On the 13th, three acres of wheat were sown with four bushels of seed.  Every garden vegetable, now growing, were much blighted by west and south-west winds; indeed, this was a very improper time to sow any garden seeds, it being the commencement of winter; but the potatoes I had by me grew out so very fast, that I was obliged to sow them all.  I had found the last year that June and July were the best months for sowing the general crop.  We had a very heavy gale of wind this day from the south-west, which was the first southerly wind that had blown with any degree of force since last August; and the last year, the southerly winds did not begin until the 10th of April:  from which I conclude that southerly and westerly winds are not frequent in the summer; especially as we had not one gale from that quarter during the last summer.

Three acres of wheat were sown in Arthur’s vale on the 16th, and by the 21st eight acres of wheat were up, and had a promising appearance.

As there was a projection of the reef where boats used to land, which, if taken away, would greatly lessen the danger of landing; I set six men to work about removing it on the 22d, with orders to continue at the employment every tide until it was finished.

Notwithstanding every convict had suffered exemplary punishment for their crimes, whenever they were detected; yet this was not sufficient to keep the free people in proper subordination; for on the 26th, John Williams, a marine, quitted his guard, and raised a quarrel in a convict’s house; the consequence of which was a battle between himself and another marine:  on which, I assembled the marines and all the other free people under arms, under the flag-staff, on which the colours were hoisted; and I punished him with twenty-four lashes, for quitting his post, and fighting with his comrade.

I observed on the 7th of May, that all the wheat which hitherto had a very fine appearance, was blighted in many places, and particularly where it was thinnest sown:  on examining it, I found it entirely covered with a small black caterpillar, which had eat off the stems within an inch of the ground:  these destructive vermin kept on the wheat during the whole month; they began on the lower part of the eight acres that were sown in Arthur’s Vale, and proceeded regularly through it, destroying every blade.  We tried various methods to extirpate them, such as rolling the wheat with a heavy roller, and beating it with turf-beaters, in order to kill them, but with little effect; for in an hour’s time they were as numerous as ever, and daily increased in size.  I found they were bred from a small moth, vast numbers of which infested the air in the mornings and evenings:  the number of these caterpillars on the wheat was incredible; and they were so thick in the gardens that we swept them in heaps:  the adjoining rivulet was also covered with them.  The whole wheat of eight acres (which was a foot high when these pernicious vermin first attacked it) was eat close to the ground by the 28th, and three acres of it never grew afterwards.  Having gone through the gardens and wheat, these destructive insects left us on the 29th.