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[Page 3]
Government swine who were put upon Green Island on our first arrival here which I hope will prove of much utility. The Guard of Soldiers who had charge of our Stores &c at the Island, made the experiment of roasting in the Embers for about four hours, and found it a tolerable substitute for Potatoes: when grated into water, and going through the same process as that of making Masch from Potatoes it produces a very fine flour which has been made into Bread of no bad quality. This Plant is not new to me, (tho' I never examined the roots) having found it on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in the year 1793 at Hunters River on an excursion performed in 1801, and in this Country in many places but in great plenty at Egg and Upper Islands than any where I have as yet been. It is Herbacious & grows from three to less feet high according to the soil & situation, and I think is a Species of Sambucus.
I am very doubtful whether this essential Vegetable is known to the Natives as I have nowhere observed holes dug in the ground which produces it. The roots are nearly two Feet deep from