Here likewise grows sandalwood, and many more sorts of trees fit for any uses.  The tallest among them resemble our pines; they are straight and clear-bodied, but not very thick; the inside is reddish near the heart and hard and ponderous.

Two new sorts of palmtrees described.

Of the palm kind there are 3 or 4 sorts; two of which kinds I have not seen anywhere but here.  Both sorts are very large and tall.  The first sort had trunks of about 7 or eight foot in circumference and about 80 or 90 foot high.  These had branches at the top like coconut-trees, and their fruit like coconuts, but smaller:  the nut was of an oval form, and about the bigness of a duck’s egg:  the shell black and very hard.  It was almost full of kernel, having only a small empty space in the middle, but no water as coconuts have.  The kernel is too hard to be eaten.  The fruit somewhat resembles that in Brazil formerly mentioned.  The husk or outside of the fruit was very yellow, soft and pulpy when ripe; and full of small fibres; and when it fell down from the trees would mash and smell unsavoury.

The other sort was as big and tall as the former; the body growing straight up without limbs, as all trees of the palm kind do:  but, instead of a great many long green branches growing from the head of the tree, these had short branches about the bigness of a man’s arm, and about a foot long; each of which spread itself into a great many small tough twigs, that hung full of fruit like so many ropes of onions.  The fruit was as big as a large plum; and every tree had several bushels of fruit.  The branches that bore this fruit sprouted out at about 50 or 60 foot height from the ground.  The trunk of the tree was all of one bigness from the ground to that height; but from thence it went tapering smaller and smaller to the top, where it was no bigger than a man’s leg, ending in a stump:  and there was no green about the tree but the fruit; so that it appeared like a dead trunk.

Besides fruit trees here were many sorts of tall straight-bodied timber-trees; one sort of which was like pine.  These grow plentifully all round the island by the seaside, but not far within land.  It is hard wood, of a reddish colour, and very ponderous.

The fruits of the island.

The fruits of this island are guavas, mangoes, jacas, coconuts, plantains, bananas, pineapples, citrons, pomegranates, oranges, lemons, limes, musk-melons, watermelons, pumpkins, etc.  Many of these have been brought hither by the Dutch and Portuguese; and most of them are ripe in September and October.  There were many other excellent fruits, but not now in season; as I was informed both by the Dutch and Portuguese.

The herbs.

Here I met with an herb which in the West Indies we call calalaloo.  It grows wild here.  I ate of it several times and found it as pleasant and wholesome as spinach.  Here are also parsley, samphire, etc.  Indian corn thrives very well here, and is the common food of the islanders; though the Portuguese and their friends sow some rice, but not half enough for their subsistence.