SA VU SAVU TO TA VI UNI. 199 



blue sea, and in no other island did I see such perfect flower- 

 gardens cultivated by man. 



Mr. Chalmers is fortunate in having an accomplished wife and 

 a charming family. Their home-life is wisely divided between 

 study and play, and I have never seen more happy, healthy 

 faces than those I met in distant Koro. One of the pleasantest 

 of my Pacific experiences is a rather wild game of romp which 

 I indulged in round the big trees on Mr. Chalmers's lawn. 

 The climate of the Pacific may be enervating to some white 

 people. I confess I could have wished it more so for children, 

 Avhen I was over and over again run to earth by my youthful 

 friends. 



Arrowroot flourishes best near the sea, in a light soil and 

 dry situation. It is indigenous to the islands of the South 

 Pacific ; but when cultivated a single root uncut is planted, a 

 number of tuberous bulbs about the size of large new potatoes, 

 are found at the extremities of fibres proceeding from this 

 root. The leaves are light green and deeply indented ; they 

 are not attached to one cojnmon stem, the stalk of each 

 distinct leaf proceeding from the root. The stalk bearing the 

 flower rises in a single shaft, resembling the berries of the 

 potato. To the shape and size of the reed, or shaft bearing 

 the flower, the arrowroot is probably indebted for its name. 

 When the leaves from the stalk dry or decay, the roots are 

 dug up and washed. The rind is then scraped off, and the 

 root goes through a variety of grating and sifting processes to 

 fit it for market. Koro can boast of several fine cotton planta- 

 tions, but these are not so numerous as in former days, when 

 cotton formed the staple of the group, and Taviuni was a 

 garden by cultivation as well as by nature. 



Taviuni is about 25 miles long, with a coast-line of about GO 

 miles. It is in shape one vast mountain, gradually rising to a 



