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Zealous: "We left Torne on December 21st, and arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez early in the morning of the 24th. It is difficult to imagine a more impressive bit of scenery than that which greets the eye on coming on deck, and seeing it for the first time after anchoring. We lay close to the shore, which went up almost perpendicular to a height, in some places, of 3,000 feet, towering above us like a huge giant. These heights faced us in the shape of a semi-circle, and to all appearances we lay in the middle of an extinct crater, of which the other half of the circle had been thrown into the sea, and now formed our anchorage. Every Every appearance justified this idea. No doubt a vast eruption took place many years ago, which produced this wonderful formation. At night particularly it looks very grand, and from its closeness and height, appears to be right over your head, standing out clear and distinct against the sky.

"The island belongs to Chili, and there are now resident on it five families, possessing nineteen children, three cows, four sheep, several horses, and goats innumerable, which latter abound on the other side. of the island. The principal personage in this little. community spoke English remarkably well. He told us they were perfectly happy, never were ill, and had no desire to leave the island. A state of bliss comprised in these three statements difficult to be understood; but though only attributable to the lowered state of the intellectual faculties, a state which it would be good to meet with more frequently amongst cultivated nations. Juan Fernandez was discovered in 1567, but from that time, I should imagine, no advantage was taken of its discovery-except occasional visits of buccaneers-till the year 1705, when

using everything of value belonging to the ship for building and other purposes, the Bounty was burned. Many years elapsed before they were discovered, and then only by accident, through an American ship captain who landed there for water. This being communicated to the British Government, a vessel was sent, not only for their relief, but to punish the ringleaders. of the mutiny.

Lieut. Bligh, after many adventures and hairbreadth escapes as a castaway, finally succeeded in getting back to England. He was placed in command of another vessel, and successfully accomplished the object of his first voyage, transplanting the bread-fruit tree of the South Seas to the West India Islands in 1792-3.

BREAD-FRUIT TREE.

The bread-fruit tree (Artocarpus incisa) alluded to above, is indigenous to nearly all the islands of the South Sea, forming, with the cocoanut and banana, the principal sources of food for the indolent natives. The tree grows from twenty to forty feet high, with a diameter of one to two feet. The bark and inner portions furnish a valuable fibre, while the pith supplies the material for much of the paper cloth worn by the natives.

The fruit ripens at different periods of the year. It is about the size of a melon, and is found singly and in clusters attached to the branches of the tree. There are two or three periods in its growth when it can be. used; at one time supplying a milky nutritious fluid as a drink, and at another a delicious custard, but the period when it is most used is just before ripening, at which time the fruit is picked and baked in rude ovens,

the whole interior, assuming the spongy form of freshly-baked bread, with a pleasant taste-much superior to the doughy preparations, called bread, so common in Europe and America. When baked in this way, the bread-fruit can be kept for several months.

The timber of the tree is used to make many articles of furniture, and the trunk often formed into canoes, etc.

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