(Hi; POSSESSION IN SAMOA. 



G? 



the same east and west line, the farthest about sixty 

 miles away. The main and adjacent islands are forest- 

 clad, without a bare spot in the dark green carpet, ox- 

 tending from the shores to the highest mountain peaks. 

 The primitive forests have never been disturbed, as the 

 natives have had no use for timber eitrter for themselvr- 

 or barter. The forests are dense, almost impenetrable 

 and some of the trees, especially at the very summit of 

 the mountains, are of prodigious size and would yield 

 hardwood timber of great commercial value. The rim 

 of lowland at the base of the mountains, when it exists, 



Fig. 16. — Samoa women and child. 



and the valleys near the shore line, are covered with 

 groves of cocoa palms, and wherever a sufficient number 

 of these trees are found a hut or small hamlet of huts 

 may confidently be looked for. The volcanic formation 

 of the entire island is covered with a thick layer of the 

 most fertile black soil, as shown by the size of the trees, 

 the luxuriance of the shrubs and plants and the abun- 

 dance of nutritious grass. The soil and climate are 

 admirably adapted for the growing of coffee, cacao, taro 

 and all kinds of tropical fruits. 



CLIMATE. 



The climate of Tutuila is influenced by the unbroken, 

 dense, virgin forest. We see here a verv instructive ex- 



