200 Briacxsurn—The Hawaiian Archipelago. 
Mountains of an entirely different character are found in the southern islands, 
and consist of the four giants of the archipelago—Haleakala, in the south-east of 
Maui, with the largest summit crater in the world; Mauna Kea, near the centre of 
Hawaii, with an altitude of almost 14,000 feet; Hualalei, on the west coast of 
the same island, with an altitude somewhat about 8000 feet; and Mauna Loa, in 
the south of the same island, a constantly and violently active volcano, of an 
altitude considerably over 13,000 feet. These four differ from the other Hawaiian 
mountains, inasmuch as their outline is as notably rounded and their surface as 
gently inclined as that of the others is the reverse. The outline of Mauna Loa, 
viewed from a distance, is almost a perfect example of the curve called a hyperbola, 
and all the three highest summits can be reached on horseback. Indeed the only 
difficulty about ascending them is the great length of the journey from the nearest 
village or settlement, involving the necessity of passing at least one, two, or even 
more nights at a great elevation, where the air is cold and rare, and a considerable 
amount of dpedimenta, involving almost a small caravan, is required. In this 
respect the four higher mountains differ widely from the lower ones, most of 
which are extremely steep. The highest point in the south-east range of Oahu 
(little more than 3000 feet in altitude) baffled several of my attempts to reach it, 
and eventually, when I had discovered the track by which it had previously been 
attained, ropes for scaling some of the precipices proved to be a necessary part of 
my equipment; and I found similar or greater difficulties in the case of every 
mountain between 3000 and 5000 feet in height that I attempted on the island. 
The vegetation of the mountainous districts of the islands is extremely rich, 
though more or less confined to certain altitudes. Up to 2000 feet above sea-level 
the hills are usually very stony in character, and produce little more than a scanty 
turf, with cactus and occasional acacia bushes, the valleys of similar elevation 
being often filled with dense thickets of guava. At about 2000 feet commences 
the forest, in which, so far as my experience extends, nearly all the Hawaiian 
insects are found. This forest consists of a considerable variety of trees; but in 
the main its composition is as follows :—ohia lehua (of the natives ; Metrosideros, 
botanically, I believe) is the most plentiful component, a grand forest tree, of 
which there are several species differing in colour of foliage, the most abundant 
being of a rich sombre green. The ‘ koa” of the natives (Acacia falcata of 
science), with its vivid shade of green, follows close in order of abundance. Next 
comes what the natives call ‘‘kukui” (in English ‘ candle-nut tree” ; in science 
Aleurites triloba), with pale, silvery foliage, and, as the preceding, a very fine 
forest tree. The “ hau” of the natives, a species of hibiscus, is something short 
of being a forest tree; it grows in an absolutely impenetrable, dense, woody 
jungle, from six to ten feet high, with dark, shining foliage, and large yellow or 
red flowers. The “‘hau” jungle, from a little distance, has much the appearance 
of a mangrove swamp. Other trees, occurring in plenty, but yet not forming a 
