KANDAVU. 187 



concern of botli natives and settlers. Varions kinds have 

 been experimented upon. Tlie variety Ivuown as ' Kidney- 

 seed ' is tlie most common, tliougli very far from being tlie 

 most profitable ; but as, until now, from the want of ma- 

 chinery, cotton is exported with the seed in it, and in this 

 condition has always foimd buyers at eight cents a pound, 

 the planters have come to the conclusion that the increase 

 of weight caused by the seed was a compensation for other 

 drawbacks. The most intelligent of the growers show the 

 greatest preference for the variety known by the name of 

 ' Sea-island ' cotton, which flourishes luxmiantly, bears a far 

 greater quantity of pure fibre, in proportion to the age of 

 the plant, than any other variety, and compared with the 

 kidney cotton its value in that respect is as five to one. The 

 cotton plant here is a perennial, and after the first outlay of 

 clearing and planting, the subsequent expense is trifling. 

 The island of Kandavu and the banks of the Eewa river, in 

 the island of Viti-Levu, are the positions most in favour with 

 Eiuropeau planters. The facihties that both these places 

 offer for transport and communication have caused this 

 selection. The Eewa river, so disproportionate to the size 

 of the island in which it rises, is navigable for boats of twenty 

 tons for more than forty miles from its moutli, and for seventy 

 miles of its course rafts and flat-bottomed boats could be 

 used to transport the cotton from the upper country without 

 meeting any obstacle in the shape of rocks, cascades, &c. 

 The fertility of the soil, the salubrity of the climate, and the 

 supply of cheap labour that can be obtained, will enable 



