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SCIENCES 



The wood which is beft calculated for building a houfe, a canoe, arts 



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or other utenfils, together with every operation for erecting a habi- 

 tation, for making the various parts of a boat, and for navigating 

 it by paddles or fails, are underfiood by every perfon, from the lail 

 loutou to the firil chief of the land. In /hort, there is not one me- 



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-chanical operation, which they do not teach to every youth, and 

 which, after fome time, he is not capable of executing with a« 



much adroitnefs and fkill as the beil and oldeil man in the na*- 



tion. 



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It might feem that after all, thefe are but trifles in a fyftem of 



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•education ; but the very exiftence of thefe iilanders depends upon 

 the knowledge they have of the various vegetables, their cultivation 



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^nd preparation into 



food, &c. 5c 



d alfo of the birds, fifhes 



ihells, &c. which make part of their food. I had occafion to write 

 sdown the names of 48 fiflies, which they all reckoned eatable ; and 

 Captain Cook declared, thofe he had feen in his firft voyage, and of 

 which they heard the names from the natives were about 150, 

 The very bread-fruit, fartocarpus commmiisj called by the natives 

 <ooroo, has three varieties diftinguifhed by peculiar names : thus for 

 inflance, the variety with more narrow pinnatifid leaves and ob 

 long fruit, is called matra:-, another variety with oblong fruit, but 

 ^ more rough, and as it were^ fcaly outfide, they name epat^a ; and 

 ilill aiaother oblonsr variety, wliofe rind has fmall mammillary 



LI 1 prickles 



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