380 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
CHAP. XIV. 
Times of taking food among the islands—Tradition of the origin of the 
bread-fruit tree—Tahitian architecture—Materials employed in the erec¬ 
tion of native houses—^Description of their various kinds of buildings 
—Usual enclosures—Increased demand for books—Establishment Of 
tlie printing press—Eager anticipations of the people—First printing 
in the island done by the king—Printing the Gospel of St. Luke- 
Liberal aid from the British and Foreign Bible Society—Influence of 
the process of printing, &c. on the minds of thp people—Visit of a 
party of natives from the eastern archipelago—Desire of the inhabitants 
for the scriptures—Applicants from different islands—Estimation in 
which the scriptures are held—Influence of the press in the nation— 
Number of works printed. 
The natives of the South Sea Islands have no regular 
times for eating, but arrange their meals, in a great mea¬ 
sure, according to their avocations, or the supply of their 
provision. They usually eat some time in the forenoon ; 
but their principal meal is taken towards the evening. 
Their food being lighter, and of a less stimulating kind, 
than that of Europeans, is usually consumed by them in 
much larger quantities at a time. They do not appear 
ever to have been very temperate in their diet, except¬ 
ing from necessity, and many seem to have made the 
gratification of their appetite the means of shorten¬ 
ing their existence. 
We have often endeavoured to learn from the natives 
whether the vegetable productions used as food when the 
islands were discovered by Captain Wallis, were found 
