October i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



267 



leaved hybrid is much better, and such seed is more 

 easily procurable, and at much lower rates. Almost 

 all gardens in Assam are more or less mixed, a certain 

 proportion of low class plants being found everywhere 

 and in order to ensure that the manager or assistant 

 shall personally overlook the seed-pickers and make 

 them take it only from the good trees (a course fol- 

 lowed in all gardens which go in for selling seed), a 

 fair price must be paid. It is very evident, in fact, 

 that good seed grown locally has in many cases been 

 sold below its true market value as ruled by what 

 such seed would fetch in India itself. 



T. C. OWEN. 



THE LONDON TEA TKADR. 

 Eeferring to previous remarks under this head, 

 we would like the tea planters up-country, who buy 

 tea lead of all brands to state if every leaden en 

 velope they make is uniform in weight. They should 

 state the brand of lea lead they use, and we could 

 then see if the different brands differed in weight 

 for cases containing the same cubic measuriment. If a 

 recent correspondent's idea is acted upon, the mark and 

 number will have to be placed on both the wooden 

 case and tbe lid, to ensure the s-ame lid being replaced, 

 We should also like to know if the wooden case can 

 be removed and replaced at pleasure as suggested 

 by our correspondent; would not the leaden case bulge 

 out and prevent this ? 



THROUGH THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS 

 TO SAN FRANCISCO. 

 (By an ex-Ceylon Planter. ) 



TRADE IN COPRA — WESTERN HXXUKIES IN PBIJUTIVE 

 LANDS — THE GILBERT ISLANDS. 



On the 23rd September we sailed from Apia har- 

 bour and bore away to Tutuila, distant from Opolu about 

 fifty miles, and dead to windward. The evening of tho 

 second day we arrived at Leone, one of the principal vil- 

 lages. In appearance it resembles the others on Opolu 

 and Savaii. The houses are scattered about without much 

 regard to order. Breadfruit and coconut trees skirt the 

 shore. A little removed is the natm-al jungle and high 

 hills. There is a Koman Oathohc and Protestant mission. 

 Two priests represent the former, and a Mr. Phihps from 

 the London Mis.siouary Society the latter. From him I 

 learned that the Mormons of Utah sent a mission to the 

 island many years ago and had converted two villages to 

 their faith. Then- teachings had not found favor, however, 

 and they did not extend their influence further. Mr. Philips 

 had quite lately visited these Mormon Samoans and has 



i ceeded in reconverting them to the Christian beUof . This 



_ i ves exactly with an account I remember reading some 

 VI avs Mgo of the mtention of Brigham Yonngof removing 

 from the Salt Lake and settling with his followers on some 

 Island in the Pacific Ocean. The idea was evidently 

 abandoned as Brigham Young is dead and the Mormons 

 are not there. 



Mr. Philips is provided «ith an excellent library which 

 must be a gi-eat boon, isolated as he is from all com- 

 munication with the outer world. Both he and Mrs. 

 I'hilips were very kind in providing us with an excellent 

 ti a and prescribing fi'om their mecUcine-chest a few re- 

 medies that might be of service on oui- long voyage. The 

 night was still and cahn and as I sat ou deck I saw a 

 light burning in the house of Mr. Pliilipsand knew they 

 !■ ire composing letters to friends far away. I retii'ed to 



t and rose again when the wee sma' hours had come 



111 gone. The light was still there ; and I wondered 

 \ .at a flood of heartbui-ing, and rejoicing, hopes and con- 

 '': ences had found a vent through the medium of their 

 luu-rying pens. 



At eight o'clock quite a budget of letters were given to 

 liie. to be posted on my arrival in San Francisco, 

 \- 'lich commission I am pleased to say was duly executed. 

 We took up anchor and bore away close hauled. ^? found 



the fight a hard one against Ught trade winds and an 

 ocean current. 



We arrived at Manna, a small island which lises abruptly 

 from the sea to a height of some 2,000 feet. Olosinga and 

 Offoo islands are distant about five miles and ai-e much less 

 in size than Manna but equally steej) and abrupt. Here I 

 met one of the most inteUigent men I had seen since my 

 aixival in the Samoan group. Mr. Young is a halfbred, 

 speaks Enghsh fluently and writes very well also. From 

 him I learned that the total population of the three islands 

 is about 1,700 souls and that they contribute towards 

 the Chm-ch Missionary fimd about 1,500 dollars in 

 the year. This sum is a very largo one when it is con- 

 sidered that the only means of getting money is from the 

 able of copra. Tliis trade is very limited and erratic. They 

 hoard up aU they can collect over and above what they re- 

 quire for their food, then exchange, or barter for knives and 

 other necessary tools, the balance is converted into cash 

 and mostly handed to the tieasm-y of the missionary fimd. 

 They are very devout Christians. In their own tongue they 

 have morning and evening prayers at which times a chap- 

 ter is read from the Bible. They sing very prettily and 

 keep beautiful time. I hardly ever stayed at a villao-e but 

 the most devout prayers were ofi'ered for my welfare 

 and safety. It was close to the island of Olosinga that 

 a violent submarine eruption happened in 18()2. The sea 

 was thrown up in a fountaiu-hke colunm higher than the 

 highest peak of Manna and returned again with immense 

 fury. Happily, the irruption was as shortUved as it was 

 violent. It did a vast deal of damage, thousands of fish were 

 cast up ou the shores. The smell arising therefrom was so 

 very offensive that the people were obliged to desert and 

 take refuge in Manna which luckily had escaped the in- 

 fliction. Submarine fish of gigantic size were said to have 

 been cast up. Dr. Turner, to whom the news was brought 

 on the island of Opolu, succeeded in interesting some of 

 the chiefs and induced them to send a largo war-canoa 

 to the scene and bring back the bones of those monsters. 

 The expedition came to gi-ief on the island of Tutuila, and a 

 subsequent one arrived too late. The natives had returned 

 to their homes and cast all ofl'ensive matter into deep water 

 beyond the barrier-reef, and accordingly what might have 

 been a pearl to the scientific world was entu-ely lost. 



After we had got all the Blanua copra on board, we 

 dropped quietly down to Olosinga. But a heavy sea and 

 dense black squalls hovering rotuid prevented the captain 

 from sending his boats ashore. The next day was worse, 

 and a heavy gale was blowing. So we were obhged to dodge 

 about under close-reefed tops'als. Towards evenmg wo ap- 

 proached land when to our ■ surprise we saw a canoe with 

 three paddlers, who spent their giant strength, in urging 

 the little bark against the wind, waves and tide towards ua! 

 I envied and admired them. They kept good time and 

 acompanied; their strokes to a boating-song, the hoarse deep 

 notes of which were borne towards us occasionally. We 

 backed our tops'als and lay to but they passed close imder 

 our bow and paddled hke giant demons, for Manua. They, 

 however, did not go far before a wave broke over and com- 

 pletely swamped them. A merry and hoarse laugh reached 

 our oars and our anxious fears were dissipated for then: safety. 

 They arranged themselves on each side of the canoe ami 

 by a rapid jerking motion fti-st one way then the other 

 eudw*ise the canoe was soon emptied. They got in over 

 the end, and were soon on their way rejoicing. 



I remember being m a similar pickle in the harbour 

 of Apia. Tho Enghsh cousid and I crawled igno- 

 minously out to the top of tho canoe more than half 

 submerged. Here we flourish our paddles and cried for 

 help. I yucss we Bntiskers are not bosses in everything I 



The sea soon subsided and the wind lidled. So after 

 we shipped all the copra at Olosinga and Offoo, we shook 

 out our top'sails and with a fair breeze and favorable 

 cm-rent bore away for the Gilbert islands, distant about 

 1,200 miles in a northwesterly dii-ection. 



I cannot dismiss tho Samoans without relating how my 

 pride was snubbed. Tho moral efi'ect thereof has been very 

 great, and may be a useful lesson to others as well as 

 myself. I was crossing from the north to the south side 

 of the island of Savaii. On the afternoon of the fu-st day 

 we journeyed up a fine rich valley along the bank of a 

 small stream. There was no track and *he valley narrowed 

 till it was little ujore than a gorge. OverheaiJ 



