334 
CRUISE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 
Sea Islands, having but few wants, and those easily 
supplied ; for bananas, bread-fruit, oranges, pine- 
apples, and fais (a sort of wild plantain) grow luxu- 
riantly in all directions. All around are picturesque 
and rugged hills, imparting a beauty to the scene 
which cannot fail to arrest one’s attention ; while in 
close proximity, yet separated from each other by 
deep, dark gorges, showing up their precipitous and 
inaccessible sides, are great crags, almost entirely 
overgrown with the guava (a plant which was first- 
imported from South America, in 1815, by an 
American missionary, and which has since increased 
at so rapid a rate as to extend over some of the 
loveliest spots in the island). The “ Diadem,” a 
name given to several peaks which have a striking 
resemblance to a crown, displays itself from this 
point in all its wondrous loveliness ; and away in the 
distance are still more and more lofty mountains, 
6000 or 7000 feet high, which probably have never 
yet been trod by the foot of the naturalist. 
All visitors unite in praise of the beautiful ap- 
pearance of Tahiti, and speak of the climate as 
being uncommonly delightful and salubrious. It is 
moderated by sea and land breezes ; this, combined 
with the fertility of the soil, makes it perfectly 
evident that almost every tropical plant may be ex- 
tensively cultivated with but little labour. As it is, 
the sugar-cane, coffee-tree, cotton shrub, the vanilla, 
cocoa plant, indigo, rice, and maize are produced ; 
