Many of these English plants appear to
flourish better than in their native country; some also from the
opposite quarter of Australia succeed remarkably well. The many
imported species must have destroyed some of the native kinds; and
it is only on the highest and steepest ridges that the indigenous
Flora is now predominant.
The English, or rather Welsh character of the scenery, is kept up
by the numerous cottages and small white houses; some buried at the
bottom of the deepest valleys, and others mounted on the crests of
the lofty hills. Some of the views are striking, for instance that
from near Sir W. Doveton's house, where the bold peak called Lot is
seen over a dark wood of firs, the whole being backed by the red
water-worn mountains of the southern coast. On viewing the island
from an eminence, the first circumstance which strikes one is the
number of the roads and forts: the labour bestowed on the public
works, if one forgets its character as a prison, seems out of all
proportion to its extent or value. There is so little level or
useful land that it seems surprising how so many people, about
5000, can subsist here. The lower orders, or the emancipated
slaves, are, I believe, extremely poor: they complain of the want
of work.
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