

PREFACE 



In the preparation of the following pages it has been the aim of the author 

 to bring together into one volume the more important and interesting facts about 

 the Hawaiian Islands and their primitive inhabitants, as well as information 

 concerning the native and introduced plants and animals of the group. 



It is believed that those who read this volume — be they travelers, residents 

 or students — will find, in its brief account of nature in Hawaii, not only much 

 that will prove interesting and entertaining, but that which will foster and 

 stimulate an interest in the things of nature for which these mid-ocean islands 

 are far-famed. 



It is asserted that, in childhood, every person is interested in some of the 

 many fields of natural history. It would be strange, indeed, if Hawaii, with 

 its wonderful natural environment and remarkable tropical plants and interesting 

 animals, did not rekindle in the minds of the old and encourage in the hearts 

 of the young a desire to know more about things Hawaiian. As a result of 

 the natural longing for information, there has existed for years a pressing de- 

 mand in Hawaii, from teachers, travelers and students, for a hand-book that 

 would supply the names for, as well as the facts relative to, familiar objects. 



To supply a guide that would provide reliable and readable information, 

 in a form that would be welcomed by the general reading public, and, at the 

 same time, that would meet the requirements of the homes, the schools, and the 

 libraries of Hawaii and the mainland, as a convenient reference book, has been 

 the author's endeavor. While the volume lays no claim to being an exhaustive 

 monograph of the vast subject of which it treats, the material used has been 

 patiently gathered from every possible source and carefully selected, sifted 

 and verified in the field and study, by the author, during many years' resi- 

 dence in the islands as an enthusiastic naturalist, museum curator and college 

 professor. For these reasons it is believed that specialists with technical in- 

 formation at hand, no less than those who pride themselves on their general 

 knowledge of things Hawaiian, will find the volume a handy 'first aid' and re- 

 liable and convenient reference work. 



The carrying out of the three-fold object of preparing a readable account 

 of Hawaii, a text-book or supplementary reader on the natural history of the 

 islands, and a convenient reference book for those who require a more technical 

 or detailed handling of the material included than is customary in a book 

 frankly popular in nature, presents certain difficulties that seem to have been 

 met by the selection, classification, and arrangement of the text and the illustra- 

 tions. 



The casual reader will find the body of the text shorn of the technical 

 verbiage and scientific names that so often distract, annoy and fatigue the lay- 

 man. Where such terms have been indispensable they have been defined in the 



