3° 6 



HA WAIL 



The indigenous fauna is small, consisting only of hogs, dogs, 

 rats, and an anomalous bat which flies by day. There are few- 

 insects, except such as have been imported, and these, which 

 consist of centipedes, scorpions, cockroaches, mosquitos, and 

 fleas, are happily confined to certain localities, and the two first 

 have left most of their venom behind them. A small lizard is 

 abundant, but snakes, toads, and frogs have not yet effected a 

 landing. 



The ornithology of the islands is scanty. Domestic fowls 

 are supposed to be indigenous. Wild geese are numerous 

 among the mountains of Hawaii, and plovers, snipe, and wild 

 ducks, are found on all the islands. A handsome owl, called 

 the owl-hawk, is common. There is a paroquet with purple 

 feathers, another with scarlet, a woodpecker with variegated 

 plumage of red, green, and yellow, and a small black bird with 

 a single yellow feather under each wing. There are few sing- 

 ing birds, but one of the few has as sweet a note as that of the 

 English thrush. There are very few varieties of moths and 

 butterflies. 



The flora of the Hawaiian Islands is far scantier than that of 

 the South Sea groups, and cannot compare with that of many 

 other tropical as well as temperate regions. But all the islands 

 are rich in cryptogamous plants, of which there is an almost 

 infinite variety. 



Hawaii is still in process of construction, and is subject to 

 volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tidal waves. Hurricanes 

 are unknown, and thunderstorms are rare and light. 



Under favourable circumstances of moisture the soil is most 

 prolific, and " patch cultivation " in glens and ravines, as well 

 as on mountain sides, produces astonishing results. A Kalo 

 patch of forty square feet will support a man for a year. An 

 acre of favourably situated land will grow a thousand stems of 

 bananas, which will produce annually ten tons of fruit. The 

 sweet potato flourishes on the most unpromising lava, where 

 soil can hardly be said to exist, and in good localities produces 

 200 barrels to the acre. On dry light soils the Irish potato 

 grows anyhow and anywhere, with no other trouble than that of 

 planting the sets. Most vegetable dyes, drugs, and spices can 

 be raised. Forty diverse fruits present an overflowing cornu- 

 copia. The esculents of the temperate zones flourish. The 

 coffee bush produces from three to five pounds of berries the 

 third year after planting. The average yield of sugar is two 

 and a half tons to the acre. Pineapples grow like weeds in 



