drought turned out well; from one acre
and a quarter of ground, one hundred and six bushels had been gathered;
but it was pretty generally established on the island, that thirty-six
bushels of maize might be taken as the average produce of an acre of
ground.

The superior fertility of the soil at Norfolk Island to that of New South
Wales had never been doubted. The following account of last year's crop
was transmitted to Lieutenant-governor King:

From November 1792 to November 1793 the crop of maize amounted to 3247
bushels; wheat 1302 bushels; calavances 50 bushels.

Purchased in the above time from settlers and others, at five shillings
per bushel 3600 bushels. Reserved by them for seed 3000 bushels of maize;
300 bushels of wheat; 300 bushels of calavances; and 50 tons of potatoes.
Which, together with 305 bushels of maize brought from thence with the
detachment of the New South Wales corps at the relief in March 1793, made
a total of 10,152 bushels of maize, 1602 bushels of wheat, 350 bushels of
calavances, 50 tons of potatoes, raised on Norfolk Island in one
twelvemonth, on about two hundred and fifty-six acres of ground.

Of this crop, and of what had been purchased, there remained in the
public stores, when the schooner left the island, forty-three weeks maize
and wheat; in addition to which Lieutenant-governor King supposed he
should have of this season's growth, after reserving five hundred bushels
of wheat for seed, sufficient of that article for the consumption of six
hundred and ninety-nine persons*, the whole number of people victualled
there from the stores for fourteen weeks and a half, at the rate of ten
pounds per man per week; and fifty-eight weeks maize at twelve pounds per
man per week. He had besides, at the established ration, twelve weeks
beef, twenty-nine weeks pork, five weeks molasses, and thirty weeks oi1
and sugar. The whole forming an abundance that seemed to place the evil
hour of want and distress at too great a distance to excite much alarm or
apprehension of its occurring there.

[* The whole number in the settlement amounted to one thousand and eight
persons.]

The settlement had been so healthy, that no loss by death had happened
since we last heard from them; and when the schooner sailed very few
people were sick. There had died, between the 20th of November 1791 (the
date of Lieutenant-governor King's return to the command at Norfolk
Island) and the 27th of January 1794, only o