The season had now advanced into as much of autumn as could be found within the tropics, and on land so low.  Everything in the garden had ripened, and much had been thrown out to the pigs and poultry, in anticipation of its decay.  Mark saw that it was time to re-commence his beds, selecting such seed as would best support the winter of that climate, if winter it could be called.  In looking around him, he made a regular survey of all his possessions, inquiring into the state of each plant he had put into the ground, as well as into that of the ground itself.  First, then, as respects the plants.

The growth of the oranges, lemons, cocoa-nuts, limes, figs, &c., placed in rows beneath the cliffs, had been prodigious.  The water had run off the adjacent rocks and kept them well moistened most of the season, though a want of rain was seldom known on the Reef.  Of the two, too much, rather than too little water fell; a circumstance that was of great service, however, in preserving the stock, which had used little beside that it found in the pools, for the last ten months.  The shrubs, or little trees, were quite a foot high, and of an excellent colour.  Mark gave each of them a dressing with the hoe, and manured all with a sufficient quantity of the guano.  About half he transplanted to spots more favourable, putting the cocoa-nuts, in particular, as near the sea as he could get them.

With respect to the other plants, it was found that each had flourished precisely in proportion to its adaptation to the climate.  The products of some were increased in size, while those of others had dwindled.  Mark took note of these facts, determining to cultivate those most which succeeded best.  The melons of both sorts, the tomatoes, the egg-plants, the peppers, cucumbers, onions, beans, corn, sweet-potatoes, &c. &c., had all flourished; while the Irish potato, in particular, had scarce produced a tuber at all.

As for the soil, on examination Mark found it had beer, greatly improved by the manure, tillage and water it had received.  The hogs were again let in to turn it over with their snouts, and this they did most effectually in the course of two or three days.  By this time, in addition to the three grown porkers our young man possessed, there were no less than nine young ones.  This number was getting to be formidable, and he saw the necessity of killing off, in order to keep them within reasonable limits.  One of the fattest and best he converted into pickled pork, not from any want of that article, there being still enough left in the ship to last him several years, but because he preferred it corned to that which had been in the salt so long a time.  He saw the mistake he had made in allowing the pigs to get to be so large, since the meat would spoil long before he could consume even the smallest-sized shoats.  For their own good, however, he was compelled to shoot no less than five, and these he buried entire, in deep places in his garden, having heard that earth which had imbibed animal substances, in this way, was converted into excellent manure.