HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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islands belonging to it, which it were no small act of injustice to pass overin contemptuous silence. Notwithstanding the insignificance and contractedextent of the country which has produced them, might, and certainly has,prevented the number of those which are properly denominated natives, fromreaching any height, the adoption of the same principles by other countries,(which, although they have affected to apply themselves scientifically to the studyof the same subject, feem, nevertheless, to have proved incapable of surpassingthe efforts of natural genius which the native Bermudian possesses and exer-cises,) may not only stamp an indelible credit on them, but raise the vesselswhich they have constructed into the rank of a distinct class. These islands,when they were first peopled from Europe, were covered almost entirely withwood,—at least, all those districts where nature had afforded a depth of soil suffi-cient for vegetation : the greater part of the timber was cedar, a species pe-culiarly adapted, as well on account of its lightness as its durability, to thepurposes of marine architecture, more especially in refpect to vessels of small di-mensions,—though the Spaniards have not failed to introduce it, and with success,into their largest ships of war, particularly those built at the Havanna, where italso abounds in the greatest plenty. The first attention of the inhabitants of allcountries is naturally directed to the supply of their actual or supposed ne-cessities. The new settlers, finding the secluded spot which they had chosen fortheir residence, destitute of many among those productions which the improvedstate of society, and the consequent increase of wants when compared withthat which existed in the earlier ages of the world, had by their constantuse rendered necessary to the comfort of_ mankind, immediately sought toobtain the supply by the most obvious and ready means which offered. Theproduce of their woods, for the limits of the country were so contracted as torender the appellation of forests rather a satire on the term, added to theirown industry, easily supplied the means ; the form of their vessels depended ontheir own ingenuity, and they were guided in great meafure alfb, by thepeculiar circumstances of the navigation in which they were intended to beemployed.

As the property of individuals was but small, pecuniary considerations neces-sarily contracted the dimensions of their vessels; and as the amount of theircargo was thereby narrowed, all possible means were adopted that the naturalstrength of the human mind could suggest, to lessen the first inconve-nience, by rendering the voyages as short as possible. This, considering the pe-culiar circumstances of the climate, was a point requiring no small difficulty to

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