HAWAII AND OAHU. 95 



and covered nearly the whole northern portion. This eruption hap- 

 pened about thirty years since, in 1809 and 1810. Hualalai is between 

 seven and eight thousand feet in height, and rises abruptly on its west 

 side. 



Rain seldom falls on the coast, except in showers, and a rainy day 

 once in the year is looked upon as something remarkable. This, 

 together with the absence of all dew, prevents the existence of much 

 cultivation ; it affords, nevertheless, a coarse vegetation, sufficient to 

 pasture a few hundred goats ; but, a mile back from the shore, the sur- 

 face is covered with herbage, which maintains cattle, &c. ; and two 

 miles in the interior there is sufficient moisture to keep up a constant 

 verdure. 



Here, in a belt half a mile wide, the bread-fruit is met with in 

 abundance, and above this the taro is cultivated with success. At an 

 elevation of between two and three thousand feet, and at the dis- 

 tance of five miles, the forest is first met with. The trees of this are 

 suitable for building timber, and boards and shingles are made of them. 

 The products of this portion of Kona are the same as before de- 

 scribed. 



The prevailing winds are the land and sea breezes, which are very 

 regular ; there are likewise strong north winds, but the most severe 

 gales are those from the southwest, which the natives term kona ; 

 these last from a few hours to two and even three days, and are fol- 

 lowed by rain: they are seldom strong enough to injure the houses. 



Here the temperature is very mild and equable. During the winter 

 the thermometer ranges, at sunrise, from 64° to 78° F. ; at midday, 76° 

 to 85° ; at sunset, 70° to 80°. In summer the range is 68° to 80° at 

 sunrise; at midday, 78° to 86°; and at sunset, 72° to 81°. I have not 

 been able to get any data for the amount of rain that falls. 



The population in 1839 was 5,943, which was only fourteen less 

 than in 1835. It is the opinion of the missionaries that the population 

 is not decreasing by death, and it is thought that any apparent de- 

 crease is owing to removals, or if not to this cause, perhaps to an error 

 in the census. The register of births and deaths for nine months, in 

 1839, would seem to confirm this, there being one hundred and twenty- 

 three births and ninety-one deaths, or thirty-two in favour of the 

 former. 



The result of the inquiries of Dr. Andrews, the resident physician, 

 shows a great mortality among the children. Out of ninety-six married 

 females, nearly all under forty-five years of age, twenty-three had no 

 children ; the remaining seventy-three had two hundred and ninety- 

 nine, of which one hundred and fifty-two did not survive the second 



