314 THE T0N6ESE. [1840. 



and some of their culinary utensils. There is a species of 

 nutmeg-tree, yielding an abundance of fruit, which is up- 

 wards of forty feet in height. Specimens of the ficus-tree 

 may be seen here, having trunks, as it were, composed of in- 

 tertwining roots, one hundred feet in circumference. Orna- 

 mental shrubs and climbing-plants, euphorbias, tournefortias, 

 the apapa, and the faifai, are quite common. The pandanus 

 is also plentiful, and great care is taken by the natives to 

 prune it, and otherwise encourage its growth, as all their mats 

 are made from its leaves. 



Most of the fruits and other edible productions of the Tonga 

 Islands are cultivated by the natives, though they have latterly 

 become less industrious than they once were, probably for the 

 reason that they have contracted many of the bad habits of 

 the whites, and not a few of the vices of their neighbors of 

 the Feejee Group. Still, their yam-grounds, and their sweet- 

 potato patches, receive a great degree of attention, and are 

 often objects of pride, especially since the substitution of fnore 

 modern agricultural implements for the rude ones formerly 

 in use. 



(3.) Like most of the island-groups of Polynesia, the popula- 

 tion of the Tonga Islands has been much overrated. It has been 

 estimated as high as fifty thousand, but the missionaries loca- 

 ted there, who have had ample means of observation, do not 

 think it can possibly exceed twenty thousand. Almost one 

 half of this number are inhabitants of Tongataboo, or Tonga ; 

 Hapai and Vavao each contain near four thousand inhab- 

 itants ; and the remainder are scattered about among the 

 different islands. 



The Tongese have a strong resemblance to the people of 

 the Samoan Group, and the evidences of a generic affinity be- 

 tween the two are very striking. The former are more fair, 



rhaps ; but their countenances have the same general oast 

 and expression. The men have large and powerful frames, 

 with an abundance of bone and muscle. Many of the women 

 and children are almost white, and the Tonga maidens are 

 remarkable for the possession of great personal beauty. Their 





