EXTRACTS—NATURAL HISTORY. 
617 
and the dampest, if cold, are destitute of them, while there is no instance of a 
country both hot and damp, in which they do not swarm. No soil or tempera¬ 
ture will nourish them in drought; but when the atmospheric humidity and 
temperature are carefully regulated any soil will do, as either garden mould, 
lime rubbish, gravel, decayed vegetable matter and moss, seems to suit them 
equally well, provided the drainage be effectual; but a deficiency in this renders 
every thing else useless. The mean temperature of the air in the day ought to 
be about 87 degrees Fahr. and its humidity at the point of saturation or 
nearly so. The most favourable situations for their growth are a well-drained 
soil, a shady situation, a saturated atmosphere, the mean temperature of which 
is never less than from 79 to 80 degrees Fahr. and a complete protection from 
dry parching winds.—J. Lindley, Esq. Hort. Trans. 
The Sugar-Cane. —“ Sugar-cane grows spontaneously in all the South-Sea 
Islands, and more than ten varieties are indigenous. It has been stated, that 
the best canes now cultivated in the West Indies are those taken there by Captain 
Bligh. In their native islands, they grow remarkably fine. I have frequently 
seen canes as thick as a man’s wrist, and ten or twelve feet between the roots and 
leaves. The Iromotu, a large yellow cane, and the To-ura, of a dark red colour, 
grow' very large, and yield an abundance of juice; but the Patu, a small light 
red, long-jointed cane, with a thin husk or skin, contains the greatest quantity 
of saccharine matter. Some of the sugar manufactured by Mr. Gyles, was of a 
very superior quality; and if hired labour was less expensive, or the people 
more industrious, it might be raised with facility in considerable quantities.” 
Coffee. —“The Haweis, in returning to the Islands, in the spring of 1819, 
touched at Norfolk.Island, formerly an appendage to the colony of New South 
Wales, and I believe re-occupied since that period. From this island the cap¬ 
tain brought away a number of coffee plants, which, on his arrival in the islands, 
were distributed among the stations. The tender plants were once or twice re¬ 
moved, and all perished, excepting those in my garden at Huahine, which I 
was happy to succeed in preserving. The climate was favourable to their 
growth, and they appeared to thrive well. After four years, each tree bore about 
forty berries, which, when perfectly ripe, were gathered and sent to the several 
stations. They were planted, and have since flourished, so that in every 
island, the coffee plant is now r growing, and may be cultivated to almost any 
extent.” 
Gardens. —“A garden is a valuable acquisition in this part of the world; 
and, next to our dwellings, we regard it as an important part of our domestic 
establishment. As soon as the sites of our houses were fixed, w'e employed 
natives to inclose a piece of ground adjoining them. I had received from 
Governor Macquarie, in New' South Wales, a hundred ears of Egyptian wheat, 
which being a kind frequently grown in a warm climate, it w'as supposed might 
flourish in these islands. The grain w r as planted with care, and grew remark¬ 
ably well; the leaves were green, and grew high and strong, and the ears large; 
but as they began to turn yellow, it appeared that scarcely one of them contain¬ 
ed a single grain of corn, and the few' that were found, were shrivelled and dry. 
Potatoes were also tried, and have been repeatedly planted since, in different 
situations and seasons; but although, after the first growth, they usually appear 
like young potatoes; if planted again, they are invariably soft and sweet, very 
small, and by no means so palatable as the indigenous sweet potatoe. 
