is island produced cocoa-nuts, yams, plantains,
bananas, sugar-cane, beetle-nut, mangos, bread-fruit, and guavas.
There are also dogs, hogs, and the common fowls, and some spices,
(the nutmeg I saw). Most of the natives chew the beetle, and with
it used the chenam and a leaf, as practised in the East-Indies;
by which the mouth appeared very red, and their teeth, after a
time, became black.

Their canoes were neatly made, and of various sizes, with an
out-rigger to balance them. I sent the carpenter of the Sirius on
shore, to examine the different kinds of timber; he reported to
me, that he found one tree which was hard, and had something like
the appearance of ebony, but was not quite so black; all the
others he tried were soft and spongy, like the palm or cabbage
tree.

The soil I think for richness beyond any I ever saw; it
exceeded Norfolk Island in that respect: I had a man with me who
had been upon that island from its first settlement, and who had
cleared and cultivated land there; he assured me that this was
superior to any he had ever opened at that island.

On the 27th in the morning, we prepared for sailing; before we
got under way, two English pointers, male and female, which had
been given to the master of the ship at Port Jackson, were sent
on shore, and given to a party of the natives, who seemed highly
delighted with them; a cock and hen were also given to them.

At ten o'clock we sailed out of the bay. This bay was named
Port Hunter; its latitude is 4 deg. 7' 30" south, and longitude
152 deg. 42' east; although it is not large, it is convenient and
safe at this season; it lies on the north-west part of the
island, and you may anchor in any part of it, from twenty-five to
fifteen fathoms, but the shoal-water has the worst ground: in
twenty fathoms it is soft, with loose patches of coral; the
watering place is on the east side, but as the tide flows up to
the place from whence the fresh water issues, it is best to fill
from half ebb to half flood. The water is so exceedingly soft,
that there were some amongst us who were so prejudiced against it
that they believed it brackish; a quality I own which I never
could discover in it; I was therefore of opinion that this
prejudice could only have proceeded from knowing that the salt
water was so very near it at high water time; such opinions were
not however confirmed from experience, as we never felt any
inconvenience from it. The tide here seemed to rise