Message #207712

[Jennifer Murdoch]

To avoid the depredations of the sheep that wander over the island without restraint, the natives are compelled to protect their cultivated patches by stone walls. The volcanic stones furnish the only available material for these barriers, and are thrown loosely together to a height of 5 or 6 feet, and inclose gardens from a few feet square to several acres. The deeply rooted prejudice existing in the native mind against physical exertion that might be avoided, has developed a happy expedient to save labor and at the same time to escape the ravages of the animals lately imported by the foreign residents. Ruins of houses, cairns, platforms, and tombs are thickly scattered over the island; many of the standing walls are sufficiently well preserved and others require but little repair. Within these, ancient foundation walls are raised their limited crops of fruit and vegetables; the only disadvantage being the contracted area available for each plot.