St Helena
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nature a mere desart supplys abundantly refreshments of all kinds to ships of all nations who touch there, contrasted with this Island, which tho highly favourd by nature, shews not unaptly the Genius’s of the two nations in making Colonies: nor do I think I go too far in asserting that was the Cape now in the Hands of the English it would be a desart, as St Helena in the hands of the Dutch would as infallibly become a paradise.
Small as this Island is and not raisd very much above the surface of the Sea it enjoys a varity of Climates hardly to be beleivd. The Cabbage trees, as they are calld, which grow on the highest ridges can by no art be cultivated on the lower ones where the red wood and Gum wood grow, both which in their turns refuse the high ridges, and neither of the three are to be found in the Vallies, which indeed are in general coverd with European plants or the more common ones of the Indies - in all probability originaly brought here by ships, and the more so as much the largest proportion of them are natives of England, among which I may
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol. 2) 587, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-482.html