Teaching Dendrology 49 



The coral reefs and other marine formations are not listed here. 

 This list is not intended to be complete, but it will serve to 

 indicate the unique variety of life conditions and plant habitats 

 that occur within easy reach of the College. 



Another distinctive feature of the Honolulu region is that 

 it is freely accessible for field work every day in the year, due to 

 the equable climatic conditions of Hawaii. The absence of winter, 

 the total absence of frost and snow, the great rarity of storms, 

 and the balmy quality of the showers, make it possible to conduct 

 field studies on any day of the year. There is no inclement 

 weather. There is no dormant or leafless season ; plant life flour- 

 ishes throughout the year, and field observations and collecting 

 suffer no change because of abrupt seasonal changes. 



The natural background of the College thus affords a delight- 

 ful outdoor laboratory for dendrological work. The following list 



of some of the commoner native trees that compose the forests in 

 the vicinity of Honolulu will show the floristic peculiarities of 

 this background : 



Aleurites moluccana, kukui, candle-nut tree 

 Acacia koa, koa, Hawaiian mahogany 

 Metrosideros polymorpha, lehua 

 Pittosporum glabrum, hoawa 

 Pisonia umhellifera, papala kepau 

 Charpentiera ohovata, papala 

 Dracaena aurea, halapepe 

 Cibotium chamissoi, hapur, tree fern 

 Santalum ellipticum, iliani. Sandalwood 

 Jamhosa malaccensis, chin ai 

 Ilex sandwicensis, kawau 

 Cheirodendron gaudichaudii, olapa 

 Bobea elatior, ahakea 



The laboratory periods are chiefly devoted to identification; 

 all work with wood specimens and sections. Much use is made of 

 the excellent slides and mounts prepared by Hough ; these are of 

 special value to us, as our students have not even a superficial 

 knowledge of the trees that furnish the timber supply of North 

 America. For reference purposes, much use is made of the large 

 photomicrographs by Weale, of London, of which the College has 

 a complete series. The purpose of the laboratory exercises is to 

 familiarize the students with the important types of woods ; the 

 histologic characters used in timber identification ; and the details 

 of wood structure upon which its economic properties depend. 



