The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1815-08-05 00:00:00

I§L.42fD OP §T. HELAIk'At;

testivict Ina Bra flisler, of thelstamotof SL, &skate.]
,
•
refle Gtiv Patiec ot. Thorwlay )

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the •cloods, floating at a eettoitf, heighk in the at-.
vit4ol humidity 'to the highey parts Of.
the islmiel stirlsout itirstharginf; any
inte.stare on the
I.por teridst whets % after *. a long (Instinurutee
of
slratightv tho mots of,grassi. &c, "perish. The
eartlh,-ia emissonence, loses Its MilleMloll, and When
a bea' fall of rain occors,.it is washed from'i the de-
clivities, which isretlins divested of the means of ,
vegetations mot pother deepen into gullies, or stand
in the firth-.of prominences., where the texture is
sisffieirritiv.liard to re•si.st..the effects of the rain,
which isertots to be the natural• history of all the bars
ten ridges that, Siafeitstastic,lll4itresb terminate A-
mok at the be:4 .lent! • form the.•;exterior of the
. .
From' these (-mews t*. lutnrianCe* of vigetstioes
inere ises iu rmivortiosifir•ilistaiwe aril height from
the seas; .and mon idw very summits of the Interior
bilis pact!. are to be 'writ sip• to their knees
iu
goo; &steel the possess of eligestion'being forwarded
by tie repose which the animal enjoys from the
geae;:il diffusion of si gs in those situations the
memo lauds are, nn every are . reo•areled as the
prime.saistoros of the island, whertstsslse ridges and
ruviaes, whirli..diverge towards to the sea (non the
central eminences, have their verdure toll their wa-
ter di!Aipct. The, native wire grass loaf iswer the
ridge, .while the water fr the ctiitnil •springs
weeks_tho bottom of tile valleys. rive nourish-
ment which ought to be combined is thus separated,
and the *island enlist toil in descending for the one,
oeresmaxiieling fur the other, to have the process of
nature in the generation or nourishment
In severe droughts, the cattle have shed by the side
of the water, unable to regain the scanty pittance of
gross which the ridge might afford.
Fruits, particularly vines, figs,wrangcs, and le-
mons, ripen best iu the valleys swat the sea, which
are also well adopted to the growth of plantai lit
141111 h./WM.4'4 ; all these fruits rrepuriegg a degree
of hest, soy% the enriched soil and the shelter of the
valleys. From 111 garden Dore interior, but finely
watered and *hollered, of 110 greater extent than
three acres of ground, '24,009 dozen apples, of as
large s z were gnallwred in one seasou, besides
switches, goyim*, grape a, and figs in abundance.
Cherries have bets tried, but without stove:Ll.
Goisselwrry and currant bushes. throe to evergremps,
and tin not bear tient. The 1411451,1, hOwever, is not
to be considered us possessing a general
fie rtility,
The greater port of it is a harms., reluctant. waste.
Evil' in the best-cultivated and richest spots, that
often make- abundant returns, the expectations of
the gardener are frequently disappointed ;and from
necasi tttt al the earth or the atmosphere, his
labour is defeated, and his crops Illtets
A species of rim, iutrnxlueeel from Nbeelagaiwar,
is celltivisted principally its the valleys. It requires
almost a constant oak of water, for fifteen mouths,
to bring it to perfect' . In its raw state it has an
acrid, and almost a caustic quality ; hot after sonny
hours boiling, it 'meanies a wholesome and nourish-
ingappAy, The otteininsi of the fanners, however,
hiss, for tiielatinightem seats, been peculiarly di-
rected to tlw cultivation of potatoes, for the obvious
reason, that three. awl sometimes four, crops of
that-vegetable can he ineoltictal fur one of yam. in-
dependently their finding a inure ready sale to
the sliqrs. Cabbages, i•ease, beans, and other ve-
getables, are raised ill sl dIIIIIW.
The rem-tree grows, iii the tipper lands, to a
size larger than in most countries, and is in request
by honatists in England ; and the myrtle, to which
the climate stems peculiarly adapted, attains a
height of swat to thirty feet. The sort of grass
that prevails in the higher semis is the English ver-
nal grass ; and in the low I I the wire-grass or
(loop, which is extremely seicet and nutritious, and
suffers less from dry and hot weather thaii any tither
sort. Best it has been supplanted. to the injury of
Inane Immures, by II course herb, called cow-grass,
originally from the Cape of Good !lope, which is
now extremely common. Lucerne is found to MID,-
creel in senor situations; awl if it could be 'store
generally cultivated, it model prove exceethogly
sd-
vantageons. The exterior crust of the islatiel, near
the sea, prodisces, spontaneously, a shrub, to which
the motives give the twine of sitinpliire—lnit it is
probably the burilla, as its ashes yield a large quan-
tity of marina alkali, with winch a good soap has
beeil rimitufacturcel.
'rile breed of cattle and sheep on the island is
originally English. The beef is of an excellent
quality ; hot in comeequence of the great de ma in!
from the C pony's shipping for fresh provisions, 14
bullock is seldom ollawed to attain the age of four
years. Rabbits abound in some situations—Ora-
mitts and partridges are become numerous, since
the Government has given them protection,' and
garden is enliveued by the notes of the canary
bird. I; • a.fowl, with whirl' the island was
Once well stocked, are nem- seldom to he seer.
Of Ittih it has been el >w muted that seventy-six
• specie* fressuent the coast. Those moat -monopoly
• token and used, are mackerel. allsecove, cay„,11a,.%
jacks, cowers, soldiers, old-wives, moil loin's-
eces ; and of fIWII-11•11, liiiig-lettz+, and ,swops.
'lake two last reseinfele the lobster in taste 81111 141..
tail. Rock-oysters
Junr,aishl have the I+lllllr kind of
• are found in some situations, hardly ilissiagui,J,bie
trains Ow rock, forming a solid congeries, which
may be separated iota elistiteet fish. The voni_gvh,
mi called f the black hoe of its skin, is from
ton to three feet iu length, and very thick alpout
the neck ;. it-is Singularly high-flav I awl deli-
cate, .nied not. unlike a iiiihnoit in taste ; hut so
scorer, that seldom inerre• than six or eight are
catiglit in yrar. Thee fliiitg-fish about the shores
h
of St. Ileleirs, when porsurei hy Porpoise% s arks.
or ialwr rapacious rumples, Ofills Stret death in a
di &relit eleinem by dropping rye the rock*. Sr •
of them have hero pecked up in tias situation whirls
lIIMMiUTVII re than twit feat in leitgill, 14 size to
which tlwv are *imposed seldom In attain) in either
parts of the world. The grooms' Mode of fishily,
practised here is that ley hook I limit. either from,
the snore, or from boats moored either by a slam•
sir a grapnel. Whales are frespovinlv seen. awl
have, in a few instructs, heels killed by South
Sea whalers Us the roods.
(To be continued.) ,

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