70 KAUAI AND OAHU. 



was pronounced superior to linseed-oil for painting. There is a manu- 

 factory of it at Honolulu ; but I understood that it dried with difficulty. 

 It is said to bring one dollar per gallon on the coast of South America. 

 The native candle is made of these nuts strung upon a straw ; they are 

 likewise roasted and eaten. 



Before reaching Waioli, they passed through a forest of pandanus 

 trees. Waioli is a mission station, the residence of the Rev. Mr. 

 Alexander, by whom they were very kindly received. This district is 

 called Halelea. Waioli is on the north side of Kauai. The plain on 

 which it is situated is only six or eight feet above the level of the sea, 

 and lies between the Halelea and Waioli rivers. Though of small 

 extent, it is one of the most fertile spots of which these islands can 

 boast. 



The Halelea district comprises a large proportion of arable land : it 

 extends to the distance of twenty miles to the eastward of Waioli ; 

 the portion, however, which lies to the westward is of a totally 

 different description, being broken up into precipices and ravines, 

 affording no inducements to the agriculturist, and having very few 

 spots susceptible of cultivation ; its extent is about fifteen miles. The 

 eastern portion is watered by at least twenty streams; many of these 

 are large enough to be termed rivers, and might be employed to turn 

 machinery. It is elevated from three to eight hundred feet above the 

 sea, and comprises about fifty thousand acres of land, capable of pro- 

 ducing sugar-cane, cotton, indigo, coffee, corn, beans, the mulberry, 

 and vegetables in every variety. It now produces taro, sweet-potatoes, 

 yams, bread-fruit, bananas, plantains, squashes, melons, beans, Indian 

 corn, and cocoa-nuts. Sugar-cane grows spontaneously. Mulberry 

 trees flourish, of which there are four kinds, the Chinese, the multi- 

 caulis, the white, and the black : the latter variety has a small leaf. 

 The vegetation is extremely luxuriant from the frequent rains. The 

 sugar-cane, and mulberry, both Chinese and multicaulis, are the staple 

 articles of culture. The mulberry has here a most rapid growth, and 

 being sheltered from the strong winds, it succeeds well. Some of the 

 leaves of the multicaulis are of the enormous size of fifteen inches in 

 length by twelve in breadth. Mr. Titcomb has a large plantation of 

 both kinds, and an extensive cocoonery in operation. He has succeeded 

 in making silk of excellent quality, both for the loom and sewing. He 

 gives his personal attention to this business, and began in a small way. 

 I understood that he had succeeded in it. His greatest difficulty is the 

 unsteady labour of the natives, and he also experiences, at times, diffi- 

 culty in preserving the worms. The silk is procured from the American 

 worm and a cross-breed between the Chinese and American. The 



