LIMITS OF TIIK ORIGINAL FOKESTS. 15 



place in spite of heavy grazing, and forms the only example of the 

 extension of the natural Hawaiian forest under such conditions. 

 Unlike the case of the algaroba, cattle seem in no way responsible for 

 the extension of the niamane, as they eat neither the seed nor the 

 fruit. The seed, borne in great profusion, is readily disseminated by 

 wind and water. Mamane also grows abundantly on Maui, particu- 

 larly on the slope of Haleakala, at from 0,000 to 8,000 feet above sea 

 level. It is not abundant on the other islands. 



Mamane is the best post timber of the native forest, and for this 

 reason is a useful tree to the ranchman. It is not of great value as a 

 soil cover, because it neither forms a dense stand nor is supplemented 

 by a heavy undergrowth. 



KUKUI. 



Kukui (Altnri1.<x //v'/V^/), a handsome tree with large, silvery leaves 

 pointed like the leaves of the California sycamore, characterizes the 

 bottoms and sides of gulches and streams to an elevation of 2,000 

 f<et. It is frequently called candlenut, because of the oily nut which it 

 produces in abundance, and which in olden times was used by the 

 natives for illumination. The kukui has value only as a cover for the 

 steep slopes where it grows. In almost all cases it has beneath it a 

 dense undergrowth of fern. In very moist coves, protected from 

 severe winds, the wild banana often forms a part of its undergrowth. 

 Near the edges of streams the kukui is frequently supplanted by the 

 ohia-ai, which, in small patches, forms the densest forest to be found 

 in the islands. 



MIXED FORESTS. 



Mixed forests of koa, koaia, kopiko, kolea, naio, pua, and other 

 species occur on nearly all the islands, particularly on portions too 

 dry for the species above named to form pure forests. Thus, on 

 approaching a forest area from a desert, one encounters first a mixed 

 forest and afterwards a pure forest of some of the kinds mentioned. 

 Forming thus the edge of the natural forest, and occurring often on 

 plains or gentle slopes, the mixed forests have suffered more from 

 grazing than any other type. Very many of them have been almost 

 entirely exterminated, as, for instance, those on the leeward slopes of 

 the Kohala Mountains of Hawaii and those on the upper portion of 

 Kula, on Maui. The mixed forests have often been injured by grasses, 

 particularly the Bermuda grass, which thrives under the same natural 

 conditions. 



LIMITS OF THE ORIGINAL FORESTS. 



Originally the forests were limited only by such natural conditions 

 as lack of rainfall, elevations, and lava flows. 



The northeast trade winds keep the windward mountain slopes satu- 

 rated by frequent rains during the greater part of the year, and on 



