1840.] DISEASES. 381 



excessive drinking, cutaneous eruptions, ophthalmia, fevers, in- 

 flammatory rheumatism, ulcers, scrofula, and. syphilis. Bil- 

 iary complaints and hepatic diseases are very rare. Previous 

 to the arrival of the missionaries very little was known about 

 medicine, though there were native physicians who practiced 

 a great deal on the credulity of their countrymen. Almost 

 the only remedies then prescribed in cases of sickness, were 

 doses of salt water, or decoctions of the candle-nut, the bittei 

 calabash, the seeds of the castor-oil nut, or the ipomoea, as ca- 

 thartics. The want of proper medical attendance is now 

 generally felt throughout the islands, although the missiona- 

 ries render all the medical services in their power, without 

 charge. The mortality among the native children is very 

 great, and it is computed that full one sixth of the population 

 die annually. The foreign residents, however, appear to 

 enjoy excellent health ; and the climate seems to be exceed- 

 ingly well adapted to persons born in the United States. 



(5.) Almost all the choice fruit and timber trees of the 

 tropics are found in the Sandwich Islands. The bread-fruit 

 and cocoa flourish very well along the coasts ; they are as 

 tall and as stately, but not so umbrageous, as in the Feejeo 

 Group or the Society Islands. The other important trees 

 are the koa (acacia), ahia, pandanus, hibiscus, and tuitui ; of 

 the wood of the koa, the finest panel work of the native churches, 

 and the best and most beautiful furniture, are made. The 

 shady tuitui is also a most valuable tree ; oil is obtained in 

 great quantities from the nuts ; they are also roasted and eaten ; 

 and they are strung on a straw, or a fibre of the pandanus 

 leaf, and burned as torches. The i/ase, or sandal-wood, was 

 once quite plenty, and this valuable timber was at first the 

 main attraction that drew foreigners to the islands ; but it is 

 now nearly extirpated, and there are only a few scraggy 

 bushes to be found. The dark evergreen mangrove is spread 

 all over the low country, and the sides of the mountains, above 

 the customary strip of woodland, are covered with ferns of 

 every variety, the roots of which are edible, with whortleber- 

 ries, called ohea by the natives, and wild rasp and strawber- 



