THE KINGS MILL ISLANDERS. 81 



Their soil, which is but a few inches in depth, is of coral sand and 

 vegetable mould, below which coral sand continues to be found, and 

 to this depth the wells and taro-patches extend. The rain-water 

 percolates thus far, and meets the coral rock. Besides this rock, small 

 pieces of pumice are found, which are supposed to have drifted to the 

 island. Of these great use is made, in cultivation, as a manure. 



Their cultivation consists for the most part in that of cocoa-nut and 

 pandanus, which are their chief articles of food. They also culti- 

 vate with great care a species of the taro (Arum cordifolium), which 

 is called by the natives " poipoi," and is said to grow to a very large 

 size ; but all that was seen by the officers was small, and apparently 

 withered. 



Bread-fruit trees are to be found on the northern islands, but the 

 tree was not seen on the southern. They pay more attention to the 

 rearing of trees than in any other islands of Polynesia, for the cocoa- 

 nut trees are fenced round, and pounded pumice is mixed with the 

 soil near their roots. This stone is collected by the women, who are 

 frequently to be seen in numbers on the beaches, after westerly winds, 

 picking it up in small baskets. 



There is likewise a purslane, which is abundant, and according to 

 Kirby, is eaten in cases of scarcity or famine. The excavations for 

 the planting of taro are of various sizes, generally one hundred feet in 

 length, by fifty in breadth. On Makin or Pitt's Island, it is said, there 

 is a trench about ten feet wide, and not less than seven miles long, dug 

 around the lagoon, from which it is separated by an embankment. 

 The water in this trench is but slightly brackish, and sufficiently fresh 

 to nurture the taro. The natives are remarkably careful to keep this 

 plant free from weeds, or any thing that may affect its growth ; and 

 they are in the habit of loosening the root, with this view. There is 

 no particular season when it comes to maturity, neither do they 

 observe any particular time for planting it. On Makin, they have a 

 kind of fruit resembling the gooseberry, called by the natives " teiparu;" 

 this they pound, after it is dried, and make with molasses into cakes, 

 which are sweet and pleasant to the taste. 



Of all the native accounts of the peopling of the groups of the islands 

 in the vast Pacific, that of the Kingsmill Group bears the strongest 

 impress of truth and historical probability. Whether this be owing to 

 the comparatively recent period at which they have been peopled, or 

 to their traditions having been less confused by mythological tales, it 

 is difficult to determine ; but the facts appear so remarkable and pro- 

 bable, that few will read the account of them without giving it the full 

 weight of authentic history. This account states, that the first inhabi- 



vol. v. 11 



