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-paring to set him the example. These companions
of ours proved to be a Turkish vessel, a Venetian
and one under Swiss colours manned with Greeks Silarmians
with only one Russian on board a common sailor This latter we visited
yesterday afternoon, the Captain, Mr Griffiths and Mr Schnieder and I, at the desire of Mr Schneider to
whom in his quality of a Russian subject such a
vessel was more particularly interesting. It proved to be
a three mast Polacea (two months from Tagarrog
(at the
farther end of the Sea of Azoss) loaden with corn for
Sinyrna. The Captain who was a Greek was not on
board: we therefore did not go on board ourselves. What
was still more agreeable to me we landed & made a little excursion
into the country, first on one side of the harbour
and then on the opposite. I picked up some plants
one of which a pretty shrub with quinque foliated leaves
was new to me. It had no flowers, so that I we could not
determine its genus but what was better it had seeds
of which I took care to bag in a good stock. P.S. It turns out to be the Vitex Aguges-castus. In one group
wh in rocky ground close to the water's edgeI found the Oleanders
Mirtles, one of the sorts of Mastick-Tree which grows
every where, wild vines and a pretty kind of reed about
so as 7 foot high, and the five-finger-leaves <add> anonymous shrub above-mentioned
Further up we swathe arbutus in fruit
a few of them were ripe and were not unpleasant to the
I made a pretty nosegay of some all elegant
heather of several sorts that were cover'd with beautiful
flowers. Mrsuperscript text Griffiths in the men time picked up
close to the water a substance which proved a curiosity
It was a piece of bitumen abut the size of one's fist
with shells incrusted on it. Its lightness shew'd it not to
be a stone: and upon being held to the candle it melted
and shew'd itself to be a combustible. This discovery might
have been an interesting one, had we had time to pursue
it. I find no mention made of any such thing in
any of the topographical books I have at hand. There
may be plenty of it for angler for all we know. I was not
by where it was picked up. Except on here and there
a rocky spot the ground was very planted, chiefly
with olives, under which nothing but a fair ugly and
common weed will grow. We fund a pear tree
seemingly wild the fruit of which though rough
sharp was eatable. I saw another old pear tree
which had been lately grafted after the manner of crown-grafting.
It was pleasing to see that even this slight instance of the
union of skill and industry. Human creatures we saw
none, except a few stragglers from the different vessels
like ourselves. I would not learn from either the Venetian
Captain or the French Merchants Clark that the any part of
a whole a the Island the capital included affords any
sort of manufacture even of the est kind, or
any article which one could wish to buy, except
ordinary provisions. The Bullocks here are said to be
small seldom weighing above £400. On coming
out of the harbour we saw four swans flying at a
great height. Some islands near Sinyrna are said
with them to an incredible degree.
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Identifier: | JB/539/456/002"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 539. |
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1783-10-22 |
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539 |
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456 |
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002 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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