S40 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



hours of rest are doubly precious, while the whole 

 time of the indolent man hangs heavily on his 

 hands. In my time I have seen a full grown man 

 with vigorous limbs, playing cards while the sun 

 was ascending the heavens; or idly watching the 

 women while weaving a lei or ornament for the 

 neck ; or listening to some love-yarn which they 

 were spinning for his diversion ; such a man, I re- 

 gard with the highest contempt. Let us then 

 unite to wipe off the disgrace which thus attaches 

 to the Hawaiian name ; unite in efforts to make 

 these, our beautiful islands, all that God would 

 have them to be, and thus promote our own high- 

 est interests and the good of the kingdom. 



It is to me a matter of interest that so many of 

 our people are waking up to the shame and wick- 

 edness (if spending their time in lounging and 

 sleeping, and to the importance of cultivating the 

 soil, and thus developing the resources of the 

 islands. God hath done great things for them, 

 and well may they say, "The lines are fallen unto 

 me in pleasant places ; yea, I have got a goodly 

 heritage." If spared, I propose to tell you in my 

 next, something more of the climate, soil, scenery, 

 productions, &c., of this place and vicinity, with 

 some description of our noble mountain, Kahalea- 

 kala. So sweet a spot of earth I have never trod- 

 den as this same Makawao. It only needs that we 

 do our part, and it will be the garden of the Sand- 

 wich Islands, not to say of the Pacific. Just now, 

 our garden, on which I am looking from my study- 

 window, is all on a glow with roses, marigolds, 

 pinkvS, floraponda and other flowers, while the 

 peach trees are nearly bending with flowers and 

 young fruit. We have also the orange, citron, the 

 fig, Turkish and common, the quince, both sour 

 and sweet, the custard, the pine apple, and the cof- 

 fee. 



The Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society is im- 

 porting fruit trees, in small quantities, from Califor 

 nia and Oregon. This will be a great blessing to 

 us all, I trust. In a few years, by the blessing of 

 God on honest and persevering labors in this line, 

 the islands will grow much fruit. This will greatly 

 increase the comforts of life and the cheapness of 

 living, besides contributing much to the healthof 

 all, both natives and foreigners. 



Of the slate of things at the other islands of the 

 group I have nothing particularly interesting to 

 communicate. I learn from one recently residing 

 in Honolulu, that the money pressure is less tight 

 there than it has been. Relief in this matier came 

 slow, and this method is, I think, better, much bet- 

 ter, than that of sudden and unexpected gains from 

 speculation. I hope the mercantile portion of the 

 community will be satisfied with this arrangement 

 of Divine Providence. Of the passion to become 

 speedily rich, which has been the ruin of many 

 among us, I have often spoken in my communica- 

 tions to you. Judging from what I know of human 

 nature, I have no reason to doubt that it has a 

 place still in the bosom of most foreigners among 

 us at the islands ; but I think it exists as a laient 

 fire, there being nothing on which it can at present 

 feed ; some new speculation would doubtless cause 

 it to blaze, just as the addition of dry fuel to the 

 smouldering fire causes a conflagration. As to the 

 interests of agriculture on the other islands, I have 

 many fears that they are treated with marked ne- 

 glect. On Kauai, the two sugar plantations con- 

 tinue to secure the attention of their owners, though 



only one of the two makes profitable returns. 

 One coffee plantation on that island is worked to 

 advantage, and I hear that the sweet potato for a 

 year or two was considerably cultivated. Some two 

 or more tobacco plai.tations and manufactories may 

 be seen on Oahu and Kauai ; but the article thus 

 produced is of no possible use to any mortal liv- 

 ing, and a great curse to Hawaiians. It is my 

 prayer that the growers and manufacturers of this 

 filthy and hurtful narcotic may not succeed ; this 

 product curses the land, and what is worse, pol- 

 lutes all who use it; an immense quantity of the 

 weed is consumed among us, particularly in the 

 shape of cigars. When will men be wise? 



Did you hear that the young king, a few months 

 ago, gave promise of taking hold of agriculture 

 with a steady if not a strong hand ? His example 

 seemed to electrify the people about him, and 

 would have had a salutary influence on the nation. 

 How it happened that his goodness was as "the 

 morning cloud and as the early dew," I cannot ex- 

 actly say, though I have my suspicions that some 

 of his friends from foreign lands, who much prefer 

 pleasure to labor, dissuaded him from putting him- 

 self in too close contact with "the rascally dirt." 

 At any rate, I have not for a long time heard of 

 his Majesty's farming. Since his marriage, he has 

 little time, I conjecture, for such homely, old- 

 fashioned work ; for a long time dancing seemed 

 to be the order of the night, not to say day; 

 though it would not be far from the mark to say 

 that no small share of the time, day and nighi, 

 must have been absorbed in the work of prepara- 

 tion for, and the recovering from the derangement 

 and fatigue of, such nightly sports. I am sorry 

 to say that the king's example in this matter has 

 been exceedingly pernicious. The aristocracy of 

 Honolulu giving such a practical recommendation 

 to the frivolity of dancing, has awakened the desire 

 on the part of the lower orders in society, and 

 dance-houses are opened thrice a week, in which 

 Hawaiian girls and low and wicked foreigners have 

 mingled, and wallowed in sin, to the great annoy- 

 ance of all the friends of decency and order. Late 

 develoj)ments of iniquity in high places have checked 

 the course of things. But I do not hear of an in- 

 creasing disposition to labor with the hands, and 

 thus give tone to body and mind. We need as an 

 auxiliary in the work of the Lord among us, an in- 

 crease of industrious habits. I long to see a change 

 in this respect ; what I can I will do to bring 

 about such a change. You will bid me God speed, 

 I am sure, in this good work. The Lord greatly 

 bless you in your labors, I pray. 



Yours with high esteem, J. S. Green. 



P. S. — March 3. — I am sorry to add that the 

 caterpillar is making dreadful ravages among the 

 wheat. It is thought that they have destroyed 

 1000 acres, or one-half which was sown, and they 

 are still at work. Let us read Habakkuk, 3 : 17, 

 18. 



Cause and Effects of Poor Milk. — The milk 

 of cows kept stahled, or where the phosphate of 

 lime becomes exhausted, is putrid, and when exam- 

 mined through a microscope, contains globules of 

 corrupted matter, which is only eaten because gen- 

 erally unknown to exist. The eflects of it on in- 

 fants and children who use it for daily food, is 

 weakness, sickness and premature death. A child 

 might as well be put to a nurse in the last stage of 



