My lodgings were situated at a height of about
2000 feet; here the weather was cold and boisterous, with constant
showers of rain; and every now and then the whole scene was veiled
in thick clouds.
Near the coast the rough lava is quite bare: in the central and
higher parts feldspathic rocks by their decomposition have produced
a clayey soil, which, where not covered by vegetation, is stained
in broad bands of many bright colours. At this season the land,
moistened by constant showers, produces a singularly bright green
pasture, which lower and lower down gradually fades away and at
last disappears. In latitude 16 degrees, and at the trifling
elevation of 1500 feet, it is surprising to behold a vegetation
possessing a character decidedly British. The hills are crowned
with irregular plantations of Scotch firs; and the sloping banks
are thickly scattered over with thickets of gorse, covered with its
bright yellow flowers. Weeping-willows are common on the banks of
the rivulets, and the hedges are made of the blackberry, producing
its well-known fruit. When we consider that the number of plants
now found on the island is 746, and that out of these fifty-two
alone are indigenous species, the rest having been imported, and
most of them from England, we see the reason of the British
character of the vegetation.
Pages:
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935