Turtle Have Been Caught In The Bay, As Well As Fish, But These Supplies Are Uncertain, And, Therefore, Not To Be Depended Upon.

The island is entirely mountainous, and contains a fine rich soil, capable of producing any thing required of it.

Several small mountain streams fall into the sea, the largest of which are the two, named Hay and Horton Brooks, before mentioned. The principal vegetable cultivated by the natives is the yam, with which they are particularly successful. The best yams of the island are said to be those of George's Bay, which are very large, and of an uncommonly fine flavour. The supply of these at Clarence is now very limited, and not to be depended on always, which may be probably to a difference in the season for growing them. This deficiency has been in some measure remedied by the construction of a government garden, from which some men of war have received supplies, but these are not sufficient to supply the wants of the colony, and recourse is had for them to the Calebar River.

Palm wine at the colony, as well as on the coast, is the common and favourite drink of the natives. It is easily procured in any quantity, and is used in either an unfermented state, when just fresh from the tree, or after it has been kept some days. It seems peculiarly intended by a bountiful providence for the untutored and destitute Indian, who is unable to supply himself with those beverages which are the result of art. The palm tree affords him a pleasant drink, a valuable oil, a fruit from the nut, and besides food, it furnishes him with a material to construct his hut, and is always ready for any immediate purpose. The juice, which is called "wine," is obtained by making a hole in the trunk of the tree, and inserting a piece of the leaf into it, so as to form a spout; the liquid flows through this, and is received in a calabash placed beneath it, which probably holds two or three gallons, and will be thus filled in the course of a day. It shortly assumes a milky appearance, and is either used in this state, or preserved till it acquires rather a bitter flavour. The produce of the palm tree, fish, and yams, form the principal food of the natives; they devour monkeys when they can get them.

This method of obtaining the juice of the palm tree is exactly similar to that which is adopted by the Indians of North America, with respect to the maple tree. A hole is made in the same manner in the trunk of the tree, and a piece of birch bark inserted into it as a spout, which, from its peculiar nature, answers the purpose remarkably well. The juice of the maple instead of being preserved is converted into sugar by evaporation. There are various sorts of timber at Fernando Po, amongst which the African oak is very plentiful, and particularly so in George's Bay, where it grows close to the sea side; satin wood, ebony, lignum vitae, yellow cam wood, and several sorts of mahogany, besides other wood of a very hard nature, grow in profusion all over the island, and may probably hereafter become valuable.

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