ST. MICHAEL'S

It is not, however, to be inferred from the above description
that St. Michael's is nothing but a barren rock; far from it.
There is, indeed, in this direction at least, a fair proportion
of that commodity; but tracts of cultivated ground are not
therefore wanting. I should not certainly suppose that the soil
was remarkably rich in any part of the island; but it produces
the fig, the orange-tree, and a grape from which the inhabitants
make very tolerable wine; and there is excellent pasture for
sheep, and a competent supply of grain. But that in which the
Azores, and St. Michael's among the number, particularly excel,
is the extreme salubrity of the climate. Lying in nearly the
same degree of latitude with Lisbon, the intense heat which
oppresses in that city is here alleviated by refreshing
sea-breezes; by which means, though I believe there is no
occasion at any season to complain of cold, it is only in the
very height of the dog-days, if then, that a person, not actually
engaged in violent exercise, is justified in complaining of
sultriness.

The trade of St. Michael's, as far as I could learn, is confined
exclusively to fruit: the fig and the orange are the staple
commodities; and being both very abundant, they are, of course,
proportionably cheap. Into the praise of a St. Michael's orange
it is unnecessary for me to enter, because it is generally
allowed to be the best with which the English market is supplied;
but of the excellence of the St. Michael's fig, I am not sure
that my countrymen in general are so much aware. It might be,