1893. ] A Vacation in the Hawatian Islands. 23 
down, where the ground is completely occupied by a small 
tree-fern growing in dense thickets, as these are grubbed out 
to make way for cultivation, their trunks are piled up to form 
fences, and soon sprout out so that they make a beautiful and 
close hedge of fern-leaves. 
On leaving the volcano, I went down on the other side of 
the island. The rain being almost entirely intercepted by 
the mountains, this leeward side is very dry, and the ride to 
Punaluu, where we were to take the steamer was not especi- 
ally pleasant. Vegetation is very scanty, and nothing par- 
ticularly interesting was noted in this line. The soil on this 
side of the island, especially in the district of Kona, is very 
fertile, and when water can be had, produces magnificent 
crops of all the tropical staples, pine-apples, cocoa-nuts, 
coffee, sugar, etc., all especially fine; and we feasted on these 
cocoa-nuts and pine-apples as we sailed along this picturesque, 
if somewhat barren, coast. 
A short, flying trip was made to the Island of Kauai, the 
richest botanically of all the islands, as it is the oldest geo- 
logically. According to Hillebrand, not only is the number 
of species larger than in the other islands, but the species 
are more specialized. Here I saw several species of the cur- 
ious woody Lobeliaceew, of which there are several genera 
that form either shrubs or small trees. I saw several species 
of Cyanea, with stems six to eight feet high, with long leaves 
crowded at the top of the stem and many white or purplish 
flowers, much like those of Lobelia, but somewhat larger and 
less open. 
As in all the islands, there is on Kauai a great difference 
between the windward and leeward sides. I drove for about © 
thirty: miles along the windward side of this island through 
some of the most beautiful scenery of all the islands. Near 
the sea, were rolling plains and hills, with here and there 
groves of Pandanus and Hau—the latter a dense spreading 
small: tree with large yellow hibiscus-flowers—and at one 
point we drove through a magnificent grove of kukui trees, 
the finest I saw anywhere. As we reached that part of the 
island which is most fully exposed to the moisture-laden 
trade-winds, vegetation became extremely luxuriant. Num- 
€rous valleys with clear streams flowing down them, their 
bottoms given up to rice plantations, were to be seen here, 
with the rice in all stages from the young spears just stand- 
