depart from their character, by murmuring and
complaining, merely because they cannot get an indulgence they
were accustomed to ; and at a time too when there is no real
want of food, and when they receive their full rations of bread
and meat ? — Ought they not rather to prove themselves worthy of

212 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

the name of soldiers ; and to shew they are capable, (and willing
too,) of sustaining such privations as it may one day be their lot
to suffer ? For shame ! AVhat a striking contrast to the conduct
of this stationary garrison, is that of those brave fellows who are
at present gallantly fighting in Spain and Portugal ! No murmurs
are heard of there, although the armies are exposed to the rigour
of the seasons, to many privations, and to long and harrassing
marches.

" The Governor is disposed to believe that this spirit of discon-
tent, which was so strongly, and most improperly, manifested
from Friday morning to Sunday evening, could not have been
produced otherwise than by some few malicious persons, who
liave been but too successful in misleading others. This, indeed,
may be justly inferred from some of the men having actually made
purchases of potatoes, and afterwards returned them ; evidently
because those advisers had persuaded them not to take them at
the former price, of which there never before was the smallest
complaint. — This led to an inconsiderate declaration that they
imist have the potatoes lowered to four shillings. What could
reasonably be expected from such conduct? Could any set of
men for a moment persuade themselves that this was a mode of
obtaining their ends? Weak, indeed, must that man be who
would yield to such combination. — If he did, he would need to
hide his face, and despise himself for ever.

" Although the Giovernor has deemed it proper, on this occa-
sion, to declare these as his most decided and unalterable senti-
ments ; yet he must, at the same time, assure every person on
this island, that he never has been, nor ever will be, inclined to
commit a single act of oppression towards any individual. He will
dothe strictest justice to all. He will act most fairly and uprightly
between them and his honourable employers ; he will pay the

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 213

utmost attention to every fair and reasonable representation of
the soldiers throngli the medium of their officers; and will be
ready at all times to extend any necessary indulgence, as far as
may be consistent with the estaldished regulations, or compatible
with his duty ; but it must not be expected that he will ever depart
from these principles ; and of which no reasonable man can
complain.

" With this view, he will issue immediate orders for assembling
a special court of inquiry, in order to ascertain on what plea or
pretext, the murmurs that began on Friday morning were occa-
sioned ; and he will afterwards adopt such measures as he may
deem proper,

" The soldiers in this garrison should also be reminded that
similar inconvenience to the present (if it may be so called) has
not been unfrequent. In the year 1747 so great was the distress
for flour, rice, and meat on this island, that the rations were
limited to half a pound of meat per day, and to Jive pounds of
bread per week. In 1797, for similar reasons, the weekly rations
were regulated at three pounds of bread, at two-pence per
pound, and at eight pounds of potatoes, at a penny a pound.
These facts appear on the records ; but at those periods, even
although the rations were reduced^ no murmuring or dissatisfac-
tion shewed itself; all descriptions of persons submitted to the
existing circumstances, because they were unavoidable.

" It gives the Governor sincere concern to be compelled to draw
these comparisons, yet he trusts the future conduct of the soldiers
(which he will do them the justice to say for these two years past,
would have reflected credit on any garrison), may hereafter con-
vince him, that the errors into which they have fallen, have only
proceeded from the causes he has conjectured."

C. K. G. HODSON,
Town Major.

214 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

When I delivered these orders to the Town Major to be issued,
I opened a sealed anonymous paper which during the night was
slipped under Mr. Doveton's door. I was, at the same time, in-
formed by the Town Major that the regiment was prepared to
mutiny, for the purpose of seizing my person, and sending me on
board tlie Camperdown 1*

The following is a copy of the anonymous paper alluded to ;
which was addressed " To the Governor and Council."

James's Fort, Decemr 22d, 1811.

"^ Gentlemen of the Councel,

" His it still your intension to percevere in your oppression and
" tyrarinney to wards the troops in this garrison, has hitherto
" you have done ; if so, you can expect nothing but an open
" rebellion.

" I am hereby autherized, by the troops of this island, to in-
" form this Councel, if they do not immeadatly soply this garrison
" with liquor and provisions, in the same manner has Governor
" Brooks did (whose regulations you have voilated) you shall be
" made answerable for what may follow, except you make your
" escape good from this settlement.

" It is in your power to prevent the impending vengeance
" which now hangs over your head's, and save the lives of many
" poor souls, which will inevitable fall a sacrefice."

This seditious paper was written in a feigned hand. The
affectations of false orthography, and of bad style, are evidently
intended to conceal its author.

The receipt of this letter, and the Town Major's information,

* The Camperdown cutter was hired by the Company, and attached to the island in
1803. Slie was occasionally sent to the Cape of Good Hope, and South America, on
the public service.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 215

determined me not to lose a moment in preparing for the worst
that could happen. I ordered the Camperdown to sail imme-
diately ; the strong forts of Ladder Hill and High Knoll to be
re-inforced ; and I made the necessary arrangements for taking
post at Plantation-house, which I resolved to defend in person
against any attacks that might be made upon me.

To Captain Benjamin Hodson, of the artillery, an excellent
officer, in whose judgment and discretion I had the most perfect
confidence, I directed the Town Major to address the following
instructions.

To Captain Benjamin Hodson, of the Artillery Corps.
Sir,

I AM directed by the Governor to inform you that you are imme-
diately to take charge of the post at Ladder Hill ; and to use
your utmost vigilance in preventing any persons having commu-
nication with the men under your command ; and if you should
perceive any assemblies of men in garrison, or any appearance of
commotion among the troops, you will apprise them if they do
not immediately disperse and return peaceably to their quarters,
that you will instantly open a fire upon them ; and which you are
hereby ordered to do, in case of a non-compliance with the notice
you shall have previously given.

You will keep up a constant communication with the com-
manding officer in garrison, who will be enabled to give you in-
formation of what may be going on in the fort ; and of which you
will make a signal to Plantafion-house.

Upon the smallest appearance of tumult, 3 on will immediately
fire the general alarm ; the volunteers will then assemble at their
usual station ; and with whom the Governor Avill proceed to
reinforce your post, or act according to circumstances.

216 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

The officers who are to act under your command, are,

Lieutenant and Adjutant Wilson.
Lieutenant Dentaaffe.

I am. Sir, your obedient Servant,

C. R. G. HODSON,

James's Fort, 2Sd December, 1811. Town Major.

To Lieutenant Phillips, of the artillery, who has long been in
the command of High Knoll, and in whom I also had an entire
confidence, I sent the following instructions.

To Lieutenant George L. Phillips, Commanding High Knoll.

Sir,
You are hereby ordered and directed to be particularly attentive
both during the day and night, in watching the motions of men,
or parties of men, passing or re-passing in the vicinity of your
post ; or upon the Side Path ; or upon the old road leading
from James's Valley to Half-tree-hollow.

If any party or parties of troops with arms, should pass in sight
of High Knoll, and which you have good reason to believe are
disaffected, you will open a cannonade upon them, and disperse
them. And upon the first appearance of such parties, you will
instantly fire the general alarm.

Twenty select artillery men will reinforce your post this

evening.

I am, Sir, your obedient Servant,

C. R. G. HODSON,

James's Fort, 23d December, 1811. Totvn Major. .

After issuing these orders, I left the Castle, at four o'clock in
the afternoon ; but, contrary to my usual custom of returning

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 217

home by what is called the Governor's Path, I thought it proper
to shew, to such as might be watchful, that the violent anonymoifs
letter, the writing on the church, " A hot dinner and a bloody sup-
per," and that on the castle gate, " T/iis house to let on Christ mas-
day ;" the one alluding to the festival dinner, and the other to
my vacating the Castle by being sent off the island, had produced
no apprehension in my mind. I therefore desired my liorses to
be brought to the Castle gate, where I mounted, passed slowly in
front of the main guard, who were supposed to be concerned in
the intended mutiny, and proceeded gently through the town,
stopping occasionally, and conversing with several persons I met.
It seems that one of the most forward in the mutiny (Berwick,
who has since been hanged) passed close to me. I did not
observe him, but he was seen from a window, after I had
proceeded a few yards beyond him, to turn round, and, in the
most contemptuous manner, by his gestures, and the action of
his clenched fist and arm, fully to express his desperate inten-
tions. This information did not reach me until after he was
hanged.

About five o'clock in the evening, I arrived at Plantation-
house. I sent for Mr. Ford, the head overseer, to enquire re-
garding the characters and disposition of the artillery and infantry
stationed there as a working party. He assured me they were all
good men, and that I might depend on them. Lieutenant David
Pritchard, whom I had selected to take charge of this guard,
soon after arrived. I desired him to inspect their arms, and to
get the men immediately accoutred. I had previously ordered
supplies of musket and rifle ammunition to be sent, which arrived
before sun-set.

The men of the guard, consisting of 32, were then ordered
into Plantation-house ; and as Captain Benjamin Uodson had

Ff

218 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

been instructed to fire a general alarm, upon the first appearance
o^ commotion, (which would soon bring the volunteers to ray
post) I was certain, therefore, of being re-inforced long before the
mutineers could reach me : and, under these circumstiinces, I had
no doubt as to the issue, being firmly determined not to yield a
single point, nor to suffer my person to fall into their hands.

According to information I have since received, the mutiny
was not to have broken out until the morningof the 25th. It had
been settled by the mutineers, that when the troops paraded for
relieving the guards, that the whole of the regiment, joined by
the main guard on duty, after seizing their officers, should march
to Plantation-house and seize me: but, providentialiy, the mea-
sures I had adopted, made a change in their plan : and the ring-
leaders seeing I was preparing, considered that no time should
be lost, and therefore they commenced their operations within
five hours after I had left the castle.

At half-past seven o'clock in the evening, I received a report,
that the mutinous troops intended to proceed to Long Wood, for
the pvirpose of getting possession of some field-pieces and ammu-
nition. Upon hearing this, although I did not know how far it
might be depended on, I sent an express to the Lieutenant-
Governor ; in which I suggested the advance of some field-pieces
to oppose the mutineers, if they should move in that direction.
The Lieutenant-Governor lost no time in taking up an advanta-
geous position with the field-pieces, manned by the guard at
Long Wood ; but, at the moment the advanced gun was loading,
the mutineers surrounded him and his party, and took them
prisoners.

The particulars of their transactions at Long Wood, and after
they had seized Colonel Broughton, will be seen in his narrative.*

* Appendix, B.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 219

It was three-quarters past nine at night, when the general
alarm fired. By this time, some of the volunteer riflemen, and
volunteer artillery, to whom secret orders liad been sent, had
arrived ; and by midnight, the Plantation-house contained a
garrison of 130 men, which I considered sutticient to repel the
most formidable attacks of mutinous troops. On the ground-floor,
every window and door was guarded by three or four armed men.
parties of rifle volunteers lay behind the parapet of the roof; and
the rooms on the upper floor, were prepared to have been occu-
pied at the instant the mutineers approached. Mrs. Beatson and
my children were placed in security against musketry, in one of
the upper rooms. It had strongly been recommended to me to
remove them from the Plantation-house: but I foresaw, if this
were discovered by the mutineers, it might perplex me : and as I
felt the strength of my position, my mind was perfectly at ease,
although it might not have been so if they had been removed
from my own immediate protection.

After the alarm fired, a judicious movement was made from
James's Town, of parties of artillery and infantry to reinforce me ;
the former under the command of Major Kinnaird, and the latter
under Captain Sampson, two excellent oflicers, who had both
been extremely active in bringing back a number of the soldiers
to a sense of duty. Captain Sampson halted at Red Hill, about
a mile from Plantation-house ; and Major Kinnaird, about twelve
at night, had passed Plantation-house, and took up commanding
positions, in advance, with field-pieces, and Captain Barnes's
company, and some other artillerymen, upon the roads on which
the mutineers must pass, in coming from Long Wood. Captain
Desfountain, with three guns and the volunteer artillery, occu-
pied another position in the rear of Major Kinnaird.

Although Captain Sampson had expressed a confidence in his

220 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

men, yet I could not but entertain the strongest suspicions of the
whole of the infantry.* I therefore gave positive orders, that if
any troops advanced near my post, without permission, they
should be fired upon.

About one in the morning of the 24th, as no firing had been
heard in the direction of Long Wood, I began to entertain ap-
prehensions for the safety of the Lieutenant-Governor ; and about
the same time two lights and a number of men were discerned,
moving slowly along the side of a hill, two miles east from Plan-
tation-house ; which were supposed to be the mutineers advanc-
ing with cannon. Major Doveton, commandant of the volunteers,
immediately dispatched two active men of his corps to gain intel-
ligence. Messrs. John Bagley and Kenned^^ were selected for
that purpose ; but very soon after, a black messenger brought
intelligence that Colonel Broughton and his party were taken
prisoners.

This information gave me at first some uneasiness, on account
of the danger to which my friend and colleague would be exposed
in the intended attack upon the mutinous troops: but there was
no alternative ; for however much 1 value the life of Colonel
Broughton, I could not permit considerations of a private nature
to interfere with my pviblic duties ; nor to deter me from carrying
into execution the plans I had formed, which were imperiously

* These suspicions were not indeed without just cause ; for, Archihald Nimmo, who had
been one of the most daring and active in seducing the soldiers, and in administering the
oath, and obligation, to seize the Governor, and send him off' the islcuid, had the audacity
to range himself among the friends of the Governor, who came to reinforce Plantation-
house. He had hoped by his influence to have turned those friends into foes; and
seemed, at one time, when the Long Wood mutineers approached, to be on the eve of
making the attempt : but perceiving he was suspected, and closely watched, by a non-
commissioned officer, with a drawn sword, immediately behind him, he was thus deterred
from puttuig his design in execution.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 221

necessary for restoring military subordination, and the peace and
order of this settlement.

At the same time I considered it proper to make an attempt to
rescue his person from the impending danger. I therefore wrote
a pencil note to Captain Sampson, directing him to advance with
30 chosen men to form an ambuscade on the left flank of the
mutinous column, and to commence the attack, by giving one
fire in. such a manner as to avoid Colonel Broughton, (who might
be distinctly seen by the lights the mutineers had imprudently
with them,) and immediately after to rush upon them with the
bayonet. Major Kinnaird was to support this attack.

I had just given these orders when Major Wright arrived, and
informed me the mutineers had halted within 50 or GO yards of
Major Kinuainl's post; and had sent forward to offer the condi-
tions on which they would surrender. The negociations were
intentionally protracted until day-light on the 24th ; which hav-
ing terminated in the unconditional surrender of the whole party,
the attempt to rescue Colonel Broughton became unnecessary.

The first proposals sent by the mutineers, were, " that griev-
ances must be redresssd, and a promise given, that the soldiers
should have regular issues of spirits from the stores ;" to which I
sent word by Major Wright, " that I would grant no terms ; I
could not treat with rebels; and if they did not instantly sur-
render, I would put every man to the sword."

Major Wright soon after returned and told me the mutineers
hoped I would grant terms : and it was observed by some per-
sons around me, that the life of Colonel Broughton would be in
great danger if the attack were made. To this observation I re-
plied, that the mutineers having possession of the Lieutenant-
Governor would be no security to themselves; and a second
message was returned, apprising them of this resolution ; and

222 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

that I would instantly order them to be fired upon, and the whole
destroyed if they did not submit. Upon receiving this reply, they
began to waver ; and finally they proposed to Majors Wright
and Hodson, that all they would now ask, was my promise of
pardon : but this 1 positively refused ; and, at the same time, in-
formed them, if they did not yield unconditionally, that Major
Kinnaird had received orders to put the whole of them to death.
It was now day-light, and seeing a superior force opposed to
them, they at length surrendered, saying they would trust to my
mercy.

Of above two hundred men that sallied from James's Town,
upon this mad and desperate enterprise, only 75 remained toge-
ther in the morning ; all the others seem to have repented, and
returned to their barracks.

The prisoners were put in close confinement at High Knoll,
and the following General Orders were issued.

Head Quarters, St. Helena, 24th December, 181 1.
GENERAL ORDERS.

" The Governor had hoped that the communication of his sen-
timents in the orders of yesterday, would have had the efltct of
convincing the soldiers in garrison of his dispositions to render
them the strictest justice on every occasion ; and of his readiness
to aflford redress for any real grievances they may sustain. He
could hardly have supposed that so numerous a body of the corps
of infantry, exceeding 200 men, could have been so misled by a
few discontented and factious persons, as to commit acts of mutiny
and rebellion in the manner they have done, by the seizure of the
Lieutenant-Governor, and by_avowing an intention of also seizing
the person of the Governor himself. From the conversations Lieute-

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 223

nant-Colonel Brougliton had with these deluded men, it evidently
appears there has been too much pains taken, by some villains
in this island, to misrepresent, or construe, every act of the Gover-
nor, as tyrannical and oppressive. On the contrary, he will venture
to say, that no former governor had ever been so attentive to the
comforts, as well as to the improvement, of the moral character of
the garrison. He has never ceased to do his utmost to augment
the produce of the lands, by which alone can the necessaries of
life be reduced in price, and thereby come within the reach of a
soldier's pay. It is true the issues of spirits have been disconti-
nued ; and this is by order of the Court of Directors. Tt is his
duty to obey ; and what tlie soldiers did demand, it is impossible
to give. The garrison may recollect the shameful excesses that
were committed lately, after the arrival of 12 casks of rum from
the Cape, and the great increase of patients in the hospital, which
immediately followed ; notwithstanding the soldiers were limited
to half-daily rations of spirits. Tt was for these reasons that the
Governor did recommend to Mr. Pringle, at the Cape, not to send
the remaining casks ; but, at the same time, he reciuested him to
send Cape wine, which is hourly expected ; in order to give a
trial and to ascertain if this substitute for spirits would be accept-
able : ifso, it would be provided in sufficient quantity to afford
regular issues, at the rate of one pint per day to each man. It is
also well known, when any soldier's term of service is expired,
that the Governor has never, in any instance, refused his discharge.
Wherefore, if any are dissatisfied with the changes that have
taken place on this establishment, they have it always in their
power to quit it, when tlieir term of service shall have been ex-
pired. Nay, the Governor will even go further; for if there be
any effective men here who dislike their situations, because they
have not an opportunity of committing excessive intemperance,

224 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

he will readily accommodate them, by entertaining- them and
making np the term of five years, for any of the India establish-
ments, where they will have opportunities of satisfying their
propensities.

" It came to the knowledge of the Governor last night, that the
infantr}' complain of some hardships in the nature and amount of
stoppages. The circumstances that have been represented to the
Lieutenant Governor, as well as some particulars in a written
statement in his possession, are matters that will be immediately
attended to. In short every soldier may rest assured, that \freal
grievances are properly represented, there shall never be cause
to complain of want of redress — but at the same time the Governor
must apprise the soldiers, that no menaces, no intimidating anony-
mous papers, like those that have been recently handed about,
caii ever produce a change in his conduct. He will do his duty :
but will never permit a stain on his reputation and character, by
yielding to mutinous clamour and unreasonable demands.

C. II. G. HODSON.

Totcn Major.

The discomfiture of these rebels had not subdued the mutinous
spirit of their associates ; and it having been reported that an
attempt would be made to rescue the prisoners ; I sent instruc-
tions to Colonel Smith to occupy two strong positions which
commanded, with cannon, the barracks, and the roads leading to
the interior. — At the same time were issued further orders to the

troops.

INSTRUCTIONS.

To Lieutenant Colonel Smith ; or Officer commanding James's Totcn.

Sir,
" I AM directed by the Governor to inform you that Captain
Benjamin Hodson has been instructed to advance from his post

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 225

at Ladder Hill, two guns to the first turning of the road ; where
they are to remain until further orders, ready loaded with grape,
for the purpose of firing upon any assemblies or parties of troops
that may attempt to quit the barracks.

Immediately upon receipt of this, you will give orders for
occupying Saddle-lnll battery with a captain of the Volunteer
Corps, and the following detail :

20 Volunteer Infantry (Rifles),
20 ditto Artillery.

" You will direct him to load all the guns on that battery
with grape ; and to depress them towards the barracks and Side-
path ; and to open a fire upon any parties of troops that may be
observed in the act of assembling or moving. In case, however,
this fire should not have the effect of retaining the men in bar-
racks, and that they may attempt to move along the Side-path,
or any where within reach, the commanding officer of the Saddle
battery is then to advance with the whole of his riflemen, and to
hang upon, and harass, the flank of the troops in their march ;
taking care not to fire except from points immediately above
the columns in motion ; which will be a guide to the artillery at
High Knoll, in the event of these operations taking place in the
night. The officer commanding, has been instructed to cannonade
the path in the direction he may observe the musketry upon the
summit of the opposite ridge. You will further direct the officer
in charge of Saddle battery to use every other means of obstruct-
ing movements of troops on the path-; and which might readily
be done by taking with him the Volunteer artillery men. for the
purpose of rolling down stones, &c.

" If, nevertheless, the troops in motion should be able to
}idvance, the captain of volunteers and his party are then to keep

226 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

on their flank and to harass them in whatever direction they may

proceed.

I am, Sir, your obedient Servant,

C. R. G. HODSON,

Plantation-house, 2bth December, 1811. Town Major.

25th December, 1811.

GENERAL ORDERS.

A considerable proportion of the St. Helena regiment having
been guilty of mutiny and rebellion on the night of the 23d
instant, by outrageously seizing the Lieutenant Governor, and
avowing their desperate intention of attempting to seize the
Governor: it is therefore the Governor's positive orders that the
men keep in their barracks, and that the main guard shall not
get nnder arms without the sanction of the commanding officer of
Ladder Hill, who has been ordered to depress guns loaded with
grape, and to fire upon the main guard if it shall presume to get
under arms without his previous permission.

" Under the present state of affairs, the Governor deems it

expedient to notify to the troops, that if any non-commissioned

officer or soldier shall be guilty of disobedience to bis officers, or

shall evince by words or actions the smallest symptom of mutinous

spirit, he will instantly be seized, tried by a Drum-head Court

Martial, and hanged.

By Order of the Governor,

C. R. G. HODSON,

Totcn Major.

Orders were also issued on the 25th, for assembling imme-
diately a General Court Martial. Nine of the ring-leaders were
brought to trial, all of whom received sentence of death. But six

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 227

only were excuted in the evening : and Ending that even these
awful, and necessary examples, had not produced the desired
effect ; and that the St. Helena infantry still intended to proceed
in acts of mutiny and rebellion, by seizing their officers, in the
expectation that this step would compel me to yield to their
demands, or rather demand (for the sole object of the mutiny was
to obtain issues of spirits) ; I deemed it expedient to undeceive
them by issuing further orders.

Head Quarters, St. Helena, 2Qth December, 1811.
GENERAL ORDERS.

" At a General Court Martial assembled yesterday, the fol-
lowing prisoners were tried, upon a charge of mutiny, preferred
against them by the Governor.

Charge. — " Henry Sisell, Thomas Berwick, Archibald Nimmo,
" and Robert Anderson, privates, and Arthur Smith, Thomas
" Edgeworth, Peter Wilsey, and John Seager, corporals in the
" St. Helena regiment, and Richard Kitchen, gunner, in the
" artillery, confined by order of the Governor, on a charge of
" mutiny."

Sentence. — " The Court having deliberated on the evidence,
" are of opinion that the prisoners are guilty of mutiny, the crime
*' they are charged with, in breach of the Articles of War, do
" therefore sentence, that the prisoners Sisell, Berwick, Nimmo,
" Anderson, Smith, Edgeworth, Wilsey, Seager, and Kitchen,
" shall suffer death, in such manner and at such time and place
" as the Governor and Commander in Chief shall direct."

" We, the Governor and Council, approve the sentences awarded
" against the whole of the prisoners, and order the immediate
" execution of Sisell, Berwick, Nimmo, Anderson, Smith, and

228 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

" Edgevvorth, who are to be hanged by the neck until they are

" dead."

" The sentences upon the other prisoners, Wilsey, Seager, and

" Kitchen, are remitted."

ALEX. BEATSON.

E. S. BROUGHTON.

W. W. DOVETON.

ROBERT LEECH.

" It was the intention of the Governor that the execution,
yesterday evening, of these unhappy men, should have taken
place in presence of the whole of the garrison, assembled upon
the Side-path : but as the trials lasted mucli longer than was ex-
pected, and as the state of atFairs required that immediate exam-
ples should be made,' they were accordingly hanged at sun-set,
at High Knoll. The Governor sincerely hopes that these awful
examples will prove a salutary lesson and warning to those who
may still be inclined to persevere in the atrocious crimes of mu-
tiny and rebellion ; and that they may effectually put a stop to
that spirit of disaffection and combination which has, for some
days past, infatuated a number of the soldiers of the St. Helena
regiment.

" The Governor has been informed, there are reports prevalent
of further attempts being in contemplation for the purpose of sub-
verting authority, seizing his person, and releasing the prisoners,
he therefore thinks it again necessary, to apprize those who may
entertain such illusive hopes, that any attempt will infallibly
prove equally abortive, as that which was made on the night
between the 23d and 24th instant ; for whilst he is supported in
the manner he has happily been, during the late conflict, it will
be totally impossible to make any impression on the post he has
occupied ; and in regard to such hopes as were entertained by the

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 229

mutineers, at the time Uiey had possession of the Lieutenant
Governor's person, he trusts, he has ah'ea<ly evinced the most
fixed determination, that no feelings or considerations of a private
nature shall ever deter him from discharging his public duty in
that manner which his King and Country expect from him.
Wherefore, if any farther attempt should be made, he shall, most
assuredly, carry into effect the same orders as he sent to Major
Kinnaird on the morning of the 24th ; which were, to advance
upon the insurgents, and put the whole to the sword : and which,
undoubtedly, would have been their fate, if they had not surren-
dered at discretion.

C. R. G. HODSON,
Town Major.

As it was reported to me on the evening of the 26th, that
murmurs and discontents, and a sullenness amongst the mutinous
troops still continued (notwithstanding their violence was evi-
dently abated, by the examples that had been made), I deemed it
expedient, therefore to explain to them, the dangers to which
they exposed themselves, the madness and folly of their proceed-
ings, and the total impossibility of attaining their object, even if
they were successful in securing my person ; and which I would
take care to prevent. These sentiments were conveyed in
Evening General Orders.

EVENING GENERAL ORDERS.

26th December, 1811.

There is no soldier so ignorant of military law as not to know
that the crime of mutiny, which strikes at the foundation of all
military subordination, is the most flagrant offence that he can
possibly commit; it is, therefore, punishable with instant death.

230 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

But when to this greatest of military crimes are added acts of
open rebellion against a state or government, the union of both
constitutes an offence far more heinous than any that military
law has singly provided for. The Governor, therefore, when, on
the morning of the 24th, lie compelled a body of rebels and
mutineers, consisting of 75 men, to surrender at discretion, might
have been fully justified if he had ordered the whole of them to
be instantly hanged. But as he had received information that
many had been seduced, or forced, by a few factious and incorri-
gible drunkards, he refrained from punishment, and so dreadful
an effusion of human blood. Nine only of the ring leaders were
selected and tried according to the forms prescribed by military
law. The whole were found guilty ; but still to manifest his dis-
position to mercy, only six were ordered for execution.

" It gave the Governor some degree of consolation, in the late
unhappy state of affairs, and disorganization of the St. Helena
infantry, to be informed, that these awful examples have been
admitted as perfectly just and necessary. The unhappy sufferers
declared, that he did no more than his duty, and that they
deserved their fate. The dispositions manifested since those ex-
ecutions, being symptoms of returning obedience, he most ear-
nestly hopes, that on duly reflecting upon the enormities that have
been committed, even the disaffected of the regiment, which he
believes to be few, will soon be brought to a sense of their errors.

" The Governor has also reason to hope that the measures he has
adopted, must have by this time, convinced the minds of all con-
cerned in the late dangerous proceedings, that any attempt to
intimidate him to swerve from his public duties, or to seize his
person, can never avail ; and he thinks it proper on this occasion,
again to apprize those factious and malicious persons who may
yet remain, that, under such despicable leaders, in so bad a

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 231

cause, he should feel, in the posts he has occupied, the fullest
confidence and security.

" He trusts, therefore, that those leaders may perceive the folly
and madness of their conduct ; and that no soldier may hence-
forward be misled by them, or seduced to return to such unlawful,
dangerous, and desperate acts, so that the peace and order of this
small community may soon be permanently established ; and the
dreadful consequences that infallibly await the crimes of mutiny
and rebellion maybe averted.

The Governor will ask those deluded men what they could
possibly expect, even from complete success ? — Would the seizure
of his person be of the smallest advantage ? — Would his successor,
whoever he might be, shrink from his duties ? — Would he yield
to the demands of the rebels ? — Would he not carry into effect
the orders and regulations of the Company ? — Would the accom-
plishment of the avowed object of the late mutiny and rebellion
secure the return of spirits to the island ? — Undoubtedly not :
for spi-rits have been its bane for more than a century ; the primary
cause of all the disorders and mutinies that have taken place ;
and therefore the reform that the Governor has felt it his duty to
make, will undoubtedly be permanent. Yet if any persons con-
tinue dissatified, because they are now deprived of the means of
destroying their health by excesses, and of corrupting the minds
and morals of all around them, and of the younger men who
may from time to time, be sent to this island, they shall have the
Governor's free consent to change their situation, in the modes he
has pointed out, in the orders of the 24th instant."

C. R. G. HODSON,

Totcn Major.

The General Court Martial which sat on the 25th, re-assembled

232 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

on the 26tli, for the trial of three other ringleaders, who were all
capitally convicted. Hewit alone was ordered for execution ; and
the sentences of the other two were remitted. This execution
was conducted with great solemnity. The whole of the garrison
were drawn up on the lower parade ; the prisoners led along the
front ; the dead march was played ; and immediately after the
prisoner Hewit was turned off, the Town Major read to the troops
these orders.

GENERAL ORDERS, by the GOVERNOR and COUNCIL.

27th December, 1811.
Parole, — Peace.

" The Governor and Council most earnestly hope, that the
necessary and awful examples which they have been compelled
to make, from the madness and folly of a few malicious persons,
who had artfully misled, or forced, a great number of the St.
Helena regiment to join in acts of open mutiny and rebellion,
will be sufficient to produce the happy effect of restoring military
subordination, and the peace and tranquillity of the island.

" The Governor and Council will soon take into consideration,
the expediency of granting an amnesty to the remainder of the
prisoners ; and will also adopt such measures as may tend to re-
dress the grievances of which the mutineers complained to the
Lieutenant-Governor, whilst he was their prisoner ; and which
complaint, until the morning of the 24th instant, had never before
reached the ears of either the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor,
otherwise they would undoubtedly have long since been attended
to : but at the same time it must be distinctly understood, that
the existence of grievances, even of the greatest magnitude, could
never justify such daring, unlawful, and desperate proceedings

TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c. 233

as those to which too iiiiiny misguided men had resorted, on the
evening of the 23d instant.

By order of the Governor and Council,

T. H. BROOKE,

Secretary.

This awful scene made a strong impression; the mutinous spirit
was humbled ; and subordination from that moment was effec-
tually restored.

In order, however, to prevent a return of such disgraceful pro-
ceedings, I gave orders to seize and confine every man who had
been active and forward in the late mutiny. Between 20 and 30
have been put in close confinement, whom it is my intention to
send off the island by the first favourable opportunity. On the
30th of December, I granted an amnesty to the remainder of the
prisoners who were taken in arms. They were paraded at Plan-
tation-house ; and after admonishing them upon their recent
conduct, desiring them to behave in future like good soldiers, and
telling them that I freely forgave them, although they had taken
up arms against me, I ordered them to return to their duty.

On this occasion, after the order of peace, I deemed it proper
to issue general orders.

Head Quarters, ^Oth December, 181 J,

GENERAL ORDERS.

The Governor having ascertained that many of the soldiers of
the St. Helena infantry, who were taken in arms against him, on
the 24th instant, had either been misled by seme factiotis and dis-
contented persons, or forced by a few desperate villains, to engage
in the atrocious crimes of mutiny and rebellion, he is therefore
pleased, in consideration of these circumstances, to grant an

Hh

284 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

amnesty to the remainder of all those who were compelled to sur-
render, with the exception of those only who have been notori-
ously active and violent. These he has ordered into close con-
finement, until a favourable opportunity offers of sending them
off the island, because, if such characters were permitted to
remain, they might again endanger its tranquillity.

The Governor trusts that the instances of clemency which he
has manifested towards the mutinous troops, on the late unhappy
occasion, and the explanations he has gone into, in the several
orders he has issued, will prove his dispositions to mercy, and his
readiness to do justice to all men: and that henceforward they
may prevent the possibility of tinfavourable impressions being
made on the minds of the soldiers by such as may again attempt

to mislead them.

C. R. G. HODSON,

Town Major.

On the evening of the 31st December, I had received all the
reports of the commanding officers respecting the conduct of
officers and men mider them, from the commencement of the
mutiny until it was subdued. I perused them with attention:
and being satisfied that great exertions were made in the first
instance ; that the officers in garrison were watchful : and that
to their continued efforts ; to the fidelity and loyalty of the artil-
lery and volunteers, and to all those who came to re-inforce
Plantation-house to repel the mutinous troops, who were then
advancing from Long Wood, may be ascribed the happy termi-
nation of the mutiny : I therefore issued the following orders :

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 235

Head Quarters, St. Helena, Jan. Ist. 1812.

GENERAL ORDERS.

The Governor embraces the earliest moment that circum-
stances liave permitted of expressing to the officers of this garri-
son, the high sense lie entertains of their meritorious and active
exertions on the night of the 23d of December, when the licen-
tious spirit of a great portion of the St. Helena infantry was so
strongly manifested ; and which, a short time afterwards, sud-
denly burst forth into open acts of mutiny and rebellion.

Although the utmost efforts of the officers were insufficient to
restrain the outrageous conduct of the soldiers within the town;
yet to their continued efforts, to their zeal in the cause of govern-
ment, and their respect for its authority, are justly to be ascribed
the surrender of the mutineers, the return of military subordina-
tion, and the maintenance and preservation of the constituted
authorities of the island.

The Governor, therefore, feels much satisfaction and plea-
sure, in thus publicly expressing to the officers of St. Helena, his
warmest approbation of their conduct : and he recjuests they will
accept his best acknowledgments and thanks for the signal and
important services they have rendered.

The uniformly steady conduct of the corps of artillery, who,
almost to a man, escaped the contagion that spread around them,
deserves the highest praise. Their unshaken fidelity in every
post they occupied, and the assistance they gave in restoring the
peace and order of this settlement, will best be seen by the reports
of their officers. These reports shall be speedily promulgated, in
order that it may be known how well the artillery corps of St'

2»6 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

Helena has maintained the character of good and faithful soldiers,
against a cause that threatened this Government, as well as the
Governor's person, with imminent danger.

To all the non-commissioned officers and privates of this ex-
cellent corps, therefore, the Governor requests that these his sen-
timents may be conveyed by Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, together
with his warmest thanks for the essential aid he derived from
their loyalty and zeal.

The late occasion is the first that has occurred, by which a
judgment could be formed of the establishment of St. Helena
volunteers. It has fully demonstrated how useful and necessary is
such an institution. Their loyalty is the support of public autho-
rity: their alacrity in re-inforcing the Governor ; their determined
spirit to stand by him to, the last extremity ; their eagerness to
do their duty, and to guard his person and family, for several
nights after he himself considered the danger as past, will ever be
remembered by him with sentiments of the warmest gratikide.
He recjuests therefore, that these his sentiments and his best
thanks may be conveyed to all the officers, non-commissioned
officers and privates of the St. Helena volunteers, by their worthy
commandant and leader, Major Doveton.

The guard at Plantation-house, commanded by Lieutenant
David Pritchard, (consisting of 32 artillery and infantry,) having
been immediately under the Governor's observation, he feels their
full claim to particular notice ; and accordingly requests, that
Lieutenant Pritchard and the non-commissioned officers and pri-
vates of that guard, will accept his best thanks.

Where all the officers are entitled to praise, it is scarcely
necessary to discriminate ; but the zeal and unceasing attention
displayed by Major David Kinnaird, throughout the whole of his
arduous and various duties, during the late transactions, (as well

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 237

before as after they bei^an,) have been so truly conspicuous, that
no one can refuse him that tribute of praise, and particular
notice, to which he is so justly entitled. To Major Kinnaird
therefore, to Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, Major Wright, Captain
Sampson, and Captain Henry Pritchard, and Lieutenant Hunter,
and to all those officers who exerted themselves among the muti-
neers, to persuade them to return to their dnt}' ; as well as to
Captain Benjamin Hodson, commanding the important post of
Ladder Hill, and to Lieutenant Phillips in the command of High
Knoll, the Governor feels particularly indebted, for their spirited
exertions, and for the able manner in which they discharged their
respective duties, from the commencement, until the happy termi-
nation of the late mutiny and rebellion.

The assistance he derived from Town Major Hodson, and Cap-
tain Henry Pritchard, his personal staff, and from Captain T. H.
Brooke of the volunteers, entitles them to his warmest acknow-
ledgments, and he thus publicly conveys to them his warmest
thanks, with an assurance, that he will not fail more fully to point
out their merits, as well as that of other officers, to the notice of
the Honourable Court of Directors.

Captain Sampson is requested to communicate to the non-
commissioned officers and privates of the infantry, who advanced
imder his command, to re-inforce Plantation-house ; and Major
Wright, to those of that corps, who acted on the late occasion, as
good and faithful soldiers, the Governor's highest approbation of
their conduct, and his sincere thanks.

The Governor trusts that Lieutenant-Colonel Broughton, and
Major Doveton, will readily admit of his thus publicly expressing
the high sense he entertains of their cordial co-operation in over-
coming the dangers with which this island was threatened.
Colonel Broughton's seizure might be considered as a providential

238 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

interference : it gave him an opportunity of remonstrating vvitli
the mutineers, of knowing their sentiments, and of discover-
ing how .shamefully and fatally, those men have been misled by
some wicked and designing villains. Although the Lieutenant-
Governor was prevented opposing them in the first onset, yet this
very circumstance proved fortunate, and the arguments he made
use of whilst a prisoner, no doubt contributed to avert the effusion
of blood; and ultimately led to the suppression of those daring
and dangerous acts, and to the perfect re-establishment of military
subordination, in the space of four days, without the loss of a
single innocent life.

C. R. G. HODSON,

Town Major.

Such are the sentiments I entertain of those officers and men
who were officially employed in suppressing the mutiny. But
there are still some others, whose merits and important services I
could not properly introduce in military orders, and which I am
not less bound in duty than in gratitude to biingto the particular
notice of your Honourable Court. These are some valuable
friends (Doctor Baildon, Messrs. Jones, Brabazon, Balcombe,
and Hollis), who voluntarily came forward to support me in the
hour of danger: and on whose zeal for the public service, as well
as personal attachment, I had the most perfect reliance.

Doctor Baildon had been on duty in the fort : and had oppor-
tunities, some days before the mutiny broke out, of hearing what
was going forward. He had, indeed, reason to imagine the
danger to which my person was exposed, was greater than I
apprehended, for I declined Captain Pritchard's offer to accom-
pany me, and left the fort, on the evening of the ujutiny, unarmed,
and attended singly by my groom : but the Doctor, suspecting

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 239

some of those desperate mutineers might attempt my life, armed,
himself (although, for some days, he had been extremely ill),
and, unknown to me, followed ; keeping- at some distance, and
carefully watching if any persons approa(;hed me. Nothing,
however, occurred ; and he arrived at Plantation-house about
sun-set, on the 23d of December.

From this moment, until the termination of the mutiny, lie was
constantly with me, employed in aiding in preparations for de-
fence, in communicating my orders, in collecting information,
and, in short, in discharging, in the most able manner, all the
duties of a zealous friend, and an active staft-olHcer. For such
distinguished services I feel great pleasure in thus recording my
best acknowledgments and thanks; and whilst I discharge this
public duty, it is due to Doctor Baildon, that I should recommend
him, in the strongest manner to the favour and notice of your
Honourable Court.

The Rev. Samnel Jones, Mr. Brabazon, Mr. Balcombe, and
Mr. HoUis, have also rendered essential service ; for as my
person was the object of the mutineers, and suspecting, as I
have before stated, even some of those who came to assist me, I
deemed it prudent not to run the hazard of seizure, by placing
myself between suspected troops and the mutineers, who were
advancing : nor to trust tlie conunnnication of orders excepting
to contidential persons. These gentlemen eagerly and anxiously
assisted in conveying, in the most punctual manner, the orders
I had occasion to give on the night of the 23d : and were also,
from that time, a strong acquisition to my guard, during the
whole period of the mutiny ; being well armed, and always ready
to support me to the last extremity. They have accordingly
re-established their claims to my public acknowledgments and
thanks, as well as to the favourable consideration of your

240 NARRA.TIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

Honourable Court, for their distinguished loyalty and zeal in
the cause of this government.

I have the honour to be, with great respect,
Honorable Sirs,
your most faithful and obedient humble Servant,

ALEX. BEATSON.

A%. Helena, January Ath, 1812.

Extract from Colonel Beatson's second Letter to the Honourable the Court
of Directors, upon the Subject if the Mutiny.

" St. Helena, ]4th January, 1812.

" Par. 1. vJn the first instant, I had the honour of forwarding
by H. M. Sloop Acteon, a Narrative of Proceedings from the com-
mencement of the late mutiny until the surrender of the mutineers
on the morning of the 24th ult. I was prevented at that lime
from saying more, as the Acteon was under orders not to anchor
at St. Helena, and had lain to for only a few hours ; but after I
had sent off my letters. Captain Cator, hearing of the late occur-
rences, obligingly came to Plantation-house, and I had thus an
opportunity of adding to my dispatch a copy of the General
Orders of the 1st of January, by which your Honourable Court
would have the gratification of observing that I have been com-
pletely successful in restoring military subordination and thft,
tranquillity of the island.

" Par. 2. I have now the honour to forward a detailed account
of every circumstance connected with the late mutiny. This
document, dated the 4th instant, I deemed proper to have printed ;
for the purpose of counteracting misrepresentations from discon-
tented persons who would gladly obstruct, by every means in

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 241

their power, all sorts of improvement and reforms ; anil would be
happy to see the old system revived of feeding themselves and
the inhabitants from the Company's stores ; as well as the return
of spirits to the island.

"Par. 4. Your Honourable Court will perceive that the
measures I pursued, during the late mutinous combination, were
calculated to give time to reason with the troops upon the impro-
priety of their conduct; by which I did not despair of bringing
them back to a sense of duty ; for, by occupying Plantation-house
with a small but select number of men, I was prepared to give
a severe check at the first onset, and to repel the most formidable
attack that a mutinous body could make. Indeed when I took
up that position, I knew not but the combination was general, of
which I had but too much reason to suspect from the conduct of
the H'Ao/e garrison : this will appear from the General Orders of
the 23d December: nor was it until the execution of six of the
ringleaders, on the 25th, which happily met with no obstruction,
that the doubts entertained by myself and those around me, were
in some measure removed.

" Par. 5. On that day I directed additional positions to be
occupied, which commanded the barracks, and the roads leading
to the country. The mutinous troops, in James's Town, were
then so completely in my power, (wlien I found the artillery un-
contaminated), that if they had been ten times more numerous
they could not have forced their way to the interior, nor have
committed any disturbance. The last execution took place on
the 27th, under the cannon of Ladder Hill and of those other
positions which kept the mutineers in awe, and restored them to
a sense of duty ; and from that moment, I am happy to say, the
peace of this settlement was etfectually re-established."

I i

242 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

APPENDIX.

A, Proclamation, 20th December, 1811.

B Lieutenant-Governor's Narrative.

C . Lieutenant- Colonel Sm ith's Report.

D. Major Wright's Report.

E. Major Kinnaird's Report.

F. Extract from Captain Benjamins Hodson's Report.
Q Captain Sampson's Report.

JI Captain Braid's Report.

I Captain Barnes's Report.

j^ Lieutenant F. Scale's Report.

L Lieutenant G. Phillips's Report.

]yj Lieutenant William Sealers Report.

■^ Lieutenant Thorn's Report.

Q Captain Pritchard's Report.

p Lieidenant Hunter's Report.

Q. Lieutenants Phillips's and Vwrn's Memoranda, relating to the beha-
viour of the Prisoners, during their Confinement.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. ^243

A. PROCLAMATION.

St. Helena, 20th December, 1811.

It having been reported to tlie Governor and Council, notwith-
standing repeated proclamations regarding the produce of the
farms being sent to market, that with only two exceptions, not a
bushel of potatoes has yet been furnished, whilst the Company's
farm at Long Wood has, since the beginning of November, sup-
plied upwards of one thousand seven hundred bushels to the
garrison and inhabitants ; and it being expedient, on account of
reserving seed for the ensuing crop, to discontinue the supplies
from Long AVood ; it is become absolutely necessary to resort to
the same measure as was adopted in the year 1797, at a time
similar to the present, when the stock of flour was nearly expended :
and accordingly it is resolved, that the sale of potatoes to the
shipping shall be restricted until further orders ; insomuch, that
an equal number of bushels only, as shall appear to have been
sent to the public market, will be allowed for exportation.

As an encouragement to the planters, under present circum-
stances, to furnish the market with potatoes, the Governor and
Council have resolved to allow the sale price of potatoes in the
market to be eight shillings per bushel until further orders : and
any person who shall be convicted of having demanded a higher
price will be liable to such fine or punishment as shall be awarded
by the Governor and Council.

By Order of the Governor and Council,

T. H. BROOKE,

Secretary.

244 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

B . Colonel Broughtons Narrative of the Conduct of the Mutineers, — 23rf

and 24th December, 181 1.

Having been detained on duty in James's Town, until past 7
o'clock, I did not arrive at Long Wood till late ; and reflecting
on the disorderly state of the infantry regiment, which had shewn
itself on that day, I had some suspicion that an attempt might be
made to seize on the artillery at Dead Wood shed. As I passed
by Hutt's gate, where Mr. Hall, the Conductor, resides, I ac-
quainted him of my apprehension, and told him to go over to the
shed and see that the guard was present, and to have the guns
in readiness. I had not been at home three quarters of an hour,
when I received a letter from the Governor, (^ past 9 o'clock)
informing me that it had just been reported to him, that the
mutineers intended to seize the guns at Dead Wood ; one party
was to march directly from the fort, the other from Banks's. On
the receipt of this intelligence, I immediately sent for Serjeant
Lassels, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the artillery ;
and as he did not come so soon as I expected, I proceeded towards
the shed and met him— inquired if he had heard of the disorderly
conduct of the soldiers, and of their intention to seize the guns
that night: he replied, ' that he had just come from the fort;
and that I might depend on it, they would not come that night,

we might all go to bed in perfect safety : for he had heard,

that they meant to make the attempt on Wednesday : and added,
that when I sent for him, he was coming to acquaint me of their
intention.' We soon got to the shed : it was then about half past
10 o'clock ; raining and very dark. I found Mr. Hall therewith
the guard paraded, which consisted of 2 seijeants, and 12 or 14
artillerymen. I told them that I expected to be attacked by

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 245

some mutineers ; and hoped that they had no concern with them ;
and that they would do their duty in defending the guns, and
stand by me : which they all assured me they would do, and
that they had no concern whatever with the mutineers. The
four outer guns I ordered to be got ready as soon as possible.
The first two, as soon as equipped, were sent to Dead Wood, to
cover the road leading up from Banks's, which I placed under
the charge of Serjeant Tunstall, with 6 or 8 artillerymen, with
orders to defend them to the last ; and in case of being over-
powered, to spike them, rather than suffer them to fall into the
hands of the mutineers. Much time elapsed before the other
two guns were got out and equipped ; and I expressed my dis-
pleasure to the Serjeant for the very great delay, and his not
having the shot, portfires, &c, at hand : he seemed confused and
muddled ; continued to say it was unnecessary trouble, as he was
certain no attempt would be made that night. As soon as the
first gun was ready, the men from Long Wood, (working party)
consisting, I think, of 2 matrosses, (one of them an unfit), and 3
privates of the infantry, joined ; and I think fell in with this
gun : we then proceeded to a spot within 50 yards of the tele-
graph ; where the road is narrow, and nearly 100 yards in length
were commanded. Here I placed this gun, and gave orders to
load with grape : the gunner replied, that no ammunition had
yet come. I ran back 50 yards, and met a man with it, and
hurried to the gun ; but when in the act of loading, the mutineers
rushed iipon us, and made me and the party prisoners : we had
not time to spike the gun. Mr. Hall was in my rear about 20
yards, with a six-pounder, coming up to form on the road where
1 had placed the first gun ; and seeing me a prisoner, he instantly
spiked that gun, and ran back to the shed (about 200 yards),
—spiked all the guns there, and afterwards went to Dead Wood,

246 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

where the two first guns were posted — these he found in pos-
session of the mutineers ; but nevertheless contrived to spike
them. By this fortunate circumstance, the mutineers got only
one three-pounder.

On their obtaining possession of my person, they told me,
' they did not mean to do me, or any person the smallest injury :
all they wanted was the Governor's person, — whom they would
take, and send on board the Camperdown — that he should no
longer be Governor of the island, as he was a tyrant — would not
redress their grievances nor do them justice — that I must be their
Governor, and must go along with them to Plantation-house.' I
admonished them upon the impropriety of their conduct ; and
advised them to return, and behave as good soldiers ; — that if they
had any grievances, this was not the way to obtain redress ; — they
should complain through their officers ; but if they persisted in
such unlawful conduct, every man of them would be punished
with death. The Governor, I said, had done no more than his
duty in obeying the orders of the Court of Directors ; and that
even if they succeeded in getting possession of his person, (which
was veryimprobable) whoever was placed in charge of the govern-
ment, would act, just in the same manner as he had done : so
that they would be as far from obtaining their ends as ever. I
told them, their having me in their power, would be no security
whatever to them ; as my life was of no consideration when the
safety of the government was in danger; — that the Governor was*
a good man, — the soldier's friend, and did justice to every man.
Many of them then called out, ' No! No ! we have often com-
plained, but never could get redress.' I replied, that they had been
misled by some villains ; that none of their grievances had ever
come to the Governor's knowledge ; and asked them, what they had
to complain of. Some called out ' that he meant to starve them.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 247

havina^ neitlier written for flour, rice, nor spirits ; that he brought
chinamen and blacks to the island to eat up all the provisions;
— that even for the Festival Dinner, he would not allow the pur-
chase of spirits from the captain of the Camperdown, although it
was proposed by Mr. Leech ; — that they were put under heavy
stoppages for their undress uniform, for nankeen, wings, leather
stocks, tufts, &c. when they could have them for nothing from
the Company's stores ; — that after paying their mess, they had
nothing left to purchase vegetables, or the smallest necessary.'

I told them, that they had been quite misinformed ; — that
both flour and rice were shortly expected ; and as soon as it
arrived, they would be allowed to purchase the usual quantity :
but, from our stock of flour being low, it was found necessary to
limit each person's allowance, so as to meet the arrival of the ex-
pected supplies: — this they were perfectly satisfied with ; — that
spirits were not sent for, was by order of the Court of Directors ;
but that the Governor had sent to the Cape, for wine ; and that
spirits had been procured for the Festival Dinner. As to the
stoppages which had been made on account of dress, I said, it
would be enquired into, and that the Governor had never been
informed of it. Many exclaimed, ' we have been deceived, and
are sorry we have gone so far — the Governor is a good man ; but
it is spirits we want ; and had we spirits, less bread would do.' I
continued to advise them to return to their duty, and behave
themselves as obedient, good soldiers. This seemed to have some
eff*eci : and as they reached the shed, they asked me to write in
their favour to Major Wright. I went into the Serjeant's barrack,
and while getting the pen and paper, some of the most violent
called out, ' No letter ! No longer delay ! Bring him out! (meaning
me) he must go with us to Plantation House !' They had now been
upwards of an hour in getting the three-pounder gun equipped

248 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

with ammunition, &:c. &;c. when they proceeded ; and as I got to
Long Wood gate, I asked them to wait until my horse came, as
also two lanthorns with lights ; — to which they did not object :
and during our stay at the gate, I again addressed them, and
pointed out the enormity of the crime they had committed —
Mutiny and rebellion, I said, were punishable with death, and
nothing could possibly save them ; and if they would return to
their barracks, and give up their advisers and leaders, I would
recommend them to the Governor's clemency. ' No ! No ! they
said, we must have spirits.' It was now about one o'clock, when
the party consisting of about 120 men, and the three-pounder
gun proceeded. I was placed in the centre, under the charge of
Anderson, a private of the light company. Sisell, a private gre-
nadier, appeared the most active, and the leader. Corporal
Smith was violent, and threatened to take Mr. Hall's life, for
spiking the guns, and not giving up the keys of the magazin,e.
After passing Hutt's gate, and half way to the Alarm-house, I
found an opportunity of telling one of the servants who carried
a lanthorn, to make the best of his way to the Governor, and
inform him of my situation, and the strength of the mutineers ;
— to give the lanthorn to one of my party, a prisoner with myself,
and to go back as if returning to Long Wood. By this stratagem,
he got clear off from the mutineers, and carried the first notice to
the Governor. Two other men I afterwards sent, were made
prisoners. The night was dark, and at times light rain, which
caused much delay in getting on the gun. At one place it was
overturned — this caused a halt of nearly half an hour;— and
during that time, much confusion and quarelling took place
amongst the mutineers, which gave an opportunity to Matross
Smith (who had been forced) to escape, and to carry off the pouch,
containing 15 rounds of grape for the gun, which was all the

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 219

ammunition they liad, excepting one or two rounds : and Matross
Clarke also succeeded in escaping with two boxes of tubes, &c.
&c. and got back to the shed.

The mutineers reached Major Pierie's valley about half past
three o'clock: here they halted, and began to abuse the men in
the rear for not coming to the front to assist in dragging the gun
up the hill ; and said that if they did not come, the gun would
be turned upon them. This caused much abuse and fighting ;
and a few men went from the rear to the gun. At this time,
Major Wright came with a message from the Governor, desiring
them to surrender unconditionally, — which they refused. The
Major went back to the Governor, and soon after returned with
Major Hodson, and again delivered the same message ; but in
vain ; the infatuated mutineers still demanded a pardon and issues
of spirits ; and on no other terms would they surrender. These
officers again went back to the Governor, who still continued firm,
and replied that unless they surrendered unconditionally. Major
Kinnaird had received final orders to put the whole of them to
death. This message was again delivered by Major Hodson : —
most of them submitted immediately ; but about eight or ten of the
most daring, ran up the hill a few yards with their firelocks cocked,
and presented at Major Kinnaird's party, and were about to fire,
when Major Hodson and myself ran up to them, and told them
they were mad, in drawing destruction on themselves, and the
men who had surrendered : — advised them also to surrender with
the others, and trust to the Governor for mercy. They sullenly
came down and submitted.

It was now day-light, and the prisoners in number 75, were
secured and marched to High Knoll : but a great many of the
mutineers left their party between the Alarm-house and the time
of their surrender.

Kk

250 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

I was much indebted to Mr. Hall, the conductor, for his cool,
steady, and soldier-like conduct on the night of the 23d, and par-
ticularly in spiking the two guns after they were in possession of

the mutineers.

E. S. BROUGHTON.

St. Helena, 25th December, 181 1.

C . Lieutenant- Colonel Smith's Report of Occurrences, which took place in
Garrison, on the Evening of the 23rf Instant.

As soon as I was informed there was a disturbance in barracks,
which was about a quarter before 9 o'clock, and Captain Pritchard
came and spoke to me, concerning the ammunition chest in the
guard room, I directed him to go down and have the ammuni-
tion destroyed by throwing water upon it. I then sent for all
the keys of the magazines, chests, and laboratory, which were
brought by Serjeant Clenchman, and secured in my house. I
then went down to the guard, and told the officer I wished to
speak to the men a few minutes. T went into their guard room
and told them, that I was one of the committee which sat that
day, and that the Governor would arrange every thing to-morrow
for them, and I doubted not to their satisfaction. They made
answer, " It is too late now, and that they would not stay," and
immediately rushed out of the guard. I used all my endeavours
to persuade them to fall in : but the mutineers, at that instant,
came on the parade, and surrounded me. I tried to persuade
them to go back again ; they said, " No ! they came for ammuni-
tion, and ammunition they would have." Some of them imme-
diately went in the officers' guard room and broke open the chest;
but finding all the ammunition in it spoiled, they ran down to
the laboratory and demanded the keys. One of them called out,

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 251

** I have got a key/* and immediately I lieard the door knocked
open witli a thirty-two-pound shot that he had taken from the
pile that stood near the spot. They had taken out a barrel of
ball cartridges, and were supplying themselves when I got there.
I immediately put my hand on the barrel, but three of them
charged their bayonets on me, and told me they would run me
through if I attempted to prevent them. . They then proceeded
up the valley as fast as possible. I observed that part of the
garrison, which had been collected by the officers, coming down
the upper street. I proceeded to the foot of Ladder Hill, met
them, and gave orders for them instantly to repair to the Gover-
nor at Plantation-house. Major Wright having proposed to
follow the mutineers, and try if he could persuade them to come
back, I approved of the suggestion, and ordered him to proceed
after them. I then returned to the main guard, and got toge-
ther what men I could, and placed two twelve-pounder carro-
nades, loaded with grape, between the church and garden-gate,
looking up the town. Things remained in that state until the

morning of the 24th instant.

E. C. SMITH,

Lieutenant- Colonel.

N. B. In the above report I have omitted much abuse and
scurrility, vented by the mutineers.

D. Major Wright's Report, 2Sd December, IHU,

To Colonel Alexander Beatson, Governor, <^c. Sfc. SfC.
StR,
In compliance with your orders, I send you the following state-
ment of the different transactions which took place on the even-
ing of the 23d instant, and the morning of the 24th.

2o2 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

On the evening of the 23d, between 8 and 9 o'clock, Serjeant
Russel called me aside from Captain Knipe's door, and told me
he did not like the appearance of the men ; that they were assem-
bling in parties about the street, and in barracks. I went up as
far as the bridge, where I met with some officers, and enquired if
they saw any thing suspicions or incorrect, and related to them
what I heard. They said, they saw nothing improper ; and then
went with me to Colonel Smith (the commanding officer) to report
the circumstance, and from thence to the mens' barracks, and re-
mained there some time. There were in barracks two of the
light infantry company, whom Captain Sampson found intoxicated
and noisy ; but they became quiet and went to their cots. Every
thing seemed perfectly regular; and the officer of the barrack
guard, and Serjeant-major Honeyburn, told me they had not
obsierved any thing improper or suspicious. I then left the bar-
racks, accompanied by the other officers, and remained at Captain
Cole's, We had not long been there, before a report came, that
the soldiers had got out of barracks, and were coming down the
street. We immediately proceeded towards the barracks, and
met the men with charged bayonets, rushing down the avenue :
we endeavoured to stop them, but in vain.

Finding our attempts to stop them useless, we collected the
whole of the men in barracks, and all the out-layers, and brought
them to the foot of Ladder Hill, where I left them : but upon
hearing the mutineers had gone up Side-path (with permission
from Lieutenant-Colonel Smith) I followed them, and overtook
the main body of them, a little past the turn at the Alarm-house;
where I stated to them the impropriety of their conduct, and en-
deavoured all in my power to persuade them to return to their
barracks, which they positively refused : and finding I could not
bring them back, I quitted them, and joined the party at Planta-

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 253

tion-house. After reporting to you my unsuccessful attempts to
bring the mutineers to a sense of their duty, I proceeded, in
obedience to your orders, to inspect the positions occupied by the
troops at the outside of the Plantation-house enclosure : after re-
porting which, I was about to assume the command, when I was
called back by the Town Major, and informed, it was your wish
that I should meet the mutineers, who had possession of the Lieu-
tenant-Ciovernor's person, and once more point out to them, the
folly and madness of their persevering in such outrageous con-
duct, and to advise them to surrender. This command I executed ;
and prevailed on the uiutineers to halt in a deep valley, where I
knew they would be completely commanded by our troops and
guns. Wlien here, I endeavoured to prevail on them to acquaint
me with the nature of their grievances, in order that I might lay it
before you: but no one in particular would come forward and
speak. At length, seeing Robert Kelly of the grenadiers near
me, I desired him to declare what it was they had to complain of,
promising him that he should not be considered as a principal in
the mutiny in consequence of his speaking. He began, by stat-
ing the hardships tliey were under on account of dress, ornaments,
&c. &c. ; but was interrupted by many of his associates, who
called out to him, " Speak the truth, Kelly, you know it is not
that ;" upon which he turned away, saying, as he retired, " the
men never had a more comfortable dress than they have now."
What I at length understand to be the real cause of complaint,
I reported to you that night.

As I continued to be employed by you in treating witli the
mutineers, I had no opportunity of remaining with the troops in
command, until after the surrender : but from time to time I gave
such intimations to Major Kinnaird, as appeared to me neces-

254 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c,

sary, and pointed out to him what I considered to be the most
advantageous positions for him to occupy.

I have the honour to be, Sir,

your most obedient Servant,

J. A. WRIGHT,

James's Town, SOth December, 1811. Major.

Xu . Major Kinnaird's Report.

On Monday, the 23d of December, 1811, I came on the duty of
field officer of the week ; and the preceding day I happened to
be left senior ofticer in garrison : and had occasion, at different
tiires, to report to the Governor, symptoms of dissatisfaction
evinced by the men in barracks. Until near seven o'clock that
evening (Monday) I had been detained on a court of enquiry. I
had been directed to correspond with the officer commanding at
Ladder Hill ; and having made a few arrangements with the
artillery in town, at about a quarter past nine o'clock, I went to
my house to answer a letter from Captain Hodson, at Ladder
Hill : at the same time sending back a confidential person to in-
form me of any extraordinary occurrence in barracks.

I had not finished my letter when the messenger returned, and
informed me, the men in barracks were turning out. I dispatched
my letter to Captain Hodson ; and in hastening towards the
barracks, Seijeant-major Evans and several orderlies came to me.
One I sent to inform Colonel Smith and the officer of the main
guard. At the foot of the trees, I came in sight of the mutineers,
and observed them make a momentary halt ; then, in the most
tumultuous manner, they rushed down the street, passing me
opposite the Slaughter-house. In their rear were Major Wright,

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 265

Captains Sampson and Cole, who, taking the alarm from my
messenger, had preceded me up the street, and caused the halt I
observed.

I ran to the foot of the trees, and had two pistols discharged, as
a signal to Ladder Hill to fire a general alarm, which was in-
stantly obeyed. I then directed Lieutenant Thorn to hasten to
the barracks, and order the drummers to beat to arms, to collect
the artillery, and march them to Ladder Hill corner. Coming there
with Major Wright and Captain Barnes (the other officers having
returned to assist in assembling the men in barracks), I found
Captain Pritchard and several men (outlayers), had joined us. I
served out to this party a small quantity of ammunition, intend-
ing to follow the mutineers down the street, hearing they had
gone to the main guard. I was soon informed, however, that
they had returned, and proceeded up the Side-path road. Major
Wright determined to follow them alone, as I had to proceed to
Plantation-house, with what men I could collect. Captain Barnes
was sent to communicate the same to Colonel Smith, the com-
manding officer in garrison. The senior officer in barracks soon
joined me at Ladder Hill corner, with all the men he could
collect. The whole were assembled without regard to corps, and
might amount to (including officers) 120. All the officers had
joined, and we marched from town in less than half an hour from
the first breaking out of the mutineers.

Having that day seen the orders given to Captain Hodson at
Ladder Hill, and received orders for my own guidance, I was
desirous of sending a messenger, before the column, to inform
Captain Hodson of my approach, and to proceed on to the Gevernor
with the same intelligence : and Captain Pritchard, the Gover-
nor's aid-de-camp, handsomely offered his services on the occasion.
I directed Captain Sampson to proceed with the party, and

256 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

Captain Braid (giving him four file from the rear of the column)
to join Colonel Smith for the present, in order to collect all the
men he could, and to send me a reinforcement. After mounting
my horse, I took a light in my hand as a signal to Captain
Hodson, passed my party, and had ammunition ready on their
arrival at Ladder Hill ; where they were halted, and served with
four bundles per man. From this post, I sent Lieutenants
F. Scale and Thorn with ten file, as an advanced guard, with
orders to wait my arrival at Red Hill gate, or obey what orders
they might receive from the Governor ; and to inform him and
the commanding ofticer of High Knoll of their arrival. The steady
appearance of the men at Ladder Hill, seemed to inspire my party
with confidence. I also assured them there was nothing to be
apprehended from the guns of the East Brigade, which seemed to
be the object of the mutineers ; being confident Mr. Hall would
spike them, as a measure I had recommended to him in the
morning. On leaving town, there remained Lieutenant-Colonel
Smith, Captain Braid, Lieutenants Hunter and W. Scale on the
main and Barrack guards, with about 80 men, including the
marine and laboratory departments ; about 40 more joined.

Opposite High Knoll, I was met by Captain Pritchard, return-
ing with orders from the Governor. At Red Hill gate. Major
Hodson waited my arrival, with orders for posting the detach-
ment. My advance party had been sent on to the gate leading
to Major Pierie's. From the rear I counted off' twenty file to
guard the Francis Plain-path, leaving Captain Sampson in com-
mand. At Plantation-house gate, I took ten file, who, with
Captain Barnes, I posted on the road leading to Casons, where I
found a field-piece, and a detachment of volunteer artillery. With
what remained I proceeded towards the advanced party ; and
upon the road, Captain Desfountain of the volunteers, with a

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. -257

field-piece, was posted in a commanding situation. At Major
Pierie's gate I found the advanced party : and there, with the
troops T had with me, I occupied a strong position ; and with the
advance, proceeded to the ravine, taking possession of the only
pass by which, on that road, the mutineers could advance to
Plantation-house.

Having made these arrangements, I sent Lieutenant Thorn to
inform the Governor of the position I had taken up. Some time
after, a servant of Colonel Broughton's came in with intelligence
of the approach of the mutineers, and of their having taken his
master prisoner. I immediately sent Lieutenant Thorn to the
Governor to inform him of this, and of my intention to withdraw
my party in advance, with my reasons for so doing. Major
Wright soon came to me ; and while consulting on the measure
proposed, Mr. Baildon, who had been sent to me from tlie Gover-
nor on the same subject, came up. Major Wright went to meet
the mutineers, who were then near the place I before occupied in
the ravine. Four men, as an advance from the rabble, fell into
my chain of sentinels, answering, when challenged, " Friends of
Colonel Broughton," saying, " They wished to propose terms to
the Governor:" and having them sufficiently within the pass, I
challenged them from the edge of the hill, and ordered them to
halt. A correspondence between them and the Governor, through
Majors Wright and Hodson, brought on day-light ; during which
time the detached parties joined me on the brow of the Iiill, look-
ing down on the mutineers, who were within pistol shot. When
all had joined, the front extended from Major Pierie's garden
wall, to the fence running parallel with it, in an oblique direc-
tion ; shewing the mutineers only the right. Presuming on their
number, they became clamorous, and made a shew of advancing
Having then sutficient light to discover the rabble below, I

LI

258 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

brought up the left ; and two field-pieces were placed so as to
enfilade the only road by which the mutineers could approach-
Seeing their perilous situation, they gave up Colonel Broughton,
who, on coming up, was received with presented arms.

The mutineers still retaining their arms, I was apprehensive
they might attempt a retreat ; to prevent which, I ordered Cap-
tain Sampson (who with a strong detachment had been in reserve)
to advance over the fence to the right, where he had complete
command of the pass in their rear. The manner of their surrender
becoming a question, I again sent Lieutenant Thorn to the
Governor for instructions, keeping my party fully prepared to
carry into effect, the former decided orders I had received, should
it become necessary. Major Hodson, who still remained with
them (Major Wright having gone to the Governor), at last
succeeded in persuading them to lay down their arms and accou-
trements.

Major Wright, returning from the Governor, brought orders
that the artillery only should escort the prisoners to High Knoll ;
and there lodge them under the care of Lieutenant Thorn. These
orders I obeyed, and made a report to the Governor.

DAV. KTNNAIRD,

St. Helma, 28th December, 1811. Major St. Helena Artillery.

F. Extract from Captain Benjamin Hodson' a Report.

To the Honourable Colonel Alexander Beatson, Governor, S^c. &;c. S^'c.

Honourable Sir,

Agreeably to the instructions I received from you on Monday,
23d December, 1811, I proceeded to Ladder Hill, and took the
command. As I supposed the intention of the mutineers would

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 259

be to seize this post, I distributed what men I had, to the guns
pointing on the road leading to the town ; the whole of the men
I expected, had not at this time arrived. About twenty minutes
before ten o'clock that night, I heard a great shouting in several
parts of the town, and two or three muskets were discharged in
the upper part of the street below the ofHcers' barracks. I im-
mediately fired a general alarm ; and at that moment was rein-
forced with a party of artillery men I expected from Banks's
guard. My detachment now consisted of two lieutenants, one
volunteer, one serjeant-major (invalid), one drill-serjeant, nine
Serjeants, six corporals, nineteen gunners, two drummers, forty
matrosses of artillery, and two privates of infantry (telegraph
officers.) At the instant the alarm was made, a very heavy
shower of rain came on, and caused such darkness, that I could
not distinguish any object in town, to which I could direct a fire.
I remained with the men at the guns, endeavouring to discover
what route the mutineers had taken ; and when the rain cleared
off, I observed a large body of men moving on the road leading
to this post. I concluded they were mutineers marching to attack
me, and prepared the men to receive them with firmness, and
was on the point of firing on them with grape shot, when Lieu-
tenant Wilson advised me to wait a little, until they came into a
more open part of the road, where I could bring more guns to
bear on them ; and by that time I might be able to ascertain
whether they were mutineers, or friends, particularly as a lant-
horn was seen moving very quick in their front. My advanced
picquet shortly after challeiiged Major Doveton, the commandant
of volunteers, who informed me that the party advancing were
friends proceeding to join the Governor, and that the mutineers
had gone to Deadwood shed. Captain Pritchard then arrived
with the same intelligence, and soon after Major Kinnaird (who

260 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

rode with u lantborn) and Captain Hodson, the Town Major,
came and offered me a reinforcement from the party that was
approaching': which however I declined, as it was not at all
probable that the mutineers would attack me on the town side.
After serving that party with musket ammunition, I made dispo-
sitions to receive an attack from the country side, and remained
with the men at their quarters the whole night.

In the morning I was informed the mutineers had surrendered
at discretion ; but as I was desired to keep my station, I moved
a ten inch howitzer loaded with canister shot ; which, to check
any rapid advance that might be made, was placed about one
hundred yards on the road, on the ovitside of the works. As the pass
is very narrow, a single discharge would make great slaughter ;
and throw any body of men into confusion, and this in a situation
where my guns, on the inside of the works, would have full efffect.

The next day I received an order from you to advance two
guns on the first turning of the road, above the soldiers' barracks,
with directions to fire on any party that might attempt to force
their way out of the barracks. In obedience to that order, two
5j inch howitzers, being the two most disposable guns I had,
were advanced under the command of Lieutenant Wilson ; and,
at the same time, I pointed as many guns to the parade, opposite
the main guard, as could be brought to bear on that point.

This, I trust, you will find to be a correct statement of the oc-
currences of the mutiny which commenced on the night of the
23d ©f December 1811, as far as concerned the post which I had
the honour to command.

I have the honour to remain. Honourable Sir,
your very obedient Servant,

B. HODSON,

Ladder Hill, Dec. 31, 1811. Captain oJArtilleri/ comtnanding Ladder Hill,

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 261

vr. Captain Sampson's Report.

To Colonel Alexander Beatson, Governor, Sfc. c^'c. Sfc.
Sir,
Having received a letter from the Town Major, dated the
29th of December, 1811, directing me to state, for your informa-
tion, the circumstances of the night of the 23d instant, as far as
they came within my knowledge, I send you the following
Report.

At half past eight o'clock on the evening of the 23d, Major
Wright sent for me, by Sergeant Russell of the grenadiers, a con-
fidential non-commissioned officer, who informed me, that he had
every reason to believe the troops meant to rise in the course of
the night. In my way to Major Wright's, I met Mr. Doveton,
who told me, he had positive information to the same effect ; and
requested me to go to the barracks, and let the soldiers know,
that measures would be adopted on the 24th, much to their satis-
faction. Major Wright, anl some other officers of the regiment,
with Captain Cole of the artillery, and myself, hurried up to the
barracks. I went into the rooms occupied by my Company, and
perceived an unusual agitation among the men. I enquired what
was the matter, and informed them, as Mr. Doveton had requested,
' that measures would be adopted the next day, much to their
satisfaction,' and ordered them to bed. My explanation appeared
to satisfy the whole of them, with the exception of Berwick and
Anderson, privates, who were intoxicated, and whom I forced to
their cots. After this, while we remained, every thing was quiet.
I enquired of Captain Knipe, hov/ the grenadiers were .^ he re-
plied, ' perfectly still, and at rest for the night.' All the officers
then quitted the barracks, and went down the town : but keeping
on the alert. Major Wright and myself went with Captain Cole

262 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

to his house ; and we had not been there more than five minutes
before we were informed the men were rising. I met my orderly,
who told us the troops were breaking out of barracks. Major
Wright, Captain Cole and myself, hurried up to stop them ; and
when arrived near the barracks, we met them coming down with
charged bayonets. Major Wright called out to us, to resist them,
and drive them back to the barracks. In a moment we met, and
stopped the head of the column : but as the rear charged the
front, and pressed forward with great impetuosity, it was impos-
sible to prevent their proceeding.

Major Kinnaird with some other officers then joined ; and it
was determined to make a general alarm. Majors Wright and
Kinnaird went down after the mutineers, and I was directed to
go to the barracks and collect what men I could. In passing up,
I met several, going to join the mutineers ; but with the assist-
ance of other officers forced them back : and when in the barracks
I observed every officer zealous and active. The outlayers were
joining us very fast ; so that in about twenty minutes I was at
the head of 100 men well officered. I then marched from the
barracks, expecting to meet them before they left town ; but as I
marched down the street, they went up Side-path. When I got to
Ladder Hill corner, I there met Captain Pritchard with a few men :
and on consulting with Majors AV right and Kinnaird, we deter-
mined to march directly to Plantation-house to the assistance of the
Governor, as we were informed that Ae was their object. Major
Wright got a horse and rode after the mutineers to endeavour to
bring them back, while the detachment advanced to Ladder Hill.
Here we procured ammunition. Major Kinnaird then ordered
Lieutenants F. Seal and Thorn to advance to Plantation-house
with 20 men, and inform the Governor we were on the march
with one hundred men.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 263

When we got to the tank at the foot of High Knoll, Major
Hodson met us, with orders from the Governor to divide our
force. Major Kinnaird went forward with about 40 men, and
40 were left with me to guard the foot of High Knoll, should the
mutineers advance by that route. The following was the order
of my position. Captain Knipe with 12 men at the head of the
road leading from Mrs. Harper's ; Lieutenant Torbett in advance,
to flank the above road, the wall under which his party was
posted, forming a breast work ; — Lieutenant Chad wick, low down
on the left of the tank, on the opposite flank ; another picquet,
stiirfnrther on the left of Lieutenant Chadwick, to watch Francis
Plain, should they cross that way. At this time a field-piece
arrived from High-Knoll, which I put under Lieutenant Mason's
charge, with men to work it whom I could depend on, and placed
in the best situation to rake the road. The rest of the men I
ordered a little in the rear, to act as occasion might require : —
and having made these arrangements, I was fully satisfied that
my post could not be forced by the mutineers.

About four o'clock in the morning, the Reverend Mr. Jones
brought me orders from the Governor in writing : but as 1 had no
light to enable me to read them, Mr. Jones informed me of their
substance, viz. thati was to march thirty chosen men to Plantation,
house, where I should receive orders : he likewise informed me,
he believed it was wished that I should attempt to rescue Colonel
Broughton, and that if we succeeded, every man would receive a
reward of £20. When I got to the Plantation-house gate, I
there met Captain T. H. Brooke of the volunteer corps, reported
orders from the Governor similar to those I received by Mr.
Jones ; but that I was to wait for further instructions on that
head. Captain Pritchard (aid-de-camp) then ordered me to join
Major Kinnaird, whom I found in a very strong position, within

264 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

pistol shot of the mutineers. Our force then amounted to about
90 rank and file, and, I believe, ten officers. Major Kinnaird
took me to reconnoitre, and I observed it would be impossible for
the mutineers to escape, as they were completely impounded ;
and in the worst possible position they could have chosen. From
this time, being under the command of Major Kinnaird, I have
nothing to communicate but what you will be informed of by
that officer.

I have the honour to remain. Sir,

your obedient and humble Servant,

C. SAMPSON,

James's Fort, SOth December, 1811. Captain of Infantry,

tt. Captain Braid's Report.

On Monday, the 23d of December, 1811, I was on the duty of
Captain of the day ; and in the evening I determined, in company
with Captain Barnes, to remain at the house of Mr. Everton, near
the barracks, where we could have the earliest intelligence of
whatever might occur ; and from which situation we could, in
some measure, observe the conduct of the men in barracks.

At about a quarter before ten o'clock, we perceived an unusual
bustle and noise in one of the barrack rooms opposite to us ; and
it soon became evident, that the men of the St. Helena regiment
were turning out into the Barrack Square, with arms and ac-
coutrements.

We proceeded towards the barrack gate, and were joined by
Lieutenants Thorn and F. Scale. The gate was locked ; but we
could easily perceive the mutineers were assembling rapidly
inside. I instantly dispatched Lieutenant F. Scale (who volun-
teered his service) to give information of these circumstances to

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 265

Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, the commanding officer ; to Major
Kinnaird, the field-officer on duty ; and to order the main guard
immediately under arms.

Our repeatedly calling for the gate to be opened, and for the
officer of the barrack guard. Lieutenant W. Scale, to appear, was
of no avail: it was but too apparent the guard, officer and all,
were now prisoners to the mutineers. However, our incessant
application for admittance, and the assurance they now had of
their motions being discovered, seem to have pressed them to a
deternnnation of venturing out, sooner than they intended ; and
while their numbers were much below what they expected to
collect.

The wicket being opened, about one hundred of them rushed
out: the whole appeared fully dressed and armed. We remon-
strated with these deluded men as they passed ; but to no purpose.
There were also many stragglers following to join them, most of
whom were sent to the barracks.

On the way down the street we met Majors Kinnaird and
Wright, and many other officers. The general alarm Avas made,
and all the men of both corps who could be found, were assem-
bled at the foot of Ladder Hill, and marched off into the country.

Major Kinnaird ordered me to remain with Lieutenant Colonel
Smith, to collect all the force we possibly could, and to send
him a reinforcement to Plantation-house. I immediately joined
Lieutenant Colonel Smith on the lower parade, and communi-
cated to him the order I had received from Major Kinnaird.

Upon enquiring into the state of the main guard, I was asto-
nished to find no opposition had been made to the approach of the
mutineers ; no attempt to defend the magazine ; and in short,
tliat the main guard were not even under arms at the moment. I
had the names of the men of this guard called over, when it

M m

266 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

appeared twenty-five had absented themselves, and joined the
mutineers.

In going the rounds, I found the castle gate open at 12 o'clock
at night : and there being no officer for the castle duty that night,
I had two Serjeants placed there and the gate locked.

The good conduct of Mr. Everton on that night, deserves to be

noticed.

ANDREW BRAID,

St. Helena, 28tfi December, ISl 1. Captain of Artillery.

I. Captain Barnes's Report.

On the night of the 23d instant. Captain Braid and myself

having stationed ourselves at the house of Mr. Everton, directly

opposite to the barrack windows of the light company, that we

might be in perfect readiness should we be called upon, were

informed, about twenty minutes before ten o'clock, by Everton

(whose vigilance deserves great praise) that there was a violent

tumult in the barracks, and that the soldiers were attempting to

force their way through the gates. Captain Braid and myself

immediately went there, and were directly joined by Lieutenant

F. Seale and Lieutenant Thorn. Lieutenant Scale was instantly

dispatched by Captain Braid to inform Major Kinnaird, the main

guard, &c. &c. of what had taken place. In less than five minutes

after we had got to the gate, the wicket was opened, and about

a hundred men, most of them fully armed and accoutred, rushed

out. It was in vain for three of us to attempt opposing force to

this body, and all that we could say to induce them to desist from

their mad and disgraceful enterprize, was useless ; — declaring

throughout " we want our rights, and ivill have them before we

come hack." — They proceeded down the street very quickly : —

we followed, using our utmost endeavours to persuade every

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 267

straggler following tliem to return to his barracks ; in some in-
stances we were successful. Near the gate leading into the
parade before the officers' barracks we joined Majors Wright and
Kinnaird, Captains Sampson and Cole, and others. Lieutenant
Thorn was dispatched by Major Kinnaird with orders to the
barracks ; as was Captain Sampson by Major Wright. Two
pistols were fired by Major Kinnaird, as a signal to Captain
Hodson at Ladder Hill, who almost instantly made the general
alarm. It was then determined to collect all the men Ave could,
at the bottom of Ladder Hill road, where we found Captain
Pritchard with a few men. Having been joined by Captain
Sampson and Lieutenant Thorn, with all the men they could
find, we proceeded to Ladder Hill ; Captain Pritchard having
been previously ordered by Major Kinnaird to hasten to the
Governor, to inform him he was marching to Plantation-house
with a considerable force. At Ladder Hill we received four
bundles of ball cartridge for each man ; and spare ammunition
was carried by six black men. After reaching Red Hill house,
. where we met the Town Major, we were detached in parties to
various positions. With 20 men, I was ordered to take post on
the road leading to Cason's Gate, which I did ; and found there
a field-piece (a three pounder) with two volunteer officers, Lieu-
tenants Wright and Blake) and 24 black artillerymen. I took
charge of the whole, and disposed them so as to command every
approach to my post. A little before day-light, I was ordered
with my party and guns (another three pounder, with Lieutenant
D. Pritchard, having joined) to march down to the main body,
under Major Kinnaird, which was drawn up in line, near Major
Pierie's lower house, upon a small flat on the brow of a hill look-
ing down upon the mutineers, who were within pistol shot of us.
I fell in, with both field-pieces on the leftilank, so as completely

268 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

to enfilade the only road by which they could attempt to pass,
and soon after the rebels surrendered at discretion.

JOHN BARNES,

30th December, 1811. Captain of Artillery.

K. Lieutenant F. Seale'sHepoi-t.

St. Helena, December 28th, 1811.

On Monday evening, the 23d instant, Serjeant Russell of the
grenadier company having reported to Captain Knipe, between
eight and nine o'clock, that a mutiny was likely to take place that
night, in the garrison, I went to the soldiers' barracks with Major
Wright and several other officers ; where we remained until some
time after nine o'clock : and not finding the least misconduct
among the men then in barracks, we retired to our quarters. —
Before ten o'clock, I heard a great noise in the soldiers' barracks,
and immediately went up to the gate, where I found Captains
Braid and Barnes, with Lieutenant Thorn, endeavouring to get
admittance. I heard Lieutenant William Scale and Serjeant
Major Honeyburn among the rebels, endeavouring to pacify them.
Captain Braid requested me to go and inform Majors Wright and
Kinnaird, as quick as possible, of the state of the men in barracks.
In my way, I met Lieutenants Mason and Torbett coming towards
the barracks ; who informed me, that Lieutenant James Wright
had gone before for the same purpose. I therefore returned with
them immediately, and saw the mutineers rushing from the
barrack gate. I ran forwfird, and called to them, but to no
purpose . and then passed them on the left, with an intention, if
possible, to stop some of their rear; and Lieutenants Chadwick,
Mason, and Torbett, and Serjeant-Major Honeyburn, having
joined me, we succeeded and sent back immediately, Nimmo,

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 269

Walker, Edmonston, Cain, Bntler, and Beck, to their barracks.
It was with some difficulty we prevailed on them to return ;
saying ' that if they did not join the opposite party, they (the
mutineers) would skiver them, and put them to death.' Captain
Sampson ordered us to march, with what men could be collected
in barracks, and join Major Kinnaird at the foot of Ladder Hill.
We proceeded to tliat post, and after every man was suppbed with
ammunition, Major Kinnaird gave me the command of the advance
guard, composed of LieutenantTliorn, two Serjeants, and twenty
rank and file ; with orders to proceed until I reached Ked-Hill
gate ; and there to halt until became up. When there, the Town
Major ordered me to proceed with my party to Major Pierie's gate.
Major Kinnaird soon came up to me with the detachment : halted
and ordered me, with the advance party, to occupy the pass in the
ravine below ; and in the night to retire or advance as the nature
of things required. A little before day-light, I received orders to
join the main body in bne : and shortly afterwards, the mutineers
halted in the ravine, about the same place I before occupied.

F. SEALE,

Lieutenant.
■L'. Lieutenant Phillips's Report.

Hiyh-KuoU, Monday, December 2-id, 1811,

iJyMPTOMs of dissatisfaction having appeared among some of
the troops in the garrison yesterday, and it having come to the
Governor's knowledge, that they intended to mutiny, I was sent
for by him and the Council, at 2 P. M. and received orders to
keep a strict look-out from my post, and to fire upon any party
of men seen in arms, approaching Plantation-house ; and to dis-
perse them. At 5 P. M. I returned to High Knoll ; and imme-
diately made every preparation to defend my post, by loading the
guns with grape, placing centinels in advance, and securing the

270 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

gates and tower. At 9 P. M. a reinforcement of one serjeant, one
corporal, one gunner, and seven matrosses, joined ray guard ;
making tlie total number, one lieutenant, one serjeant, two cor-
porals, one gunner, sixteen matrosses, and one private. Some of
the mutineers having heard that this party was ordered to rein-
force High-Knoll, told them to inform me, ' that they would
soon be after them, and perhaps be there as soon as they would.'
Between ten and eleven at night, I was employed in serving out
ammunition to the difl'erent parties, and getting out the field-
pieces, &c. for the volunteers : and at this time, about twenty
volunteers joined my post. They did not, however, long remain
with me, as I thought it better to order them to Plantation-house.
At a quarter before 10 P. M. the general alarm was fired at
Ladder-Hill. I immediately repeated it. At half-past 10 P. M.
I perceived a light going up Side-path : hailed it, and ordered
them to stop ; but it proved to be Mr. Balcombe. I kept a good
look-out for the mutineers during the night, with the night-glasses ;
but could not perceive them, — keeping my portfires constantly
lighted, and hailing every body in sight, passing and re-passing.
Tuesday morning, at about half-past 12 A. M. I received in-
formation, by a running-hand from the picquet guard under
High-Knoll, that the mutineers had been at Long Wood, and had
taken the Lieutenant-Governor prisoner, as well as Mr. Hall, the
conductor ; that they had pressed Serjeant Lassels, and some
artillerymen, to assist them in manning a three-pounder, — the
only one of the west brigade that had not been spiked, — and that
they were approaching Plantation-house with the Lieutenant-
Governor in their centre. At half past one, A. M. I perceived
two lights coming round under the Alarm-house, and at times
could see, with our night-glasses, a great number of men. Con-
jecturing thes were the mutineers, I immediately gave informa-

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 27 1

tion to Captain Sampson, comniandine, the picquet, and to
Plantation-liouse ; keejjing my guns pointed at them, and my
portfires lighted. But I did not conceive it proper to fire upon
them, knowing Colonel Broughton was in their possession. At
about half-past 2 A. M. the mutineers had nearly reached Major
Pierie's house, when I hailed them with a large speaking trumpet,
and desired them not to advance, or I would fire upon them
immediately. They soon halted, and at the break of day, I
perceived, above Major Pierie's house, a large detachment of
artillery and infantry, and some volunteers, with their front facing
the run of water, and shortly after, I saw the mutineers, appa-
rently about 90 in number, in the ravine, close under our detach-
ments: and very soon, the mutineers appeared to have surrendered.
At about 7 A.M. the whole of the mutineers (75) taken in arms,
were marched here, by Major Kinnaird and his detachment.
Lieutenant Thorn, with 21 artillerymen, reinforced my guard,
and the whole of the prisoners were put into one barrack. I then
loaded one 8-inch howitzer, and two 18-pounders, with grape,
and pointed them directly upon tlie prisoners ; and also placed
seven centinels, with loaded pieces, to watch them, and to keep
a strict look-out. I had also a guard of one serjeant, three cor-
porals, and fourteen matrosses, in the room opposite the prisoners,
with 20 rounds each of ball ammunition ; and a guard on the
tower of one serjeant, three corporals, and twenty matrosses. I
deemed it further expedient, for fear of being surprised by the
prisoners, or any of their associates, to dismount the fourrj-pound
field-pieces, and to lock them up in the tower ; which seemed to
be the more necessary, as there were two ammunition carts, with
field-piece ammunition in the ordnance store-room, outside the
tower. These precautions were accordingly taken, and every

thing here remained quiet.

GEO. L. PPIILLIPS,

Lieutenant of Artillery, coininund'm^ High- Knoll.

272 NARRA.TIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

M. Lieutenant W. Seal's Report.

St. Helena, 29th December, 1811.

vJn Monday evening the 23d instunt, I had the command of the
barrack gnaid ; and about a quarter before 9 o'clock, Major
Wright, in company with several officers, came and enquired if
I liad perceived any misconduct in the soldiers in barracks: I
answered, no ! the men seemed quite orderly. Lieutenant
F. Scale requested I would be particularly alert, as Serjeant
Russell had informed Captain Knipe, that the soldiers intended
to mutiny that night ; but the uniform conduct of the men at
that time, as also in the former part of the evening,, induced us to
believe the report was erroneous. The officers quitted the bar-
racks about half past nine o'clock, and after passing out those
soldiers who have permission to sleep out of barracks, I ordered,
as usual, the serjeant of the guard to put the lights out. On his
return, I enquired if he had performed this duty, and if the men
were quiet in barracks? " he said he had put out the lights;
but that immediately after the men began to take down their
arms and accoutrements, and were very turbulent." I desired
him to accompany me and point out the room in which the men
were irregular : he directed me to one of the grenadier barracks,
in which I saw several men accoutred. I asked them the reason
of their being dressed in that way: they answered, " because
they felt themselves aggrieved." At this moment the light in-
fantry rushed into the upper square, and called out, " Grenadiers !
are you not ready yet ? fall in ; fall in !" I endeavoured to pre-
vail on them to return to their barracks, but without effect.
Whilst some listened, others upbraided them for it. I was then
forced by Anderson, private, to return to my quarters, and con-

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 273

sider myself a prisoner, desiring nie at the same time to give up
my sword and the keys of the gates ; which refusing to do, my
sword was seized, and the keys were wrested from me. But on
their returning from the guard room, I observed an opportunity
of leaping among them and recovering the keys. Having etl'ected
this, I returned to my quarters ; but was followed by tlie muti-
neers, who still insisted upon having the keys, and the gates
being opened. Some cried out, " Put the bayonet through him,
and then he'll give them up." Hearing' the voice of officers at
the gate, I went to them, and found Berwick and Mason, pri-
vates, had posted themselves, one on each side the gate ; declar-
ing they would charge the first officer that entered. During the
outrageous conduct of the rebels at the gates, they said, " they had
frequently reported that they were in a state of starvation, without
redress: and that they had no intention of injuring anyone ; but
that the Governor was their object, and have him they would."
Serjeant-major Honeyburn then came to my assistance ; but one
of the rebels inunediately struck him, and desired him to go
away. I secretly gave him the keys, and he took them to his
quarters, and I then returned to the guard room. The mutineers
followed me, still demanding the keys : and on my assuring
them, that some one had taken them from me, they searched the
room. Kennally, private, then observed, they could get out
without them, by scaling the walls near the cistern ; which he
did ; and the rest followed. As they were getting over the dif-
ferent barracks, Serjeant-major Honeyburn asked me if I had
sent any one to inform the officers : I replied, it was impossible,
as my guard were all made prisoners. Honeyburn however
found an opjaortunity to pass the serjeant of the guard through
his quarters, down the back part of his premises to the town.
Finding it impossible to prevent the rebels getting out, bykeep-

Nn

274 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

ing the gates locked ; and as there were some officers on the

outside, I at length opened them : on doing which, those rebels

who were within, rushed out. I then received an order from

Major Kinnaird, for the drummers to beat to arms : wiiich was

accordingly done.

This is a true statement of what happened on the night of the

23d December, to the best of my recollection.

W. SEALE,

Lieutenant.

^ • Lieutenant Thorn's Report.

High Knol/,28th December, 1811.

About half past seven o'clock on the evening of the 23d instant,
I was sent for by Major Kinnaird, who ordered me to perform
the duty of adjutant of artillery, as Lieutenant Wilson was de-
tached to Ladder Hill. He informed me, there was a degree of
dissatisfaction shewn by part of the men in barracks : and directed
me to go there and order the non-commissioned officers in whom
I could place confidence, to keep on the alert, and inform me if
anj'^of the troops seemed to make preparations to quit the bar-
racks. At about half past nine, the Serjeant-major came to my
quarters, and informed me the light infantry were rusliing out of
their barrack rooms with their arms. I instantly ran up (sending
the Seijeant-major to Major Kinnaird), and found the barrack
gates shut: the men were collected inside, and the officer of the
barrack guard was talking to them. Captain Barnes and Lieu-
tenant F. Seale were now with me, The vvicket of the gate was
soon opened, when the men rushed out, most of them with
charged bayonets: one of them struck Captain Barnes with his
musket. I followed them as low as the foot of the trees, per-
suading them to return : but one only. Christian Beck, who told

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 275

me he had been forced out of barracks, returned. I met Major
Kinnaird and Lieutenant Torbett ; the former discharged two
pistols, as a signal to Ladder Hill. Major Kinnaird ordered me
to run to the barracks, and desire the drummers to beat to arms :
and by this time the general alarm had fired from Ladder Hill. I
ordered all the artillery (previously supplying them with arms
from the store rooms) to fall in near the barrack gate with the
remaining infantry, whom Captain Sampson was collecting. We
proceeded to the foot of Ladder Hill, where we joined a party
under Major Kinnaird: the whole then proceeded to Ladder
Hill, and there received ammunition. Lieutenant F. Scale and
myself, with twenty men, were ordered to march as quick as
possible to Red-Hill house. On our way, we were met by Cap-
tain Pritchard, who directed us to march immediately to Planta-
tion-house, and report our arrival to the Governor : but meeting
the Town Major, we were directed to advance towards Major
Pierie's lower house, and watch the motions of the mutineers ; and
to oppose them if they attempted to advance to Plantation-house.
Sometime afterwards. Major Kinnaird joined us with a strong
detachment, and ordered our picqnet to advance near the water
run. Major Kinnaird then ordered me to goto Plantation-house
and inform the Governor of the position he had taken up : but
upon my return, I found the picqnet had retired as far as a rise
of ground at the back of Major Pierie's house. About one o'clock
in the morning, a black man belonging to the Lieutenant-
Governor, came to our party, and informed us the mutineers were
advancing towards Plantation-house, with the Lieutenant-Gover-
nor as their prisoner : and about two hours before day-light, I
perceived them approaching. They advanced to the same ground
we before occupied with the picquet, and halted. At day-light.
Major Kinnaird collected all his force and formed a line fronting

2T6 TRACTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, &c.

the mutineers: but on seeing our line formed, one of their party
called out, " We have surrendered/' After an interchange of
two or three messages between them and the Governor, they sur-
rendered themselves prisoners, and were marched as far as Plan-
tation-house gate ; and afterwards, by the Governor's orders, were
escorted, by a party of artillery and myself, conuiianded by Major
Kinnaird, to High Knoll, were the}^ were put into continement.
Here I remained with Lieutenant Phillips, having reinforced his

guard with thirty men.

THOS. THORN,

Lieutenant of Artillery.

O . Captain Pritchard's Report.

To Colonel Alexander Beatson, Governor, ^^c. c^c. Sfc.

Honourable Sir,

In detailing, according to your request, all the circumstances
which came within my knowledge, relative to the late mutiny and
sedition, which broke out in the St. Helena regiment, I shall
state such occurrences as transpired before the 23d ultimo ; and
then proceed to mention such as subsequently took place.

Having received various private reports, that a mutiny was in-
tended (with which I made you acquainted), but no precise hour
of the night yet named, I resolved to wait the final intelligence
of one of my emissaries ; which I received, about ten minutes
before nine o'clock, on the evening of the 23d. Upon being made
acquainted with the intention of the mutinous troops, I instantly
informed the senior member of Council (Mr. Doveton), and the
commanding officer in James's Fort (Lieutenant-Colonel Smith) :
and apprised them that the seizure of the musket ball ammuni-
tion, in charge of the officer of the main guard (Lieutenant

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 277

Hunter), was one essential part of their plan. And as I strongly
suspected there was none but rifle ammunition in the laboratory,
I recommended that the ammunition at the main guard, should
instantly be destroyed by water ; and that Lieutenant Hunter
should be apprised of the intentions of the mutineers, which was
accordingly done.

I remained a few minutes in the lower street with Lindsey, a
soldier, (who has since been tried for joining the mutineers, and
pardoned), and stated to him what I had heard, relative to the
intentions of some of the infantry. He declared he knew nothing
of it : and he was resolved to have nothing to do with it ; and
also that he would go and dissuade any who might be inclined
to join them. I then went to the foot of Ladder Hill road, where
I found William Boyles, private, centinel, whose steady and
soldier-like conduct I witnessed, and therefore as it reflected the
highest credit on him, I must embrace this opportunity of recom-
mending him to your favour. I spoke much to him upon the
subject of the intended mutiny that night, and found his infor-
mation corresponded with what I had before learned. This
soldier then most solemnly swore, that not one of them should
pass his post if he could prevent it : I told him my determination ;
and whilst I spoke, I heard a body of men rushing down the
street, crying out, " Fire ! fire ! stand out of the way !" I got
in amongst them, and ordered them to stop and go back to their
barracks : saying, with a voice sufliciently loud for them to hear,
" that if they had grievances, they would be redressed in the
morning." But this had no effect ; and the greater part of them
continued rushing towards the main guard. I seized many of
them ; but others forced their way ; amongst whom was Dougle
Fraser, private, who was intoxicated. He said they had been
two years representing their grievances, but could obtain no

278 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

redress; and that he would not stay: when retiring from me a
iew paces, he rushed at me with fixed bayonet, and with great
violence. Tlie point of his baj^onet happily passed by me ; but
the force of the blow I received from the muzzle of his musket,
felled me to the ground. About this time Mr. Doveton, and
Lieutenant James AYright came up. Mr. Doveton expostulated
with them for their infamous conduct, and demanded to be heard
as a member of the Government. He told them, that if they had
grievances, they should be redressed to-morrow. But all he, and
Lieutenant Wright (who was equally active and zealous) could
say, was to no purpose ; they still persisted in the same mutinous
and rebellious conduct.

This mob of mutineers had now passed towards the main guard,
except about eight or ten ; amongst whom, was Richard Cart-
ledge, whom I seized, and some time afterwards sent to Major
Wright, his commanding officer : from this man, the Major re-
ceived information relative to the intended route of the mutineers:
About this time a general alarm was fired, and Captain Samp-
son, with officers, marched about 120 men from the barracks
(who were perfectly regular), to the foot of Ladder Hill road. It
was there determined that he should march towards Plantation-
house ; and he requested me to ride, as expeditiously as possible,
to Ladder Hill, and acquaint Captain B. Hodson that the party
ascending were friends : which I did, and after leaving some
orders with that officer, I rode on with all haste to Plantation-
house, and gave you information of the proceedings and inten-
tions of the mutineers.

After conveying your orders for the different positions of the
troops, I was directed to take charge of three field-pieces, princi-
pally manned from the volunteer corps. With these I remained
until the morning ; when I received an order from Major Kinnaird

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 2T9

to join his detacliment as soon as it was light : which I accord-
ingly did ; and soon after the mutineers were compelled to lay
down their arms, and surrender at discretion.

I have the honour to remain, Honourable Sir,

your faithful and obedient Servant,

H. H. PllITCHARD,

\st January, 1812. Captain and Aid-de- Camp.

Jr . Lieutenant Hunter's Statement of proceedings at the Main Guard, on

the 23 J December, 1811.

AJuRiNG the day of the 23d instant, I understood from reports,
that the men in barracks were discontented. At half past eight
o'clock in the evening, Major Kinnaird visited my guard, and
told me, he suspected a mutiny would take place, and desired me
in that event, to fall in my guard and do my utmost to quell it.
About nine o'clock Captain H. H. Pritchard came to my guard,
and informed me the men intended to break out of barracks that
night ; and advised me to destroy the ammunition under my
charge, as soon as possible, in order to prevent its being seized
by the mutineers. Having every reason to suppose my guard
was also concerned, I immediately took Captain Pritchard's
advice, and threw water upon the ammunition and locked the
chest ; at the same time desiring the laboratory serjeant to have
in readiness some useful ball cartridges and flints. About half
past nine, hearing a noise as if from the barracks, I immediately
ordered my guard to fall in : some reluctance was shewn. I then
addressed them, and asked them if they would stand by their officer
and do their duty as good soldiers : they said they would, and fell
in. Presently I received a message from Lieutenant-Colonel
Smith, commanding officer in garrison, to keep my guard in

280 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

readiness ; and shortly after, the Lieutenant-Colonel came down
and thus addressed me at the head of ray guard ; " Mr. Hunter,
don't fall in your guard in the rain, let them fall out, I wish to
speak to the men in the guard room." I obeyed his order and the
men ran into the main guard room, making much noise. We
followed them into the main guard room, where he expostulated
with them : but to no effect, as they used the most gross and
abusive language. About this time (a quarter before ten) the
mutineers were on the parade, to the amount of about 200. They
approached my guard room with fixed bayonets, and called out,
" Come my lads, we are come for you ;" when the whole of my
guard except the centinels, Corporal Brimmer and another man,
joined them. I did not see my Serjeants at this time. Every
attempt of the Lieutenant-Colonel and myself to reason with
them was ineffectual ; they rushed into my guard room ; broke
open the inner door, and upon seeing the water issue from the
ammunition chest, they quitted it greatly enraged, and ran to
the laboratory and broke open the door. I called out for a
few men to follow me (and they should be well rewarded), and
we would prevent the mutineers getting at the ammunition. Not
a man turned out for this service, and I immediately ran to the
laboratory, but could not prevent the mutineers taking the am-
munition, as several of them repeatedly laid hold of me and kept
me off from the cask. They then ran up the street (about a
quarter before ten), calling out " now for Long Wood !"

Not having seen my Serjeants after the guard was dismissed, as
before stated, I enquired for them, and presently saw them com-
ing out of the Governor's garden, where, they said they had con-
cealed themselves, to prevent the mutineers taking them, or

being murdered upon refusing to join them.

T. M. HUNTER,

Lieutenant.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 281

Q. Memoranda of Lientenants Phillips and Thorn, of the Occurrences
at High Knoll, from the 23<Z to the SOth of December, 1811.

High Knoll, 24(h December, 181 J,— 3 P.M.

JLjIEUTENAnts Phillips and Thorn having had several conversa-
tions with the prisoners, since the morning, persuading them to
give up those who had excited them to commit acts of mutiny
and rebellion. Gunner Kitchen of the artillery, and Dougal Fraser
of the infantry, have made the following depositions:

" SiSELL of the regiment, commanded the mutineers, and
" assisted Nimmo and Berwick, privates, to swear the men in.
" The nature of the oath was to seize the Governor, and to turn
*' him off the island. Sisell also told them, that upon his firing a
" musket at the Alarm-house, he would be joined by the men of
•' Hold-Fast-Tom, Gregories, and Deadwood shed : and that this
*' man was the chief ringleader."

" NiMMo of the regiment, administered the oath, assisted by
" Berwick and Sisell, with a bayonet held over the head of the
" person sworn in, threatening death to those that did not take it,
" and join their party."

" Berwick of the regiment, assisted in administering the oath;
" broke open the barrack gates, and procured volunteers for
" them."

" Hewitt of the regiment, broke open the small magazine
" door, and was very active in getting volunteers, and threatening
" others with death if they did not join them."

" Lindsay and Sefton of the regiment, also took an active
" part in the whole affair ; but Kitchen and Fraser did not par-
" ticularise what they did."
At about 5 P. M. Major Hodson informed Lieutenant Phillips,

Oo

282 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTLNY, &c.

that he had understood it was intended to endeavour to rescue
the prisoners: we therefore kept alert during the night, and in
readiness to receive them : at the same time informed the pri-
soners, it would be death to the whole if they attempted to
escape. — But they behaved very well, and appeared quite sorry
for their conduct.

8 A. M. Lieutenant Dentaaffe, with an escort, brought Nimmo,
Sisell, Berwick, and Anderson, prisoners to this guard. At about
llj A. M. a General Court Martial sat, and tried the following
prisoners, viz. Nimmo, Sisell, Berwick, Anderson, Edgeworth,
Wilsey, and Seager of the regiment, and Gunner Kitchen of the
artillery : when they all (being found guilty,) received sentence
of death. At ^ past 7, A.M. the six first were hanged; and
Wilsey, Seager, and Kitchen received the Governor's pardon.
The remaining prisoners seeming rather dissatisfied that Lindsay,
Sefton and Hewitt, had not been confined, I informed the Town
Major of it.

Thursday 26th.— All quiet during the night. The prisoners
having heard that Lindsay, Sefton, and Hewitt, had been ordered
to be tried, were cjuite satisfied, and said they deserved it ; as
many had been led astray by them, who afterwards quitted them
on the road. At 10, P. M. Lieutenant J. Scale of the regiment,
came to the Knoll with the prisoner Sefton who had been tried ;
and with the three men who had gone to give evidence against
him, Lindsay, and Hewitt. The prisoner Sefton, appears very
penitent, having continued all night in prayer, and requested that
a clergyman might attend him in the morning.

Friday, December 27th. — The Rev. Mr. Boys came here to
attend the prisoner (Sefton) who appears very penitent. I read
the Garrison Orders to the guard and prisoners. At noon sent
the prisoner Sefton to James's Fort to receive his sentence. At

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 283

3 P. M. understood that Hewitt was hanged before the troops in
garrison, and that Sefton and Lindsay received the Governor's
pardon under the gallows. All quiet at the Knoll.

Saturday 28th. — Nothing material passed here. The prisoners
behave very well, and appear very sorry for their conduct — pro-
mising never to behave ill again. Both Lieutenant Thorn and
myself have endeavoured all in our power, to find out the writer
of the anonymous letters, and told the prisoners we were con-
vinced the Governor would forgive any one of them that would
inform him ; but they all declared they did not know ; nor did
they know any letters had been written, until they heard some
had been found. The prisoner Sefton, who expected to be hauged,
also said, he knew nothing of them.

Sunday 29th. — The prisoners having repeatedly requested of
myself and Lieutenant Thorn to solicit the Governor to pardon
them, making solemn protestations of behaving well in future,
and having evinced a disposition of repentance and sorrow for
their conduct, we were induced to write to the Governor on the
subject. The Governor was pleased to answer us very favourably :
we read his letter to the prisoners before the guard. They were
very thankful, — and expressed themselves sensible of the Gover-
nor's clemency towards them ; and protested one and all, that if
the Governor would allow them to join their corps again their
future conduct should shew their gratitude and the truth of their
protestations. For these last three days, as the prisoners ap-
peared sickly, from their being confined in so small a barrack,
they were allowed to walk out in the square from 20 to 30
together, from 10 to 4 o'clock. All quiet here during the night.

Monday, 30th. — At 10, A. M. I received a letter from the
Governor desiring the prisoners might be marched to the Plan-
tation-house ; excepting seven who were to be left in close con-

2S4

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

finement. At 11 A. M. I paraded the prisoners, and marched
them to Plantation-house, under an escort of 35 artillerymen : —
leaving one corporal and six matrosses to keep charge of the
remaining prisoners. There the Governor was pleased to pardon
48 of the mutineers, who were then marched to James's Fort to
join their corps, by Lieutenant Thorn, and 20 men. He also
ordered the following men into close confinement at High-Knoll,
until an opportunity offered of sending them off the island.

R. Kitchen
S. Cahill
T. Williams
Jacob Desney
John Finnerty
John Grant
James Clark
Andrew Clarke
James Small
E. Richardson
E. Randalls

Captain Cole's
Company of
Artillery.

Grenadier
Company.

D. Frazer

T. Sullivan

J. Kennelly

M. Maroney >Light Company.

John Hall

Nich. Coote

P. M'Guire J

J. Mackle, Captain Statham's

J. Ward, Captain Killin's

D. Finn, Captain Wright's.

The prisoners all quiet. — The same precautions taken as before.

GEO. L. PHILLIPS,

Lieutenant of Artillery,

THOS. THORN,

Lieutenant of Jrtillen/.

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 285

Tri^ of Serjeant Lassells.

Island St. Helena, S\st December, 1811.

At a General Court Martial re-assembled this day, by order
of Colonel Alexander Beatson, Governor and Commander-in-
Chief, &c. &c.

President,

Major J. A. Wright, St. Helena regiment.

Members,
Captain A. Braid, artillery.
Captain T. J. B. Cole, ditto.
Captain W. Knipe, St. Helena regiment.
Lieutenant F. Seale, ditto.
Lieutenant H. Broadway, artillery.
Lieutenant J Torbett, St. Helena regiment.

The Court having been duly sworn, proceeded with the fol-
lowing trial : —

Charge. Patrick Lassells, serjeant in the artillery, confined

by order of the Lieutenant-Governor, for unsoldier-like conduct,

in not getting ready the field artillery as speedily as possible,

when directed by him so to do ; and causing unnecessary delay

in the requisite preparations for repelling a party of mutineers

on the nii;ht of the 23d instant.

C. R. G. HODSON,

so/A December, 1811. Town Major.

To which the prisoner pleads Not Guilty.

Prosecution. Lieutenant-Colonel E. S. Broughton (the Lieu-
tenant-Governor), being sworn, deposeth as follows: —

286 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

On the night of the 23cl instant, about ten o'clock, I sent for
the prisoner, Serjeant Lassells ; but as he did not come for some
time, I went towards the shed, and met him about halfway. 1
asked him if he was acquainted with the disturbances in the fort:
he said, he had just come from the fort, and that he had over-
heard the conversation of a number of the soldiers assembled in
different parties, in the streets ; from which he understood they
intended to attack Deadwood shed on Wednesday night ; and
that he was certain there would be no attack on Monday
night. I replied, it was better to be prepared, and to have every
thing ready. We proceeded to the shed, where I found Mr. Hall,
the conductor, with the guard paraded. I asked the men if they
would stand by me in case of an attack : as I expected the
mutineers that night: they answered, " they would to a man."
The guns, four in number, were then ordered out as quickly as
possible. The first two were soon got ready, and sent to Dead-
wood, under the command of Serjeant Tunstall, to cover the road
leading from Banks's : and, notwithstanding my repeatedly
urging the prisoner to make haste, there was great delay, both in
preparing the other two guns, and in getting out the anunvini-
tion : the prisoner repeatedly saying, " that he had no appre-
hension of the mutineers making an attack at that time ; and
that he was positive it would not then take place." He certainly
appeared to me to be somewhat intoxicated, and seemed stupid
and confused.

The prisoner has been in command of the guard at Deadwood
shed two years and eight months, and during that time I liave
had but one occasion to find fault with him : for, prior to the
night of the 23d, he had conducted himself with the greatest
propriety.

Q. From the Judge Advocate to Colonel B. — What time, do

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 287

you think, elapsed between getting out the first two guns, and
getting ready the others ?

A. I think it might have been half an hour ; and by the
time they were equipped, four or five men of the working party,
from Long Wood, joined, to assist in dragging them up the hill.

Q. From the Court. — Did the prisoner seem inclined to pre-
vent the getting of the guns ready ; or was he active in getting
them ready, after yon directed him ?

A. He was not active ; he did not move with that promptitude
which I should have expected ; and the articles that were required
for equipping the field-pieces, seemed out of the way, or at least
not at hand. But Mr. Hall, the conductor, can better explain
the delay, as I was on the outside of the shed.

Q. How many men had the prisoner with him before the
four or five men joined ?

A. The whole guard, including the Serjeants, consisted of
sixteen men ; six of whom, as already mentioned, were detached
with Serjeant Tunstall : the remainder were, I think, with the
prisoner.

Mr. William Hall (Conductor), being sworn, gave the follow-
ing statement : —

Betwixt eight and nine o'clock on Monday night, the 23d in-
stant, the prisoner came to my quarters, at the Hutt's gate, and
told me, " he had something very particular to say ; and that he
would not say too much at present." I asked him what he
meant; he said, " he was doubtful of there being a disturbance
soon in the garrison." I asked him what made him think so?
he said, " he had heard all about it, but would not say too much
at present." He then told me, " that there was a man laying
outside, and making use of mutinous expressions." I asked him
who he was ; and why he did not take hold of him ? he said, " it

ass NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

was Jewitt, formerly a corporal of artillery, but he did not think
it worth his while to trouble himself with him." I asked him
how far he was away ? he said, "just outside ;" and immediately
after he said, " he was on the Alarm-house road." I asked him
if he was halfway to the Alarm-house .> he then said, "just
under it; that if I would go a little way on the road, I should
hear him ; for he was making a great noise." I told him, I did
not think there was any person on the road : it was certainl^'^ a
falsehood. As he was intoxicated, I said I would go with him to
his post at Deadwood shed ; which I did. On the road, at one
time he told me the disturbance would happen on Christmas
night ; and at another, he told me it would happen the night
after Christmas. I saw him safe to his room ; the guard peace-
able and quiet, and the sentinel on his post ; I then returned to
my quarters. Immediately I got home, the general alarm tired,
and I returned to the Lieutenant-Governor for orders, agreeably
to the directions he had given me about half an hour before the
prisoner came to my quarters. I met the Lieutenant-Governor,
with the prisoner, coming to the shed, and the Colonel desired
me to go and take charge. I paraded the men ; the Colonel
asked them, if they had any complaint to make to him? they
said none ; they would stand by him if any disturbance took
place. The prisoner assured the Colonel there was no danger,
and suggested that the men should go into their barracks, and
take off their side-arms, saying there was no occasion for them :
and further observed to the Lieutenant-Governor, that he might
go to bed, and rest as quiet and safe as ever he had done in his
life. I ordered, however, that the men should not go into the
barracks, nor take off their side-arms ; but to come and get out
the guns, agreeably to the Lieutenant-Governor's directions. The
men obeyed me, and Serjeant Lassells said, " there was no ocoa-

I

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 289

sion for us to trouble ourselves : he was positive there was no
danger.'' The prisoner also directed the men to do every thing
contrary to what I ordered, wliich occasioned much confusion.
Colonel Broughton then ordered him to desist, and to allow the
men to obey his orders. In consequence of the confusion caused
by the prisoner, we were not prepared to receive the mutinous
party ; who came upon us so suddenly, that they took the gun
the Colonel had command of, just as it was loading. I gave
Colonel Broughton two spikes to have the gun spiked, in case it
should fall into the jnutineers' hands ; and when they came up to
Colonel Broughton, as they shewed no violence, the Colonel
slipped the two spikes into the prisoner's hands ; yet he made no
use of them : but suffered the gun, unspiked, to fall into their
hands.

Q,. From the Judge Advocate. — What time do you suppose
elapsed between the guns being ordered to be drawn out, and
their being ready ?

A. It was about an hour and a quarter from the time of the
alarm to the gun falling into the mutineers' hands. If it had not
been for the confusion that the prisoner put us all into, we might
have been ready with the guns half an hour before the mutineers
came up.

Q. How many men were there to take out the guns ?

A. Sixteen ; but the whole, except two or three, went with
the first two guns, under Serjeant Tnnstall, to Deadwood. I
had to get those men back again (leaving Serjeant Tnnstall with
three men) to man the other two guns, and to take them on
the road towards the Telegraph, to meet the mutineers — but
several men joined me from Long Wood, when I was leaving
the shed.

Q. Notwithstanding these necessary delays, do you say that
you could have been ready with the guns, at their proper posts,

Pp

290 NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c.

half an hour before the mutineers came up, if the prisoner had
not caused unnecessary delays ?

A. Yes.

Serjeant William Smith (of the artillery), sworn, gave the
following statement : —

On Monday night, about nine o'clock,'the prisoner came home
from the Fort, to the shed (where he commanded), and Mr. Hall
with him. The prisoner appeared intoxicated, and wished to
return back to the Hutt's with Mr. Hall, who desired him to re-
main at his own post. I did not see him afterwards, until he came
to the shed with the Lieutenant-Governor: he then ordered the
guard to fall in, which they did, with side-arms — the prisoner
seemed very angry at their doing so, and asked them the reason
of their falling in with arms, and desired them to go in and take
them off — 3Ir. Hall, however, stopped them. It appeared that
the Lieutenant-Governor had something to say to the men ; but
he was greatly interrupted by the prisoner. Mr. Hall went to
the Lieutenant-Governor, and told him, it was much better to
get the guns out, and have then! ready, as quick as possible :
tlie whole of the guard immediately set about it. I was then
ordered b}' the Lieutenant-Governor to go for the working-men,
and cannot say what occurred until I returned ; but by this time,
Serjeant Tunstall had gone with two 3-pounders to Deadwood. I
was ordered to take another towards the Telegraph ; and as soon
as I got a little way from the shed, I found there was no ammu-
nition for the gun, which I reported to the Lieutenant-Governor,
Avho desired me to send back for some, which I did ; before the
man could return with it, the gun was surrounded, and taken ;
as likewise the Lieutenant-Governor, and we were all brought
back prisoners to the gun shed.

Q. From the Judge Advocate. Had the general alarm fired
when the guard were ordeied to fall in ?

NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 291

A. Yes — some time.

The prosecution being closed, the prisoner is called on for his
defence.

Defence. The prisoner in his defence says : —

On the 23d instant, I was in the town, and somehow or other,
got so much disguised in liquor, that I cannot recollect what I
said or did that night. When informed of my conduct the next
day, I was, as I am now, extremely sorry for what I had done.
I beg the mercy of the Court. I have been in the garrison five
years and four months, and have never been reported for any mis-
conduct. For two years and eight months I have commanded at
Deadwood Shed, and have met with every indulgence from the
Lieutenant-Governor, and have always been ready to execute his
orders with alacrity : — his goodness to me makes me more sorry
that I should have been so unfortunate as to be intoxicated at
a time when my services were most wanted.

Sentence. The Court having considered the evidence, are of
opinion that the prisoner, Serjeant Lassells, is guilty of the crime
with which he is charged, in breach of the Articles of War ; do
therefore sentence, that he shall be reduced to the pay and duty of
a matross, and shall receive five hundred lashes injthe usual way.

(Sisned) J. A. WRIGHT,

Majm' and President*

C. R. G. HODSON.

Judge Advocate.

Approved. ALEX. BEATSON.

E. S. BROUGHTON.
W. W. DOVETON.
ROBERT LEECH.

APPENDIX.

295

APPENDIX.

An Alphabetical List o/ Plants,* seen by Dr. Roxburgh
growing- on the Island of St. Helena, in 1813-14.

I. means indigenous ; E. exotic. Several of the most conspicuous of the unde-
termined species are briefly described ; and Doctor Roxburgh's names are
distinguished by the letter R.

E. Anvivs, precatorius Willd.'i.^.dW. 1025.

I. AcALYPHA rubra. R. Red acalypha, or string-tree of the islanders.

Arboreous. Peduncles axillary and between the leaves : one or more
female flowers near the base, the rest a long, pendulous filiform, glomerate
male spike : involucres cuculate, intire. Leaves petioled, ovate, crenate,
3-nerved.

A beautiful small tree, a native of elevated parts of the south face of
Diana's peak, and called string-tree by the natives on account of its numerous
beautiful red male spikes, which hang in great profusion from every twig.
Ultimate branches tubercled with the scars of the fallen leaves ; above,
where the leaves remain coloured red and smooth : the petioles, nerves, and
veins are also red and smooth.

E. Acer Pseudo-Platanus. Willd. 4, p. 983. Common maple or syca-
more tree.
E. AcHYRANTHEs aspevo. Willd. 1. p. 1191. A weed in gardens.

* This is by no means given as a complete catalogue of the vegetable kingdom on the
Island. Doctor Roxburgh's bad state of health during his residence there, from the 7th June,
1813, to the 1st March, 1814, did not admit of his undertaking such a task.

290 APPENDIX.

I AciiOSTiCHVM bifnrcahim. Willd. 6, p. 114.

A very delicate, small, beautiful smooth species, growing in crowded
tufts to about the height of 6 inches in the moist shaded fissures of the
rocks about Diana's peak, &c.

T. AcROSTicHUM lanceolatum. R.

Stipes ramentaceous : fronds simple, lanceolar, strongly veined,
intirc : the fertile longer stiped. Fructifications occupy the] whole of the
inferior surface.

E. Aeschynomene Sesban, and grandiflora.

E. Agapanthus umbellatus. Willd. 2, p. 47.

E. Agave tuberosa Linn. Yucca superba. R,

E. liirida Linn, used for fences.

\. Agrostis pttrpurascens. Willd. 1, p. 375. Purple bent grass.

Indicrenous on the hills of St. Helena, where it grows to be from 2
to 3 feet high, perfectly erect, very naked of leaves, as they are not only
few in number but short and very slender. The inflorescence a long slender
panicle composed of numerous, small, simple or compound appressed
branches, crowded with iir.merous, short-pedicelled, smooth flowers.
Calycine valves unequal, scarce half the length of the carol, which has its
two vaives nearly equal and rather acute ; but nothing like an awn either
here or to the calyx.

AoROSTis lenta Linn. Forked bent-grass.

Agrostis stellata, see Panicum dactylon, and compare with Agrostis
linearis, Retz. Obs. 4. p. 19. Linear-leaved agrostis, or wire-grass.

E. Aleurites triloba. Willd. 4. 590. Three-lobed Aleurites.

E. Allium cepa, Ponim, ascalonicum, and o{ saHvum2 varieties. Onion,
leek, shallot, and garlick.

E. Aloe perfoliata, two or three varieties in gardens.

E. spicata and 3 or 4 undetermined species, all exotics.

I. Alopecurus paniculatus, R.

E. Alth^a rosea. Willd. 3. 773. Holly-hock.

APPENDIX. 297

E. Amaranthus Blilum. IVilld. 4. 387. A weed in gardens.

E. candatus and tricolor, cultivated for ornament.

E. Amaryllis Belladonna. JVilld. 2. 54. Belladonna-lily.

E. foriuosissima. TVilld. 2. 62. Jacobea-lily.

E. Amygdalus Persica. Willd. 2. 982. Peach, 2 or 3 varieties, and

almond ; but the latter does not succeed here : whereas the peaches

grow luxuriantly, and are productive.
E. Anagallis arvensis, three varieties, blue red and white.
E. Andropogon Schoenanthiis, or lemon-grass ; cultivated in gardens.
E. Annona muricata. In Major Hudson's garden only.
E. Cherinwya. In the same garden.

E. squamosa.'] f Custard apple.

^ . , > In but few e:ardens, and scarce.-^ T> n i. i

E. rettciUata. } ° l^rJuliock s heart.

E. Angelica hracteata. R. Bracted-x\ngelica.

Leaves pinnate ; floral ternate ; leaflets petiol-clasping siibcordate,
3-7-nerved, finely laciniate-serrate.

Angelica the vernacular name. It grows to be a stout, erect perennial,
of 8-12 feet in height, with columnar, fistulous, smooth, bright green stem
and branches. Leaves sparse, in some parts crowded, unequally pinnate,
those next the umbels from quinate-palmate to 3-lobed : leaflets of the
inferior larger leaves from 4 to 12 pair, opposite, closely embracing the
smooth, o-reen columnar petiole, cordate, nerved, smooth,- finely lacjiiiate-
serrate ; each serrature ends in a green bristle : at the base of each petiole
a pair of large, simple, or compound, suborbicular bractes, and generally a
single one between the leaflets, and all subulate-serrate, like them. Umbels
terminal, numerous, compound, subglobular, many rayed. Involucre and
involucells of 6-10 broad-lanceolate leaflets each. Flowers numerous,
small, white but turn pink by age. Petals subequal, oval and oblong
incurved. Stamina unequal : anthers purple. Styles short, erect. Recep-
tacles naked.

E. Antholyza cethiopica. Linn. Flag-leaved anlholyza.
E. Anthoxanthum odoratum. Willd. 1. 150. Sweet-scented vernal-

grass.

Qq

298 APPENDIX.

E. Apium petroselinum, Willd. 1. 14T5. Parsley, and graveolens, or

snaallage.
E. Argemone mexicana, the most common weed on the island.
E. Artemesia absinthmin, wormwood.
E. Arum Colocasia. Willd. 4, 481. St. Helena Yam ; of this there are

several varieties, but the white is the sort cultivated.
E. AscLEPiAS fruticusa. Willd. 1. 1271. Shrubby Asclepias.

E. ■ curassavica. Willd. 1. 1266. Bastard Ipecacuanha.

I. AsPiDiuM riparium. Willd. 5. p. 250.

Stipes villous, flat above. Fronds oblong, bipinnatified : pinnae
linear : segments linguiform, or falcate, and deeply divided. Spots in one
crowded row a little removed from the margin : involucres reniforni.

Found plenty over the south side of the mountains immediately above
^ajor Seal's in Sandy Bay, where it grows in tufts to be from 2 to 4 feet
high.

I. AsplDiUM ptdchrum. Willd. 5. p. 253 ?

Base of the stipes and tuberous like runners chaffy, the rest brown
and smooth. Fronds ovate-oblong, firm, subbipinnate : pinnse opposite,
generally pinnatifid : segments oblong, obtuse, subcrenate. Spots generally
one, rarely 2 or 3 to each segment of the pinnae : involucres reniform.

A snAall (6- 12 inch) plant of a hard texture, but not glossy, with the
stipes about as long as the fronds : a native of Diana's Peak.

I. AsvmiVM vestitum. Willd. 5. ^p. 261.

Stipes and divisions amply clothed with large brown soft scales.
Fronds oblong, bipinnate : leaflets linguiform, obtuse, crenate.
Grows on Diana's Peak to be about two feet hi oh.

1

'a'

I. AsPiDiUM Capense. Willd. 5. p. 267.

Stipes green and channelled. Fronds ovate, smooth, bipinnate :
pinnae opposite, apices ensiform and sharply serrate ; pinuulae from serrate

APPENDIX. 299

to pinnatifid, with obtuse dentate apices. Spots in two rows a little re-
moved from the nerve : involucres reniform.

A native of Diana's Peak, where it grows to be from 20 to 30 inches
high : is of a soft delicate texture : the spots numerous and very large.

I. AspiDiuM coriaceum. Willd. 5. p. 268.

Stipes as long as the oppositely bipinnate, ovate fronds. Leaflets
linguiform, crenate-serrate, and pinnatifed. Spots in one line half way
between ',he nerve and margin ; involucres reniform.

Is also a native of the south face of Sandy Bay range of mountains, where
it rises to the height of about 2 feet, and generally amongst bushes. It
difiers from A. capense in little else than the shape of the apices of the
pinnae, and the single row of spots, whereas in that species it is double.

I. AsPLENiuM tenellum. R.

Stipes polished. Fronds linear recurved, apices rooting, alternately
pinnate : leaflets numerous, obliquely linguiform, obtuse crenate, anterior
side of the base enlarged, posterior attenuate.

A pretty, small (6-8 inches) species, with the habit o{ Adiantiim caudatum,
found indigenous on the tops of the high mountains in the centre of the
Island.

I. AsPLEmuM falcatum. Browns Prodrom. p. 150.

/

V

Stipes as long as the lanceolate, alternately-pinnate, firm, smooth
fronds, S-sided, 3-grooved, pretty smooth and black. Leaflets short-
petioled, falcate-lanceolate, lobate ; lobes and fine ensiform apices serrate.
A most beautiful species, growing in small tufts on the top of Sandy
Bay ridge, to be about 2 feet high. Compare with A. falcatum. Willd. 5.
325 : it agrees pretty well with his definition.

I. AsPLENiUM prcemorsum. Willd. 5. p. 339.
I. AsvijErnvsufilamentosum. R.

Stipes longer than the thin, ovate, alternately-tripinuatifed frond,

300 APPENDIX.

channelled, base clothed with long, black chaffy scales: pinnae remote;
leaflets pinnatifed ; segments short-linguiform, serrulate, obtuse.

A stout species of from 2 to 6 feet high ; a native of the south face of
Diana s Peak.

I. Aster ghitinosus. R. (compare with hirtus. Willd. 3. 2016.)

Shrubby, tender parts woolly. Leaves from cuneate to spatulate,
apices rounded, and grossly serrate, fleshy, rugose with very prominent
veins underneath. Peduncles terminal, ultimately axillary subsolitary,
Icnath of, or lonoerthan the leaves, one-flowered,

A native of the most naked, barren rocks on the south side of the Island,
where it grows to be a middling sized shrub. The clammy leaves are
frao-rant. Bractes scattered over the long clammy peduncles, and of a
long-clavate shape. The flotcers are large, pure white. Goats are said to
be fond of it, and while browsing on it, the clammy exudation thereof is
collected on their beards, (See history of 3fasUcJi.)

E. Atriplex triangularis. H^illd. 4. 963. Triangular Atriplex.
E. Atropa physaloides. Linn. Blue-flowered Atropa.

E. Bambusa arundinacea. Willd. 2. 245. Common Bamboo,

E, Barrinotonia speciosa. Willd. 3. 345. Laurel-leaved Barringtonia,.

Beatsonia, R. Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic Character. Ca/?/a7 5-toothed. Coro/ 5-petalled, campanu-
late. Germ superior, 1-celled, containing many ovula attached to
the two opposite sides of the cell. Style bifid. Stigmas globular.
Capsule 1-celled, 2-valved. Seeds a few.

Named in honour of Colonel Alexander Beatson, Governor of ^S"^.
Helena.

I. Beatsonia portulacifolia. R.

St. Helena Tea the vernacular name on that island, where it grows
on the naked rocky mountains and hills on the soutli side, to be a very
ramous shrub, of a middling size. Trunk short, soon dividing into numerous

APPENDIX. 013

branchen, crowded with innumerable, small, delicate, villous, subarticulate,
brittle ramuli. Bark of the old ligneous parts, dark brown and pretty
smooth. Leaves opposite subrotund, fleshy, convex and smooth above,
hollow underneath: size of a large pin's head, &c., almost exactly as in
Porfiilaca quadrijlda, even to the quatern floral-leaves. Petioles short,
stem-clasping. Flowers terminal, solitary, sessile in the bosom of the 4
floral leaves. Calyx subcylindric, 5-grooved, 5-toothed, withering. Corol
5-petalled, campanulate, large for the size of the foliage, pure white, and
like the calyx, withering. Filaments 5, nearly as long as the petals, and
with them alternately inserted into the receptacle ; at the base broad, and
seem united there, but are not. Anthers yellow. Germ superior, ovate,
sn)ooth, one-celled, and contains several ovula attached to the lower half of
two opposite, parietal receptacles. Style length of the stamina, apex-bifld.
Stigmas globular. Capsule ovate, hid in the withered calyx and corol,
1-celled, 2-valved, opening from the apex. Seeds few, attached as in the
germ.

E. Beta vulgaris and sicla. Willd. 1. 1303. Red and green Beet and
Mangel Wurzel belong to the first, and the common white Beet to
the second.

I. BiDENs arborea. R.

Arboreous. Leaves opposite, short-petioled, oblong-ventricose,
serrate. Panicles terminal, brachiate, corymbose.

White-wood-cabbage tree the vernacular name on St. Helena, where it
grows on the .south face of Dianas Peak to be a pretty large tree, with
straight upright trunk, and dark-coloured, pretty smooth bark ; the young
shoots are rough with much short brown hair. Leaves from oval to oblong,
very equally gland serrate, smooth above, somewhat villous underneath.
Stipules none. Panicles terminal while young in flower, large, subcorym-
bose, pretty well crowded with opposite, hairy ramifications and their sub-
divisions. Flowers conical. Calyx scarce calycled, composed of a very
few leaflets, and most of them embrace a floret like the scales of the recep-
tacle. Seeds 4-sided, strigose, particularly the 4 angles, each crowned

302 APPENDIX.

with two, very short, scabrous arista, which are about as long as the tubes
of the florets.

I. BoERHAAviA repaiicla. jViUd. 1. 22. is comfuon amongst the rocks in

James's Valley, &c.
E. BoRAGO :zeylamca. Linn. Ceylon Borage.
E. Brassica oleracea. JVilld. The common useful species and varieties

of cabbage.
E. Browallia elata. Willd. 3. 339.
E, Buxus sempervirens. Willd. 3. 337. Common Box-tree.

J]. Cactus Opiintia. Linn. Common Cactus.

E. coccinellifera. Linn. Cochineal fig.

E, chinensis. R. China Cactus.

E. Call a cethiopica. Willd. 2. 289. iEthiopic Calla.

E. Camellia jajoonjca; two or three varieties.

E. Canna indica, three or four varieties. See Willd. 1. 3.

E. Cannabis saliva. Willd. 4. 763. Common hemp.

E. Calendula Tragus. Linn.

E. ojjicinalis. Common Marygold.

E. Capsicum cerasiforme. Linn. Cherry-pepper.

E. grossum. Linn. Bell-pepper.

E. • frutescpns. Linn. Shrubby pepper.

I. Carex pediincidata. Willd. 4. 222.

Spikes androgynous, pedicelled, erect, cylindric, alternate on a
terminal rachis : male flowers (when present) under the female : scales
striated, apices serrate-dentale : corol striated. Style trifid, seed triangu-
larly obovate.

A native of the south face of Diana's Peak, under the shade of trees,
where kept moist by the fogs which rest on the Peak. It grows in small
tufts to about the height of three feet when in flower. Radical leaves
numerous, very long striated, keeled, hard and smooth : cauline similar
but smaller : culms 3-sided, smooth, leafy.

E. Cassia microphylla. Willd, 2. 529.

APPENDIX. 303

E. Cassia aurea. R.

E. aluta. Willd. 2. 523.

E. escidenta. R.

E. Sophera. Willd. 2.525.

E. Castanea vesca. Willd 4. 460. Chesnut.

E. Celsia Arctunts. Willd. 3. 280.

E. Centaurea Moschata. Willd. 3. 2278. Sweet Sultan.

I. Cheilanthes tenuifolia. Browns Prodromus, 163,

Found on Diana's Peak, where it grows in large masses to be from
6 to 18 inches high, with long, slender, crooked, dark-coloured (brownish
black,) stipe and divisions. Compare with AdianUtm assimile of the same
work.

E. Cheiranthus Cheiri. Willd. 3. 516. Wall-flower.

E. incanus. Willd. 3. 520. Gilly-flower, or Stocks, several

varieties.

E. odoratissinms. Willd. 3. 524. Persian Stock.

E. Chenovobivm ambrosioides. Linn. Mexican Cheuopodium.

E. album and viride. Linn. White and green Chenopodium.

E, CicHORiUM Intybus. Willd. 3. 1628. Wild Succory and Endiva,

Garden Succory, or Endive.
E. C1CB.V. arietiniim. WiUd.Q.Wl^. Chick-pea. ,,

E, Citrus. Willd. 3. 1436, including the lemon, citron, and orange, with

varieties.
E. Clerodendrum inerme. Gcert. Volkameria. Willd. 3. 383.
E. Clitoria ternatea. Linn.

E. Cluytia pidchella. Willd. 4. 381. A Cape flowering shrub.
E. Cocos nucifera. Willd. 4. 400. Coco-nut palm : very few of them, and

they do not thrive.
E. Coffea arabica. In Mr. Alexander's garden in Sandy Bay, are some

of the finest coffee trees 1 ever saw, and at the same time (February)

in every stage from the blossom to the ripe berry.
E. CoNCHiUM gibbosum of Dr. E. Smith, is Hakea gibbosa of Brown.

304 APPENDIX.

I. CoNYZA gtimmifera. R.

Arboreous. Leaves sparse, approximate, subsessile but not decur-
rent, froai lanceolar to cuneate-oblong, subserrate, soft, rugose and more
or less woolly underneath. Peduncles axillary, solitary, drooping, one-
flowered : flowers globular.

Gum-wood-tree of the islanders : it grows on the more elevated land
over the interior parts, to be a tree of considerable size, with short crooked
trunk and still more crooked spreading branches and ditrichotomous
branchlets. Bark of the trunk and large branches a deeper or lighter
brown, and smooth except for the numerous scars of the fallen leaves.
Leaves crowded about the ends of the branchlets, often broad-lanceolar
particularly in old trees ; while young, gummy and more hoary : length,
2-4 inches, by i of an inch to one and a half broad.

I. CoNYZA robusta. R.

Leaves subsessile (not decurrent,) lanceolar, crenate-dentate, rugose.
Peduncles axillary, solitary, length of the leaves, one-flowered.

Bastard-gum tree the vernacular name on St. Helena, where it grows to
be a tree very similar to the last, and possessed of nearly the same qualities.
The dwarfish, very crooked antique habit of those trees, makes them very
conspicvuous. The bark on the old parts is very thick and deeply cracked ;
the branchJets generally dichotomous, and marked wilh the scars of the
fallen leaves. The leaves while young hoary with soft pubescence ; the
Aouers few but large and white.

■ o

CoNYZA riigosa. Aiton^s Keu\ 3. 184. See Solidago cuneifolia.
\. Convolvulus brasiliensis. Willd. \. 877. and another undetermined

indigenous species.

E, purpurens. IVilld. I.S52. Convolvvdus major.

E. Batatas. Willd. 1 . 853. Siceet Potatoe, the red and white

varieties.
E. CooKiA punctata. Willd. 2. 558. Wampee of the Chinese.

APPENDIX. .305

E. CoRDiA macrophylla. R, A large tree from Bengal.

E. campamdata. R. A small tree from the Moluccas and South

Sea Islands.
CoTULA coronopifolia. Willd.Z. 2167. Pagoda plant of the islanders.

E. Crassula cultrata. Willd. 1. 1552. Sharp-leaved Crassula.

E. obliqna. Willd. 1. 1553. Oblique-leaved.

E. Crinum toxicarium. R. and two or three other species which were not

seen in blossom by Dr. Roxburgh.

E. Crotalaria retusa. Linn. Retuse-leaved Crotolaria.

E- laburnifolia. Linn Laburnum-leaved.

E. — incanescens. Linn. Hoary.

E. Croton sebiferum. Linn. Tallow-tree of China.

E. CvcvRBiTA lagenaria. JVilld. 4. 616. Bottle-gourd.

E. CuNONiA capensis. Willd. 2. 634. "

E. CuRTisiAya^mea. Willd. 1. 687. Hassagay-tree.

E. CvPRESSvs sempervirens. Two varieties of the Cypress-tree.

E. lusitanica. Lamb. Pin. t, 42. Goa Cypress-tree.

E. Cycas revoluta. Lin . Revolute-leaved Cycas.

E. CvJ^ARk Scolynms. Willd. S. 1691. Artichoke,

E. CvPERUs rohindus. A very common weed in gardens.

E. tenuijlorus.

E. > — I Pepo and citridlns Linn Pumpkin and Water-melon.

E. CucuMis sativus. Linn Garden-cucumber. / ^

E. CosTus speciosus. Willd* 1. 10.

E. Dalbergia (Smoo. R. iFroni Bengal; where they grow to large

E. frondosa. R. J timber trees.

E. Daphne odora. Hort. Keic. Sweet-scented Daphne, from China.

E. DATURA/asfMosa. Willd. 1. 1003.

E. 3Ietel Willd. 1009.

E. Taiula. Willd. 1. 1008.

E. Daucus Carota. Linn. Common Carrot.

R Dracaena cermia. Willd. 2. 157.

E. DiANTHus barbatus. Linn. Sweet William.

Rr

306 APPENDIX.

E. DiANTHus chinensis. Linn. China Pink.

E, ' Caryophyllus. Linn. Clove.

I. DicKsoNiA arborescens. Willd. 6. 485.

Stipes, rachis and subdivisions compressed, and somewhat woolly,
but not scabrous. Fronds ovate-oblong, hard, glossy above, sub-oppositelv
tripinnate ; ultimate segments from oval to oblong, and crenate-serrate.
Spots on the margin, until they open transversely-oval, after round.

Grows on the tops of the highest mountains ; such as Diana s Peak.
Trunk single, straight ; general height when full grown, 20, or more feet,
and of various thickness up to that of a man's body : covered with the
bases of the decayed stipes, mosses and parasites of various kinds ; at the
apex clothed with long, soft, tawny-brown wool, like that of which the
finest shawls are made ; when this woolly substance is removed, the parts
over which it extended are found to be scabrous. Fronds (including the
stipes) from 4 to 10 feet long.

E. DioscoREA alata. Linn. Winged Yam. "i Here they do not thrive to be

E. aculeata.K. Thorny Yam. J of the smallest use. See ^irum.

E. DioSPYRus Kauki. Linn. Japan Diospyros, fruit large and edible.
I. DoMBEYA Erythroxylon. Willd. 3. 725. Pentapetes Erythroxylon.

Hort. Keiv. \st edit. 2. 438. Melhania, second edition, 4. 146. of

the same work.

Mboreous.^ Leaves ovate-cordate, crenulate, acuminate, smooth
above, reticulate underneath, while young hoary, obscurely 3-5-nerved.
Peduncles axillary, solitary, 2-3-flowered : flowers pentaudrous.

Red-wood-tree the vernacular name on St. Helena, where it is indiaen-
ous on moderately high hills, where, if the soil is suitable, it grows rapidly
with a straight trunk to be a middling sized tree of great beauty. Bark
dark brown, even and pretty smooth.

Branches numerous, spreading, tender twigs hoary. Stipules subulate.
Peduncles about as long as the petioles. Flowers larger than in the fol-
lowing (Z>. Melanoxylon') colour the same aud also changeable. Nectariat
filaments flesh-coloured. Styleivfice the length of the stamina. Capsules

APPENDIX. 807

oblong-, poiuted, very hairy, and somewhat shorter than the permanent
calyx; cells 3-5-seeded. This tree furnishes the islanders with an hard,
close-grained mahogany-coloured, durable wood.

L DoMBEYA melanoxylon. R. Melhania melanoxylon. Hort. Kew. 2d.
edit. 4. 146.

Leaves ovate- cord ate, long-petioled subentire, firm, smooth above,
ferruginously hoary underneath, obscurely 3-nerved. Peduncles axillary
solitary, 1-2-flowered : flowers pentandrous. Capsules ovate, obtuse,
greatly shorter than the permanent calyx ; cells 2-3-seeded.

Ebony the vernacular name.

Is a native of the barren rocks near the sea, and not far from Sandy Bay,
on the south side of the island, I saw it in two gardens only, where it had
in many years grown to the height of only 2-3 feet, with many longer
branches spreading flat on the ground, well decorated with abundance of
foliage and large beautiful flowers. Bark of the old ligneous parts rather
rough and of a dark olive-black colour ; of the young shoots hoary with
stellate pubescence, each starlet thereof has a ferruginous centre. Petioles,
under side of the leaves, peduncles, bractes and calyx have the same
covering. The leaves are greatly smaller than in D. Erythroxylon, but
more entire. Stipules subulate. Peduncles length of the leaves, 1-2-flowered.
Mowers large, campanulate ; when they first expand white, becomiipo; pink
or rosy by age. Bractes tern, ovate, lanceolate, pressing the ba^e of the
calyx. Stamina 5, shorter than the 5 dark purple clavate, nectarial
filaments.

In some parts on the south side of the island near the sea, numbers of
the dry trunks were found in former days : now few remain ; the greater part
having been carried away for fuel : those little trunks are but a few feet
in length, generally very crooked, and run from 1 to 3 or 4 feet in cir-
cumference near the root ; those parts of the roots and hranche^ which
remain spread nearly horizontal ; the exterior surface is pretty even, and
ofa dark lead colour, having been exposed to the weather, for, probably,
some hundred years ; within it is nearly as black as common ebony, and as

808 APPENDIX.

close grained, liard and heavy ; in short it is so very like ebony as to have
procured it that name from the islanders.

The few trees now found alive in their native soil and situation are from
10 to 15 feet high, their trunks crooked and about as thick as a man's thigh ;
the branches very numerous, spreading, &c. &c., and at this season when
the young foliage is expanding, the flower buds are also to be seen, and in
this state generally 2 on each peduncle ; whereas in the cultivated plants
rarely more than one.
E. Eleusine corocana. R. Cynosnrus Corocanus. Linn.

E. indica. Gccrt. Cynosurus. Linn.

E. calyciiui. R.

E. Erodium sempervivum. R. Pelargonium Cotyledonis. Wilkl. 3. 674.

Shrubby, succulent and extremely tortuous. Umbels long-peduncled
decompound. Leaves subcordate, downy, rugose, some lobate-crenate,
some peltate.

A native of the barren rocky precipices on the south side of the island,
and known by the name Old father live for ever. It grows to be a large
spreading shrub, with innumerable, thick, succulent, extremely crooked
branches, the apices obtuse, and thence both leaves and umbels spring.
Bark thick and fleshy, the surface dark brown, and peels off in small frag-
ments. Leaves long petioled and soft with down. Stipules small, trian-
gular and acute. Peduncles terminal, generally single, very long, erect,
coloure^l, and villous ; the umbellets numerous, and all the divisions long,
coloured, and villous. Involvcre scai'ce any; involucells of a few small
acute scales. /-Yoti'ers numerous, pure, white, calyx, 5-toothed; the rest
as in the genus. Every part is to me void of smell.

E. Erythrina caffra. Willd. 3. 914. Cape-coral-tree.

E. Euphorbia rosea. H^i7/dl. 2. 895. French-grass of the islanders.

E. — Peplus. Willd. 2. 903. Small-spurge.

E. Eugenia Jambos. Willd. 2. 959. Rose-apple.

E. Ficus Carica. The common Fig : grows freely here, and produces
good crops of excellent fruit ; but like every thing else in rural
economy too much neglected.

APPENDIX. 309

E. Ficus indica, or the famous Banyan-tree of India.

E. reUfjiosa. Willd. 4. 1 134.

E- terebrata. Willd. 4. 1145. Is the mo.st common tree in James's

Valley, where it grows freely, and furnishes excellent fuel ; the wood
of this s)3ecies being much firmer than any other species of this
genus known to me.

I. FlMBRISTYLIS teXtiUs. R.

Culms naked, columnar until above the middle, then somewhat
compressed. Leaves none. Spikelets numerous in a hard sessile head
1-2 inches below the subulate grooved apex : flowers 1-3 androgynous :
scales boat-shaped, rather obtuse : style 3-fid.

St. Helena thatching rush : is a native of the interior of the island, and in
plenty for every purpose : in moist elevated situations, it grows to the
height of 3-6 feet, perfectly destitute of leaves and quite straight ; about as
thick as a crow-quill, of a firm texture, and smooth glossy deep green
colour. A good substantial covering of this rush is said to last from 10 to
15 years, and keeps out wet effectually.

E. Fragaria vesca. Willd. 2. 1090. Strawberries, a few varieties, but
little or no care is taken of them, consequently they do not thrive.

E. Fraxinus chinensis. R. China Ash, a small slow growing tree.

E. FuMARiA capreolata. Willd. 3. 868. Running Fumitory.

E. Fuchsia coccinea. Willd. 2. 340. Scarlet Fuchsia grows most /uxuri-
antly in Sandy Bay.

E. Gardenia Jlorida. Willd. 1. 1225. Cape Jasmine.

E. Thiinbergia. Willd. 1. 1226.

E. radicaiis. Willd. 1. 1225.

E. Gleditsciiia horrida. Willd. 4. 1097. This tree is one of the most
stately and most beautiful on the island, but unfortunately there is
but a single individual to be seen ; it grows in the garden at the
Governor's country-house, where it has attained to the height of 50
feet or more ; with trunk and coma proportionally large. It has
not produced seed, nor have they hitherto been able to multiply this

310 APPENDIX.

charming tree. The large ramous spines are confined to the trunk,
and larger branches.

E. Gmelina asiaticctf Willd. 3. 813. A large thorny shrub, with large

drooping yellow flowers.
E. Gnaphalium americanum. Willd. 3. 1887. Everlasting:.
E. GoMPHRENA fjlobosa. WUM. 1. 1321. Annual Globe-amaranth.
E. GossvpiuM latifuUum. Willd. 3. 806. Grows freely, and yields a laro-e

produce of fine Cotton.

E. barbadense. Willd. 3. 806. Barbadoes Cotton.

I. Grammitis marginella. Willd. 5. p. 139.

E. Hibiscus Populneus. Willd. 3. 209. An useful timber tree of consi-
derable size.

E. popidneoides. R. A tree similar to the last, but larger.

E. mutabilis. Willd. 3. 817. Chana^eable-flowered.

E. syriacus. Willd. 3. 818. Syrian Hibiscus

E. sabdariffa. Willd. 3. 821, or West-India sorrel.

E. cannabimis. Willd. 3. 822. Hemp Hibiscus.

E. Abelmoschus. Willd. 3. 826. Musk Hibiscus.

E. Trionnm. Willd. 3. 832. Bladder Hibiscus.

E. diversifolius. Willd. 3. 820. A tall tree of short duration.

E. urens. WUld. 3. 817.

E. — -■ Rosa sinensis. Willd. 3. 812. China-Rose or Shoe flower.

E, phceniceus. Willd. 3 813.

E, armatus, or Rock-rose of the islanders.

E. H^MANTHUs. From the Cape of Good Hope ; species uncertain.

I. Hedyotis arborea. R. Dog-wood of the islanders.

Arboreous. Leaves opposite, .short-petioled, oblong, acuminate
entire, glossy, recurved : stipulary sheath cylindric, with one, or three
unequal denticuli on each side. Corymbs terminal, brachiate, subglobular.
Capsules globular.

A small tree, a native of the dark forests which decorate the misty alpioe
tops of the most lofty mountains in St. Helena.

APPENDIX. 311

E. Helianthus anmius. Willd. 3. 2237. Annual Sun-flower.

E. Heliotropium indicum. Willd. 1. 740. A weed in gardens.

E. HEMF,RocALLisy*M/D«. Willd. 2. 197 . Day Lily.

E. HoRDEUM hexasticlion. Willd. 1. 472. Spring Barley.

E. distichon. Willd. 1.473. Common Barley.

E. HvDEROcoTVLE asiotica. Willd. 1. 1362. Penny- wort.

E. Hydrangea hortcnsis. Willd. 2. 633. China Guelder- rcse.

E. Hymenophyllum capillaceum. R.

Parasitic ; surculi and stipes capillary, the former creeping. Fronds
lanceolate bipinnatifid ; segments linear, margins entire. Involucres
terminal, solitary, more rarely paired, subrotund.

A most beautiful, exquisitely delicate, small creeping parasite, found
mixed with moss on the trunks of trees over Diana's Peak.

E. Hypericum monogynum. Willd. 3. 1442. Chinese St. John's Wort.

E. Jas.minum officinale and odoratissimum. Willd. 1. 40. Common and

yellow Jessamine.
E. Imp AT\ ENS Balsamina. Willd. 1. 1175. Garden Balsam.
E. Indigofera tiiictoria. Willd.fi. 1237. Common Indigo-plant.
E. Ipomoea quamoclit. Willd. 1. 879. and grandiflora. R.
E. JusTiciA betonica. Willd. 1. 96. Betony-leaved Justicia.
E. IxiA. Several species from the Cape, which thrive well in eljstvated

gardens.

Kyllinga monocephala. Willd. 1. 256.
snmatrensis. Willd. 1. 258.

E. Lactuca saliva. Willd. 3. 1523. Lettuce, some few varieties.

E. Lamium purpurenm. Willd. 3. 88. Red Dead-nettle.

E. Laurus Persea. Willd. 2. 480. Avocado Pear. Saw only one tree
on the whole island, and no care taken of it : indeed no person knew
what it was. It blossoms freely every year, but has not produced
fruit.

E. Leontodon Taraxacum. Willd. 3. 1544. Dandelion.

312 APPENDIX.

E. LiMODORUM aloe folium. Cymbidium. WUld. 4. 101.
I. Lobelia sccEvolifoUa. R.

Shrubby, erect, branchlets succulent and polished. Leaves sparse,
cuneate-lanceolate, smooth, serrate. Peduncles axillary, solitary, shorter
than the leaves, one-flowered. Capsules clavate-turbinate.

A native of the thick, well-shaded forests which clothe the south face of
the Sandy Bay range of mountains ; where it grows to be a pretty large
shrub, the flowers rather large and pure white.

E. LoNicERA Periclymemim and Caprifolium. Two species of Honey-
suckle.

E. LuPiNus. Lupins two or three species in gardens on the hills.

I. Lycopodium cernuum. Willd. 5. 30. (Compare with P. Saururns.
WUld. 5. 50.)

Grows in great abundance on the mountains, where it is called
BucKs-horn. General height from 1 to 3 feet, and uncommonly ramous.

I, Lycopodium axillare. R.

Stems erect, simple, imbricated on all sides with numerous, glossy,
entire, acute, subappressed, ensiform leaves. Capsules axillary, solitary,
sessile.

Foiiu'd indigenous among grass on rather dry, rocky situations over the
higher parts of the south face of Dianas Peak.

E. Magnolia pumila, obovata, and fuscata. All from China, and grow

luxuriantly here.
E. Malva manritiana. Linn. Ivy-leaved Mallow.
E. Mangifera indica. Linn. Common Mango, thrives well at the Briars

only.
E. Melia sempervirens. WUld. Grows abundantly to the size of a small

tree over most parts of the island, and highly ornamental, being in

flower and seed the whole year.
E, siiperba. R. A large timber tree from India.

APPENDIX. :313

E. Melia robusta. R. Is also a large timber tree from India.

E. ■ Azedarach. Willd. 2. 558. A good and beautiful timber tree ; a

native of China, &c.
E. Melissa officinalis. Willd. 3. 146. Balm.
E. Mentha viridis. Linn., and two or three undetermined species of

Mint.
E. Mesembryanthemum. Fig Mary-gold. Several species Dr. R. savv

in gardens ; they were from the Cape of Good Hope originally.
E. Mesvii^vs japonica. Willd.2.\0\0. Louquat of the Chinese This

most elegant useful tree is perfectly at home here, and in time, with

a little care, will be highly beneficial to St. Helena.
E. Michelia Champaca. Willd. 2. 1260. In one garden only.
I. MiKANiA arborea. R.

Arboreous, with straight trunk. Leaves alternate, petioled, oblong,
smooth, gland-dentate-serrate. Panicles terminal, drooping. Calyx simple,
cylindric, 5-toothed, 5-flowered.

She-cabbage tree the vernacular name. In the forests which decorate
the south face of Sandy-bay ridge, it grows plentifully to be a tall .«lender
straight tree, particularly while young ; for by age it becomes bent to one
side, and well furnished with crooked brittle branches. The u-ood is white,
and the pith, which is used for tinder, in very large quantity. Yuuig shoots
smooth and of a bright purple colour ; whilc/the trees are y<mrig, .-a^i^mider
6-8 feet, simple, with the leafy top resembling an highly-coloured colewort,
hence the vernacular name ; when in this stage the leaves are generally
from 1 to 2 feet long, by 4-8 inches broad ; in old stunted trees 2-3 inches
long, by 1-2 broad. Panicles rather thin, subdichotomous, coloured like
the petioles, &c. corymbiforra. Bracies single, smooth and .sm-^ll under
each division, besides others on the pedicells, and round the ba.>e of the
simple, cylindric, smooth, 5-toothed calyx, which, when the seeds are ripe
splits into 5, linear, recurved leaflets.

E. Mimosa arabica. R. Acacia. Willd. 4. 1085.

E. Serissa. R. or Mauritius black-wood.

Ss

314 APPENDIX.

E. Mimosa cinerea. Ldiin. Acacia cinerea. Willd. 4. 1057.

E. glaticescens. R. Acacia glaucescens. Willd. 4. 1052.

E. • juniperina. Acacia juniperina. Willd. 4. 1049.

E. linifulia. Linn. Acacia linifolia. Willd. 4. 1051.

E. glauca. Linn. Acacia glauca. Willd. 4. 1075.

E. farnesiana. Linn. Acacia farnesiana. Willd. 4. 1083.

E. scandens. Linn. Acacia scandens. Willd. 4. 1057. On the

windward side of the island, the seeds are cast on shore and vegetate.

Besides the above there are some other exotic species, which the
author had not an opportunity to determine.

E. Mmvsovs Elengi.Willd.2.''S25.- Bocul of the Hindoos.

E. Mir ABiLis /a/«/)a. rFt%Z. 1. 999. Common Marvel of Peru.

E. MoMORDic A C/mraH^a. Willd.4.(j0}. The fruit, before maturity, much

used in the diet of the Hindoos.
E. MoR^A chinensis. Willd. 1. 245.
E. MoRus nigra. Wdld. 4. 369. Common Mulberry- tree.

E. atropurpurea. R. A quick growing tree from China.

E. MuRRAYA exotica. Willd. 2. 548. China-box tree.
E. MusA sapientum. Willd. 4. 894. Banana.

E. paradisiaca. Willd. 4. 893. Common Plantain tree.

E. Myristica moschata. Willd. 4. 863. Banda nutmeg, one sickly plant

-,in Major Hudson's garden in James's Valley.
E. Myrtus Pimenta. Willd. 2. 973. Introduced byUr. Roxburgh in 1805.
It thrives well in the garden near the south side of the island, where
it is cool, and often moistened with misty clouds.

communis. Willd. 2. 967. Grows most luxuriantly to the

size of a small very ramous tree. Besides the common myrtle, there
are two other varieties thereof,
E. Narcissus Tazetta, Pseudo- Narcissus and Jonquilla. In gardens,
E. Nerium tinctorium. R. and odontm. Willd. 1, 1235,
E. NicoTiANA Tabacum. Willd. 1. 1014, Common Virginian and Ha-

vanna Tobacco.
E. Olea europea. Willd. 1. 44. Common Olive. Grows luxuriantly to

APPENDIX. 316

be a tree of considerable size, and might be advantageously reared

for fuel, independent of the fruit.
I. Ophioglossum lusitanicum. WilUl. 5. 59.
E. Origanum major anoides. Willd. 3. 137. A stout shrubby species of

Marjoram.
E. Oryza saliva. Willd. 2. 247. This highly useful grain, Rice, does not

thrive on any part of the island : at least such is the re{)ort ; and

Dr. R. saw nothing to make him think otherwise.
E. OsTEOsPERMUM pisiferuiH. Willd.

Panicum ciliare. Willd. 1. 344.

cegyptiacum. Willd, 1. 343.

Dactylon. Willd. 1. 342. Wire-grass the vernacular name,

and supposed to be a native of the island. Agrostis stellata, and
linearis of Willdenovv, I am inclined to consider this very identical
species, consequently the East Indian Dup-grass, or Dupa.

E. italicum. Willd. 1. 336. Is much cultivated in many parts

of Asia, but does not thrive on St. Helena.

E. molle. Willd. 1. 340, or Scotch grass.

E. verticillaium. Willd. 1. 334. Rough Panic-grass.

Besides the above 6, there are two or three more, which Dr. Rox-
burgh had not an opportunity to ascertain.
E. Parkinsonia acw/eato. Willd.'2. 6\Z. ^- most beautiful smalVcjuick

growing tree.
E. Passiflora ccerulea. Willd. 3. 623. Common Passion-flower.
E. Pastinaca saliva. Willd. 1. 1466. Parsnip.
E. Pelargonium betulinum. Willd.

E. ■ capilatuni. Willd.

E. angulosum. Willd.

E. .- cucullatum. Willd.

E. inquinans. Willd.

E. '- denticulatum. Willd-

E. graveolens. Willd.

E. hybridum. Willd.

Geraniums. All introduced
> from the Cape of Good
Hope.

316 APPENDIX.

E. Pentapetes. Linn; Pterospermum suberifoliwn. Willd. 3. 723. Saw
only one tree on the island, it was reared in the Company's nursery
from seed sent from Bengal by Dr. Roxburgh.

E. Phaseolus vulgaris. Willd. 3. 1030. Several varieties of Kidney-
bean.

E. lunatus. Willd. 3. 1031. Lima-bean

E. Phillyrea media. Willd. 1, 42. Common Phillyrea.

E. Phlomis nepetifolia. Willd. 3. 1236.

I. Phvlica elliptica. R.

Shrubby. Leaves opposite, short-petioled, elliptic, rarely subovate,
thick and hard, hoary and concave underneath. Stipules 4-tern, ovate,
concave. Flowers in peduncled, axillary, hoary heads. Capsules tur-
binate,

A native of the most elevated parts of Diana's Peak, and of the Sandy
Bay range, where it grows to be a pretty large, but low spreading tree,
there called the wild Olive ; flowering in July and the seed ripen in March.
The wood i.s dark-coloured, hard, and very useful.

1. Phylica rosmarinifolia. R.

Arboreous, very ramous. Leaves alternate, short petioled, lanceolar,
acute, lucid above, hoary underneath, margins revolute. Stipules subulate.
Flowc^js axillary, subsessile.

Wild Rosemary it is called by the islanders ; and is found indigenous on
moderately high mountains, where it grows to be a middling-sized useful
timber tree of great beauty and fragrance. The bark tolerably smooth ;
the trunk short, thick, and crooked. The leaves bear an exact resemblance
to those o( Rosemary : lucid above and white underneath. Floicers minute,
pale greenish white. Capsules size of a pea, oval, until dry-ripe bacciform,
after they split into 3.

E. Phcenix dactylifera. Willd. 4. 730. A few trees only were seen,
though they thrive well, and promise much benefit to the island if
carefully managed.

APPENDIX. 817

E. Phyllanthus andrachnoides. Willd. 4. 575.
I. Physalis begonifolia. R. n.

Shrubby and very ramous. Leaves in pairs, petioled, unequally
ovate-cordate, entire, and soft. Peduncles axillary, solitary, drooping one-
flowered. Calyx campanulate, larger than the white corol, its border
divided into 5, broad, short unequal rounded segnaents.

A native of the rocky hills on the east and south sides of the island, and
known by the name Box-tcood. The trunk grows single to 2-4 feet in
heio^ht and about as thick as a man's arm ; its bark tolerably smooth and
brownish Branches numerous and divide into innumerable alternate
villous branchlets.

E. Physalis peruviana. Willd. I. 1022. Brasil-cherry , is very common
every where, because the goats do not eat it, and furnishes the inha-
bitants with ample supplies of large, palatable berries, without the
least care
E. PiNus iingifolia. Lamb. pin. tab. 21. Of this magnificent pine there is
but one or two young trees in the Governor's garden.

Pinaster. Willd. 4. 496. Grows well and to a great size on the

south side of the island, also in the Governor's garden and planta-
tions.

E, Pinea. Wil'd. 4. 497. Stone pine. ^

E. sy'vestris Willd. 4. 494. ScotjeV/fir. f

PisuM sativum. Wi'ld. 3. 1070. Garden pea, a few varieties.
E, PiTiosPORUM Tobira. Bot. Mag. 1396.
I. Plant AGO robusta. R.

Shrubby. Leaves crowded round the apices of the robust ligneous
branches, linear, intire, withering. Spikes few, axillary, cylindric, long-
peduncled.

A native of the tops of the moderately high hills over the island, where
it grows to be a stout shrub, with but few very thick, simple, son)e\Tihat
woody branches ; bark strongly marked with the innumerable scars of the
fallen leaves.

318 APPENDIX.

Three grasses of rather an inferior
quality.

Plantago major. Willd.

PoAJapouica. Willd. 1.394.

prateiisis. Willd. 1.388.

laxa. Willd. 1. 386.

E, PoiNciANA puleherrima. Willd. Prickly flower-fence.
E. PoLYANTHES tubcrosa. Willd. 2. 164. Tuberose.
I. PoLVPODiUM macrocarpum. Willd. 5. 147.

Surculi creeping, slender and very scaly, rooting on trees, rocks, &c.
stipes short, slender, polished dark brown, and somewhat winged, while
young scaly. Fronds (4-6 inches,) narrow-lanceolar, tapering most at the
base, entire, rather obtuse, smooth, thick, firm, veinless, surfaces, parti-
cularly the under dotted with small ferruginous specks. Spots in one row
on the exterior half, large, round and distinct, but intermixed with many
peltate scales, which while young unite and form a complete polyphyllous
involucre.

Is a pretty, delicate species, growing over the south face of Dianas
Peak. It may be referred to Pleopeltis of Humboldt and Bonpland.

I. PoLYPODiuM molle. R.

Stipes deeply channelled, and with the rachis clothed with soft hair
and large brown ramenti. Fronds ovate, soft and hairy underneath, sub-
oppositely-bipinnate ; leaflets deeply crenate. Fructifications numerous,
small, ^""enei-aily in two ill defined rows equally distant from the nerve and
margin.

A native o( Diana's Peak, grows in tufts in moist thickets to be 2-4 feet
high.

I. PoLYPODiUM rugulosum. Willd. 5. 206.

Stipes hairy. Fronds oblong alternately bitripinnate, texture thin
and soft ; pinnae lanceolate, obtuse ; leaflets dentate. Spots submarginal.
Found on Diana's Peak, growing to the height of 2-3 feet, but slender,
and every way delicate.

I. PoLYPODiuM dicksonifoUum. R.

Stipes brown, channelled and scabrous. Fronds lanceolate subtri-

APPENDIX. 319

pinnate : pinuulae subopposite, linear-oblong, obtuse, deeply obtuse-crenate.
Spots large, one or two on each of the ultimate segments of the frond, the
margins of which turn down and in part covers them.

A pretty delicately divided plant, growing on Diana's Peak to the height
of 8-12 inches.

1. PoLYPODiuM visciilum. R.

Surculi flexuose brown and shaggy, stipes, &c. channelled and
clothed with clammy headed diverging soft hairs on a brown ground.
Fronds ovate, suboppositely tripinnate and superdecnmpound : leaflets
linear-oblong, obtusely crenate or pinnatifed. Spots distinct few or nu-
merous, under the recurved crenatures of the segments of the leaflets.

Common about stone-dikes, &c. &c. Sandy Bay, where it grows to the
height of from 6 inches to 2 or 3 feet, and fructifies all the year.

E. PoPULUS alba. Willd. 4. 802. White Poplar, or Abele-tree ; thrives
well.

E. PoRTULACA oleracea. Willd. 2. 859. Common Purslane.

E. Protea argentea. Willd. 1. 529. Silver-tree.

E. mellifera. Willd. 1. 522. Honey-bearing Protea.

E. Vrvuvs Armeniaca. Willd. 2,. Q^9. Apricot. This tree does not suc-
ceed here.

E. PsiDiUM pnmiferum. Willd. 2. 958. Common Guava.

I. PsoHALEA piimata. Willd. Q. 1342. G^o^/e-^/ieer the vernacu'^ar name.

I. Pteris semiserrata. R.

Stipes length of the ovate, oppositely bipinnatifid flimsy fronds,
polished, smooth, green and channelled. Pinnae lanceolate : segments
divided nearly to the base, linear-lanceolate, barren apices serrate.
A native of Sandy Bay, where it grows to be 2-5 feet high.

I Pteris pa 'eacea. R.

Stipes and surculi densely clothed with long brown scariose scales.
Fronds suborbicular, bi-tripiniiately pedate ; leaflets falcate-linguiform
obtuse. Rachis of the pinnae spinulose on the upper side.

320 APPENDIX.

A robust scarce species, of about two feet in height, a native of the south
face of Diana s Peak.

E. PuMiCA granatum. Willd. 2. 981. Pomegranate,

E. Pyrus chinensis. R. China pear ; they are large, but very indifferent.

E. Pyrus Malus. Willd. 2. 1016. The apple, and but few sorts on the
island.

E. Cydonia. Willd. 2. 1020. Quince.

E. QuERCus Rnbur. Willd. 4. 450. Common British oak.

E. Ilex. Willd. 4. 433, Evergreen oak.

E. Suber. WiUd. 4. 433. Cork-tree.

Ranunculus bulbosus. Willd. 2. 1324. Butter-cups.
E. Raphanus sativus. 3. 560. Radish.
E. Rhus Vernix. Willd. 1. 1497. One tree in the Deputy Governor's

garden.
E. Ricmus communis. Willd. 4. 564. Common Palma-Christi, Grows

luxuriantly.
I. Roella angustifolia. R.

Perennial, diffuse : branches long, slender and scabrous. Leaves
alternate, sessile, linear-lanceolate, remotely and acutely gland-serrate-
denticulate. Peduncles lateral, many times longer than the leaves, dicho-
tomoui' ,man3'-(1owered.

Common in fissures of the rocks about Major Seal's farm in Sandy Bay,
where fogs prevail and the thermometer ranges from 60 to 70. Is in seed
and flower the whole year. The Jluwers are pure white, erect and pretty
large. I think it would be an ornamental plant for the flower garden.

I. Roella paniculata. R.

Shrubby, erect, branchlets hairy. Leaves sparse, sessile, cuneate-
lanceolar, serrulate, hairy. Panicles terminal, hairy.

A slender upright shrub, with but few erect branches ; a native of the
thick forests on the south face of Diana's Peak y the flowers are large and
vi'hite.

APPENDIX. 321

I. RoELLA linifolia. R.

Shrubby, subparasitic (on Dicksonia arborescens.) Leaves sparse,
sessile, numerous, linear, smooth, very acutely serrulate. Peduncles
(racemes,) terminal few-flowered.

A pretty little raraous diffuse alpine plant found on the top of Sandy Bay
ridge, chiefly on Dianas Peak. Leaves crowded round the somewhat
villous columnar branches. The flowers white, with a tinge of pink, and
highly ornamental.

E. Rosa triphylla. R. Scandeut, ternate-leaved, large white single
rose.

E. centifoUa. Willd.2. 1071. Common rose.

E. muscosa. Willd. 2. 1078, Moss rose.

chineusis. Willd. 2. 1078,

E. semperfloretis. Willd. 2. 1074'

RuBUS pinnatiis. WUld. 2. 1081 ?

Shrubby. Leaves pinnate ; leaflets 5 or 7, rarely 3, ovate-cordate,
lucid, strongly veined, doubly serrate. Panicles terminal. Stems, branches,
petioles and peduncles armed ; tender shoots villous and hoary.

Bramble the vernacular name on St. Helena, where it proves a most
noxious plant : running over very large tracts of the bestlgjJ^, whe^ the
rapidity with which it grows to a much larger size than the common
bramble of Europe (^Rvbiis friiticosus^ has hitherto baflled every attempt to
extirpate it. The roots grow to a great size, and every bit left in the ground
grows. Stem scarce any : what there is, grows to be as thick as a man's '
leg sometimes. Branches numerous, very long and scandent, when their
apices rest on the ground they strike root and produce other plants, as in
the other species of this genus : the young shoots glaucous and downy ;
the bark of the old dark brown ; all are well armed with numerous recurved
prickles. Lmres alternate, pinnate, 6-12 inches long ; /eaj^e^s ovate and
ovate-cordate, smooth, doubly serrate. Petioles and ribs armed. Stipules
petiolary, ensiform. Panicles terminal, with their peduncles and subdivi-
sions armed and downy. Bractes like the stipules. Calycine segments

Tt

322 APPENDIX.

lanceolate, nearly twice the length of the ovate, pink petals, and they are
rather longer than the stamiim and styles. Berries in shape, size, and
colour very like those of the common bramble, but scarce so palatable.

Some of the old inhabitants say it was brought originally from England
for the common bramble of that country ; others, and with greater proba-
bility, say it was brought from the Cape of Good Hope.

E. RuMEx vescicarius. Willd. 2. 256. Bladder sorrel, and Acetosa, or

common sorrel.
E. patienfia. Willd. 2. 249. and one or two species, which Dr.

Roxburgh had not an opportunity of ascertaining.
E. RuTA graveolens. Willd. 2. 542. Rue.

E. Salix babylonica. Willd. 4. 671. Weeping-willow, and two more

unascertained species.
E. 8xccu AKvyi officinarum. IFilld. \.S2\. Sugar-cane.
I. Salsola salsa. Willd. 1. 1312. Common over the most barren parts

of the island.
E. Salvia officinalis. Willd. 3. 129. Common Sage, and coccinea, scarlet

Sage.
E. Sambucus ni^ra. Willd. 1. 1495. Common Elder.
E. Sanseviera zeylanica. Willd. 2. 159.

E. BqYT ALIA Lttchi see Gart. sem. ]. 197 . Litchi o( China, a. well-kaown
tiruit. "

E. Longan. R. Longan, or Dragotis-eye, the small round

grey Litchi.

E. Rambootan. R. Nephelium lappaceum. Linn. Rambootan

of the Malays.
E. Senecio /acofeea. ^F«/W. 3. 1997. -Common Rag- wort.
E. Sida lanceulala, and tuicrojjliylla. Willd. 3. 736 and 739.
E. SiGESBKCKiA orientalis. lJ'Uld.Q.2'2}9. A weed in gardens.
E SoLANUM tuberosiun. Willd. 1. 1033. Common Potatoe, several varieties.

E. Lycopersicum. Willd. 1. 1033. Love-apple.

E. Pseudo-capsicum. Willd. 1. 1026. Bastard Capsicur

E. Sodomeum. Willd. 1. 1043. Black-spined Solanum.

im.

APPENDIX. 823

E. SoLANUM Jacquinii. Wdld. 1. 1041.

E. nigrnm. Willd. 1. 1035. Garden Solanum; its leaves used

as spinage.
I. SoLiDAGO spuria. Willd. 3. 2053. Conyza Rtigosa. Ait. Kew. 3. 184.

Arboreous. Leaves short-petioled, cuneate-lanceolate, obtuse,
serrate*dentate, tomentose underneatli. Corymbs terminal (ultimately in
the forks,) length of the leaves, much crowded.

Bastard- Cabbage-tree of the Islanders. On the tops of the highest
mountains it grows to be a large, but inelegant tree. The wood close-
orained, while and durable, but its chief use is for fuel.

1-

SoLiDAGO Leucodendron. Willd. 3. 2054?

Arboreous, very ramous. Leaves sessile, cuneate-lanceolar, anterior
margin serrate, smooth. Corymbs terminal, length of the leaves, many-
flowered : flowers subcylindric : female florets 6-10 in the ray, and 4-6
hermaphrodite in the centre.

Cabbage-tree-gum-wood the vernacular name on St. Helena, where it is
indigenous on the mountains at an elevation of from 1500 to 2000 feet
above the sea, and grows to be a pretty large, very ramous tree, its ultimate
ramifications trichotomous, with dark brovvji bark, rendeje^i scabwns by
the numerous elevated scars of the fallen leaves. Leaves smoolJier and
less clammy than in the other species. Corymbs terminal, several together :
peduncles and divisions cylindric and smooth : Jloicers numerous, small and
white, the female florets revoUite ; bractes subulate ; scales of the calyx
decrease so as to be very minute at the base. The wood used for fuel

chiefly.

I. SoLiDAGO infegrifolia. R.

Arboreous with far spreading branches and smooth glossy branchlets.
Leaves sparse, approximate, sessile, cuneate-lanceolate, obtuse, intire,
margins revolute, glossy above, while young slightly woolly underneath.
Corymbs terminal, length of the leaves, very ramous and large.

324 APPENDIX.

Bfack-cabhage-tree* the vernacular name ; on Sandy Bay ridge it grows
to be one of the largest, some say the largest indigenous tree ou the island ;
the trunk about 5-6 feet in circumference ; the coma very ramous large and
spreading ; loood white, hard and serviceable for various purposes, but fuel
chiefly. Flowers white, appearing in January, female florets 20-30 in the
ray : male in the disk, and niimerous ; receptacle naked, convex : pappus
hairy. Calyx subcylindric, imbricated : scales numerous, linear, acute.

1. SoLiDAGo cuneifolia. R.

Arboreous. Leaves sessile, cuneiform, grossly serrate on the
anterior margins, very rugose (but scarce villous). Peduncles terminal,
length of the leaves, few flowered ; hermaphrodite and female florets about
2 of each.

He-cabbage-tree of the islanders. It grows to be a middle-sized tree
its ultimate ramifications dichotomous : bark thereof olive-brown. Leaves
less^crowded than in Leucadendrou but larger, anterior half deeply serrate :
posterior half entire and taper much, all are very rugose, and villous under-
neath. Peduncles terminal, simple and one-flowered, or soon divide into

2, 3 or 4 long, slender, smooth, one-flowered pedicells: flowers white :
calyx cylindric, &c. as in Leucodendron ; the female florets are nearly as
numerous as the uerMaphrodite, lanceolar, apices 3-dentate, spreading at
first, bftt/by age^come revolute.

I. SoLiDAGO rotundifoUa. R.

Arboi-eous. Leaves alternate, long-petioled, from oval to subrotund,
serrate-dentate, smooth, while young shining with clammy varnish. Pani-
cles terminal, spreading, length of the leaves, very ramous and subrotund.
A native of the heights of St. Helena, where it is called Bastard Gum-
wood by some, and Cabbage-tree by others. On the hills and mountains
it grows to be a tree of about 20 feet in height, with a crooked trunk wliich
is thick in proportion to the size of the tree ; its bark and that of the
branches almost black, but pretty smooth, except for the numerous scars
* White-wood -cabbage-tree, see Bidens arborea.

APPENDIX. 325

left by the decayed leaves. Wood white, hard'%nd durable. Petioles
channelled, nearly as long- as the leaves. Panicles terminal when they
first appear, but by the growth of 2 or 3 branchlets from the apex of the
twig they soon stand in the fork thereof : this is the general habit of all
those symjenesious trees found, by me, on this island. Flowers numerous,
small and white, 3-10 ligulate revolute female Jiorets in the ray, and 7-8
tubular male in the disk.

SoNCHus oleraceus and l(Tvis. Common sow-thistles.
E. Sp \RTivM jimceum. Willd. 3. 926. Broom.
I. Spilanthes tetrandra. R.

Shrubby. Leaves opposite, short-petioled, oblong, serrate, convex,
reticulate underneath. Peduncles axillary, solitary, 1, rarely 2-flowered
bracted : florets tetrandrous.

Indigenous on the mountains, where it grows to be 4-5 feet high.

E. Spinacja oleracea. Willd. 4. 766. Common Spinage.

E. Spir^a corymbosa. R. A pretty China shrub, already described by

Dr. Roxburgh.
E. SwiETENiA 3Iahogoni. Willd. 2. 557. Mahogany tree introduced ftom

the Botanic Garden at Calcutta. , .

£. -febrifuga. R. East India Fever-bark^ ts^g.

E. Syringa vidgaris. Willd. 1. Commoir^ilac. .:' \'

E. Tagetes pattda and erecta. Willd. 3.2126. French and African

Marygold.
E Tamarindus indica. Willd. 3. 577. Tamarind-tree.
E. Taxus elongata. Willd. 4. 857. Cape of Good Hope Yetc.

E. chinensis. R. China Yew.

E. Tectona grandis. Willd. 1. 1088. Teak-tree.

E. Terminalia Catappa. Willd. 4. 967. An elegant and useful laroe

tree.
E. Tetranthera macrophylla. R. Brought from Bengal by Dr. Roxburo-h

being the food of the Mogadooty silk-ivorm.
E. Thea. Tea. Saw one or two stunted plants in the Governor's garden.

326 APPENDIX.

E. Thuja orientalis. Willd. 4. 508. Chinese Arbor-vitse,

E. — ■ — cupressoides. Willd. 4. 510. African Arbor- vitaa.

E. Thymus vulgaris. Willd. 3. 139. Common Thyme.

E. Tradescantia discolor. Willd. 2. 18. Purple-leaved Tradescantia.

E. Trichosanthes anguina. Willd. 4. 598. Snake-gourd.

E. Trifolium. Clover. Several sorts have been repeatedly tried, but
with little success : in some places a little white clover is seen grow-
ing amongst the grass in gardens.

E. Triticum (Estivum, and hybernum. Summer and Winter wheat.

E. TroP/Eolum niajus. Willd. 2. 298. Indian-cress.

E. Ulex europeus. Willd. 3. 969. Common-whin.
E. Ulmus virgata. R. A small tree from China.

E. Urtica tenacissima. R. Catvoee of the Malays, from the fibres of its
bark the China-grass cloth is made.

E. YiciA Faba. Willd. 4. nil. Garden-bean.

E. ViNCA rosea. Willd. I. 1233. Rosy Periwinkle.

E. ViTis vinifera. Willd. 1. 1180. Grape-vine.

E. Volkameria inermis. See Clerodendrum.

E. Viola tricolor. Willd. 1. 1168. Pansy.

E. Zea Mays_ JVilld. 4. 200. Indian-corn, is common in gardens, bat

d'»»es not s^em to make any thing like a profitable field-crop.
E. Zamia, one small plant of an uncertain species in the public nursery.

327

APPENDIX II.

Abstract of the Poptdation and Cattle on the Inland of St. Helena from the
year 1683 to 1733; extracted from the Records.

Year.

Total

Inhabitants.

Total Cattle.

1683

490

not ascertained.

1714

832

964

1716

855

1368

1717

833

1689

1719

Soi

1765

1720

not ascertained.

1863

J721

834

1711

1722

800

'55+

1724

788

727

J733

840

1854

List of the Popidalion * Cattle, Free and Lease Lands, from the year 1769
to 1812, at intervals of five years.

WHITES.

BL.4CKS.

C3

e2

CATTLE. || LANDS.

c

c

to

2J CO

1 -0
c
a

c

1

0

09

5

1

E
0

CQ

to

0

0

■0
c

K

0

oq

>

.'I £

S CO

Biulloc
Total.

n

0

3

f

236 241

I ('Acres. Acres.

Acres.

1769

53

93

92

96

334

271

170

169

III 721

1055

47

847,584

447

74

2476, 2205I 2200

44° 5 1

1774

46

87

97

100

3301I284

177

214

144 819

1149I

43

787J625

237

231 240

93

2256 22051 2316I

452 '1

1779

4'

9>

97

105

33411346

200

209 1631 918

1253I

47

622 300

180

'94 '55

26

1524,220512376!

458ii

I784i

54

96

92

108

35°1)377

207

241176 1001

'35'|

45

636I4II

211

263 249

49

1864 220512427

4632I

1789

5^

97

103

132

388!{45i 27S

279217 1225

1613

50

77',556

173

236'2i8

61

2065 ■2205,1 2543I

474*''t

»794

48

102

97

'45

392

439,272

279

24012301,

1622

48494^367

89

'64I 43

'4

1219 220512584!

4789-1

1799

48

104

94

142

388

405I268J

327,

257,1257,

1645

44911I729

200

268,297

104

2553 2205I2791I

4997

1803

73

108

105

150

436

383J220

270

254I1127!

•563

—

— — '

—

— ' — 1

—

— 1 — 1 —

1804 87

121

105!

•63

476

3861213

276

265-1 140,

1616

45

801593

'99

262J239

63

2202 2205^2902^

;io8

1809 IOC

153

'38,

200

59'

38b|277|

279

2571199

1790

47

846717

178

194I217

96 2295 !2205f3766i 59721

881149412205137994,60051

1812J no

152

M7I

173

582

337239:315

259 1150I

'73Z

36

';43 407

86

20i;i33:

Remarks. — The further importation of slaves was interdicted by the
Court of Directors in 1702 ; and permission granted to any person to

* The Civil and Military Establishments, and the Free Blacks, and Companv's Slaves, arc
not included.

328 APPENDIX II.

nianuraise, or set free, any slave or slaves, on condition that they should not
become burthensome to the parish.

At that period, the number of slaves (men, women, and children) be-
longing to individuals was 1292, Not having any record of the Company's
slaves and free blacks, prior to 1803, I cannot give a correct view of the
increase of black population since 1792. I am, however, enabled to shew,
that there has been an increase since 1803. This is, in fact, the most
accurate period to begin with, because, in 1802 the progress of population
received a check, by a mortality of about 160, occasioned by the measles.
Beginning then at 1803, the increase of black population will be seen by
the following comparison.

In 1803, slaves (men, women and children) belonging to individuals 1127
Company's slaves _ - - - - - 81

Free blacks _-~ - - - 331

Total 1539

In 1812, slaves belonging to individuals - , . _ 1150

Company's slaves - - - - - 89

Free blacks - ^ - - - - 448

Total 1687
Diffeience, or increase, 'in nine years, - - - 148

This is pevhayis'as correct a ^w as can be made, in any place or island,
of the change that has taken place in the number of inhabitants ; because
not more than two or three instances have occurred of subtracting by deser-
tion or removal, and none of adding, by the import of foreign blacks, within
this period of nine years.

Chinese labourers were first introduced in 1810. Three years afterwards
there were 270 able men. The government of the island were so well
satisfied of their utility that it was resolved to augment the establishment
to 400. Some account of their employments, pay, &c. is given in p. 186.

32^9

APPENDIX III.

The largest produce of Corn obtained at the Company's farms, in 1814,
was as follows :

1 1 acres of Cape barley yielded 69 bushels per acre.
H ditto Cape wheat - - 52 - - ditto
5 ditto Barley wheat - - 40 - - ditto

APPENDIX IV.

List of Seventy-six different Species of Fish at St. Helena.

WhaJe

Mackarel

Soldier

Hog, 2 sorts

Ground Shark

Stone-brass

Bastard ditto

Cod

Shovel-nose ditto

Cunning

Barracoota

Devil

Dog ditto

Flying

Pyke

Lather- coat

Mackarel ditto

Trooper

Sword

Bream

Sun

Green, 2 sorts

Thrasher

Snake

Albicore

Old Wife

Kiiigsou

Beard

Porpoise

Silver

Sand Spp«^r

Serpettt

Bottle-nosed ditto

Five-finger

Rock ditto

Flounder

White Conger

Gurnet

Trumpet

Striped

Red ditto

Mullets, 3 sorts

Sole

Parrot

Speckled ditto

Bull's-eyes, 3 ditto

Cat

Eel , 2 sorts

Green ditto

Jacks, 2 ditto

Flying ditto

Shrimp

Yellow-tail

Cavally Pilot

Sucking

Turtle

Cavally

Bonnetla

Lanthorn

Craw

Coal

Dolphin

Rock

Stump Is
Long-legs/ fi

Bastard ditto

Pilot

Bottle , 1

shell

Remarks. — Whales in great numbers generally appear in August, and
remain about three months. If, during the period of their stay, a few expert
fishermen were employed, a considerable number might be killed every

Uu

360 APPENDIX IV.

year. The species which frequents St. Helena is, by the South Sea whalers,
called the " Race-horse." They jneld about five tons of oil.

Albacore, congers, cavally, mackarel, old-wives, bull's-eyes, jacks, and
soldiers, are naost commonly taken and used. The coal-fish resembles a
salmon both in shape and flavour ; but are very rare. The yellow-tail and
dolphin, which are also scarce, are remarkably fat and delicious at St.
Helena ; although when taken at a distance from land they are insipid, and
coarse. The ^hell-fish called stumps and long-legs, resemble the lobster
in taste and colour. Turtle weighing from 3 to 500 pounds are frequently
caught.

With so great a variety of fish, there is no doubt, that the establishment
of a proper fishery would be of vast advantage to the island. Hitherto the
only mode of fishing practised is with hook and line.

■'-s

London : Printed by W. Bulmer and Co.
Cleveland-roWjSt, James's.

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I

."^^

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:^ib