240 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1341 



certainly brought to light a constructional 

 defect in the flying machines of his day. So 

 too in science. Cautious Daedalus will apply 

 his theories where he feels most confident 

 they will safely go; but by his excess of 

 caution their hidden weakness can not be 

 brought to light. Icarus will strain his 

 theories to the breaking-point till the weak 

 joints gape. For a spectacular stunt? Per- 

 haps partly; he is often very human. But if 

 he is not yet destined to reach the sun and 

 solve for all time the riddle of its constitu- 

 tion, yet he may hope to learn from his jour- 

 ney some hints to build a better machine. 



A. S. Eddingtost 



THE HAWAIIAN OLONA 



, In Science (N. S. 48 : 236-38, September 6, 

 1918) was published a paper by the writer, en- 

 titled " The Olona, Hawaii's Unexcelled Fiber 

 Plant." This was later reprinted by the Lit- 

 erary Digest, and evidently aroused widespread 

 interest concerning this remarkable fiber. The 

 writer received letters from many parts of the 

 world, requesting further information. Since 

 hia previous account he has been furnished 

 with the following statement, by Dr. IST. Rus- 

 sel, of Olaa, Hawaii, and originally published 

 in the report of the Hawaii Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station for 1902. As this report is 

 out-of-print and unavailable to most students, 

 Eussel's excellent account is presented here- 

 with: 



■Some fifty years ago about 1,000 natives 

 were living on the margin of the virgin forest 

 and pahoe-hoe rock along the trail connecting 

 Hilo town with the crater of Kilauea, island 

 of Hawaii, in a spot corresponding to the pres- 

 ent 22-mile point of the volcano road. Ma- 

 king of "kapa" (native cloth) out of "ma- 

 make" bark {Pipturus alhidus), of olona fiber 

 for fishing nets out of Touchardia latifolia, 

 and capturing " 0-U " birds for the sake of 

 the few precious yellow feathers under the 

 wings, of which luxurious royal garments 

 were manufactured — those were the industries 

 on which they lived. 

 ; For the reasons common to all the native 



population of the islands, viz., the introduction 

 of new germs of disease — syphilis, leprosy, 

 tuberculosis, smallpox, etc. — this settlement 

 gradually dwindled away, and in 1862 the few 

 surviving members migrated to other locali- 

 ties. At present only patches of wild bananas, 

 taro, and heaps of stones scattered in the forest 

 indicate the places of former habitation and 

 industry. I have heard, however, that as late 

 as the seventies Elalakaua stiU levied a tax in 

 olona fiber from the natives of Puna and Olaa 

 districts, which fiber he sold at high prices to 

 Swiss Alpine clubs, who valued it for its light 

 weight and great strength. 



Touchardia grows abundantly in Olaa for- 

 ests, presenting a kind of a natural plantation. 

 It very successfully holds its own in competi- 

 tion with ferns and other elements of the 

 undergrovrth in the shade of " ohia " trees 

 (Metrosideros polymorpha). The deep shade, 

 very porous soil, considerable moisture, with a 

 yearly rainfall of 180 inches pretty evenly dis- 

 tributed, are the natural conditions. By re- 

 moving some of the imdergrowth, scattering 

 seed, and probably by planting cuttings, the 

 number of plants on the same area could be 

 greatly increased with but very small expense. 

 Since plants of medium age (about 18 months 

 old) supply the best fiber, natives in gathering 

 used to turn down the older ones with the 

 foot, laying the whole plant on the ground to 

 force new shoots and sprouts. 



I was familiar with the plant and its proper- 

 ties for years, but did not pay any further at- 

 tention to it as a possible object of industry 

 for the reason that to all appearances the 

 same difficulties in mechanical extraction of 

 fiber will be met as in the case of ramie, for 

 which no satisfactory machine has been found. 

 Recently my interest in the matter was again 

 aroused by Mr. Jared G. Smith, of the Hawaii 

 Experiment Station. Considering that Tou- 

 chardia seems to be free from resinous matter, 

 upon his suggestion I decided to examine the 

 subject more in detail. For this purpose an 

 old native, born and raised in the settlement 

 above mentioned, was interviewed. Together 

 with him I proceeded into the forest along 

 twenty-two miles side trail. In my presence 



