. Crusoe's Island; a bird-hunter's story . devoted to use as a livingroom and study. The new place I called the Hilltop and theold one the Seaside, and, having removed to theformer the bulk of my belongings, I set about im-proving the situation in earnest. On the slopes ofthe hill I planted a great many arrowroot slips; forthis plant, which is a native of tropical America, growsreadily in the rich soil of a hillside, such as I hadhere. Not only did I have to consider the soil andsituation in undertaking this cultivation, but the con-tiguity of a stream of running water, which would beessential
. Crusoe's Island; a bird-hunter's story . devoted to use as a livingroom and study. The new place I called the Hilltop and theold one the Seaside, and, having removed to theformer the bulk of my belongings, I set about im-proving the situation in earnest. On the slopes ofthe hill I planted a great many arrowroot slips; forthis plant, which is a native of tropical America, growsreadily in the rich soil of a hillside, such as I hadhere. Not only did I have to consider the soil andsituation in undertaking this cultivation, but the con-tiguity of a stream of running water, which would beessential in the gathering of the crop and the prepa-ration of the starch. That was a contingency remote,a year or so hence; but, although I knew the oddsmight be against my reaping the benefit of this labor,yet I was willing to take the risk. The hill si opes were also best for the cassava, manycuttings of which I transplanted here, and eventuallyhad a broad strip of cultivated land stretching downfrom my door to the pond. Around the house I set. 100 MY HOME ON THE HILLTOP. 101 out such vines and flowering plants as I thought mightgrow well here, and such as the woods yielded me ;but they were not many, and I would have given halfmy cassava crop for a good old-fashioned flower gar-den, filled with phlox, hollyhocks, balm, and fragrantherbs, such as I wot of somewhere. In my search for flowering plants I found, in thedeserted plantation, a vine with flowers like those ofthe morning-glory, but which proved of vastly moreimportance, being nothing less than the sweet , like the arrowroot, is native to tropical America,and was carried to Europe even before the ordinarypotato. The Indians knew it as the batata, and itsscientific name (Ipomcea batata) indicates its originand the family to which the plant belongs. I wasmuch rejoiced at obtaining cuttings of this valuablevine, and set out as many as I could, near thehouse. After I had become domiciled, and the aspect ofnewness had gi
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidcrusoesi, booksubjectbirds
