104 



Soil and productions of the Samoan 

 Islands. The bread fruit. 



THE SAMOANS 



Character of the vegetation. 

 The yam. Quadrupeds. 



thousand six hundred and fifty square miles, which 

 are divided as follows, viz.: 



Savali 

 Upolu 

 Tutuila . 

 Manono . 

 Apolima 

 Manua 

 Oloosinga 

 Ofoo 



700 



560 



240 



9 



7 



100 

 24 

 10 



The soil of all the islands is rich, and arises 

 chiefly from the decomposition of volcanic rocks. 

 At Tutuila, it was remarked that the vegetation 

 was luxuriant, and the trees of large growth. At 

 Upolu the forests seemed more sombre than those 

 of Brazil, although the same kind of growth ap- 

 peared to prevail. 



The trees do not branch out until near the top, 

 which renders it difficult to obtain botanical speci- 

 mens. The trunks are covered, and even the sum- 

 mits of the trees sometimes overgrown, with the 

 leaves of the scandent flagellaria (freycinetia), a 

 climbing piper, and other vines, as hoyas, convol- 

 vulus, &c. The lower part of the trunks are 

 enveloped with ferns, of which there are many 

 varieties, and with some species of pothos, which 

 give the whole ground a matted or woven appear- 

 ance. 



The woods in the interior of the islands are very 

 thick, and often composed of large and fine trees ; 

 among them are, tree-ferns, a species of banyan, 

 pandanus, and several species of palms. Among 

 other plants a species of cerbera was observed, 

 with beautiful clusters of large and odorous white 

 flowers, which yielded a quantity of white viscous 

 sap, that our botanist, Mr. Rich, thought might be 

 manufactured into caoutchouc. On the whole, the 

 species of trees are much more numerous than at 

 Tahiti, and the vegetation in consequence richer 

 and more varied. The woods, however, are not 

 enlivened by showy flowers, and the few of these 

 that are seen are of a white or grayish hue, which 

 is to be ascribed to their being but little exposed to 

 the rays of the sun, in consequence of the umbra- 

 geous foliage. Many of the flowers seen on the 

 ground were unknown to our botanist, as were 

 several fruits. 



Among the trees which have been named, that 

 which struck us as most remarkable was the species 

 of banyan (ficus religiosa), called in these islands 

 ohwa. Some of these were seen, whose pendant 

 branches had taken root in the ground to the num- 

 ber of thousands, forming stems from an inch to 

 two feet in diameter, uniting hi the main trunk 

 more than eighty feet above the ground, and sup- 

 porting a vast system of horizontal branches, 

 spreading like an umbrella over the tops of the 

 other trees. 



The bread-fruit is the most abundant of all the 

 trees, and grows here to a large size ; the vi-apple, 

 the cocoa-nut, and the wild orange are also found 

 in great numbers; and at Tutuila a large lime-tree 

 was seen in full bearing, which was said to have 

 been planted before the arrival of the missionaries. 



Among the most singular of the vegetable pro- 

 ductions is the stinging tree, of which the natives 

 are much afraid ; for if its leaves be touched an 

 eruption is produced, particularly if the skin be 

 wet. Its leaf is cordate, but quite smooth. 



The arboresceut ferns are not as numerous as at 



Tahiti, but grow to a larger size. The palms give 

 a character of luxuriance to the country, from the 

 variety of their foliage. Rattans ninety feet in 

 length were seen running over the trees. 



Bamboos and the wild sugar-cane were very 

 common ; the latter is used in thatching houses : 

 the wild ginger also abounds. 



Of the wild nutmeg (myristica), two species 

 were seen, which are small trees, and likely to be 

 passed without notice, were it not for the peculiar 

 manner in which branches grow out of the trunk, 

 which is in whirls, at regular intervals, like the 

 white pine (pinus strobus) of our Northern States. 



It was remarked that the character of the vege- 

 tation approached more nearly to tkat of the East 

 Indies than of the Society Islands, and the leafless 

 acacias were the type of those we afterwards saw in 

 New Holland ; but there ai-e some plants which 

 appear peculiar to these islands. 



Many of the trees we have named, as well as 

 other plants, are objects of cultivation ; but the 

 ground cleared for this purpose does not extend 

 far from the coasts, near which all the villages are 

 situated. 



To clear the land, the bark is burnt off the 

 trees, after which they are permitted to stand 

 until they become dry, when they are cut down and 

 used as fuel. 



The cultivated plants and trees are bread-fruit (of 

 which they have twenty varieties), cocoa-nut, ti (dra- 

 csenaV bananas, taro, paper-mulberry, tacca, from 

 which arrow-root is made, and of which they have 

 several soris ; sugar-cane, which is not made into 

 sugar, but used only for thatching ; coffee, ava, 

 (piper mythisticum), sweet-potato, pine-apple 

 (anana), brought by the missionaries from the 

 Society Islands, yams, the papaya, and tobacco in 

 small quantities. The agave has not been intro- 

 duced ; but in a few years lemons and sweet 

 oranges will be produced in great quantities from 

 trees which have recently been planted. 



To the cultivation of the tacca they pay little 

 attention, yet the quality of the fecula (arrow-root) 

 made from it is said to be superior. 



The missionaries are endeavouring to teach the 

 natives the best mode of cultivating the sugar-cane 

 and manufacturing it, and it is said that a few 

 persons have adopted the new methods. At pre- 

 sent they find a substitute for sugar in the root of 

 the ti plant, which is baked in ovens, and yields a 

 large quantity of saccharine juice resembling mo- 

 lasses. 



Great attention is paid to the cultivation of the 

 yam. They are planted in October, and are ripe 

 in February and March. The vines run up the 

 trees, and when they die, the root is known to 

 be ripe. To plant them, they are cut, like the 

 potato, into pieces containing eyes, which are laid 

 in heaps and covered up until the sprout appears. 

 The pieces are then set out at distances of about 

 three feet from each other. 



Hearing that there were some extensive savan- 

 nas in Upolu, over- grown with the wild sugar-cane, 

 I directed Assistant-Surgeon Whittle and Mr. 

 Couthouy to proceed to the east end of the island, 

 where they were said to grow. They, however, 

 saw nothing of the kind except a few small patches 

 of that plant. 



There are no traces among these islands of any 

 native quadruped, nor any other of the mammalia, 



