POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
461 
by the shipping, dispose of them when vessels might 
put in for refreshments, and receive at once in ex¬ 
change, articles of cloth, &c. than wait till the crops 
should be gathered, and experience so much uncertainty, 
or meet with such annoying disappointments in the 
amount of their returns. 
Mr. Gyles, on his way to the colony of New South 
Wales in the month of August 1819, spent some time 
at Huahine and Raiatea^ and we gladly availed our¬ 
selves of his visit, to make further inquiries relative 
to the object for which he had come to the islands. 
Some spare machinery and boilers, sent out by the 
Society, were also left at Huahine. Assisted by the 
natives, we subsequently erected a rustic mill ; and, 
when the cane in our plantation was ripe, com¬ 
menced our endeavours to convert it into sugar. The 
cylinders for crushing the cane were perpendicular: an 
ox was trained to draw in the mill. He was yoked 
to a lever on one side of the central roller 3 a num¬ 
ber of natives, pushing at another on the opposite side, 
turned the mill, and pressed the juice from the cane. 
The natives were surprised at the quantity of juice from 
a single cane, as they had never been accustomed to see 
it thus collected, but had generally broken it in small 
pieces, and, by masticating the cane, extracted the juice. 
After boiling it some time, we added the temper or 
mixture of lime and water; and when we supposed 
the quantity had been sufficiently reduced, directed the 
natives to remove it to a suitable vessel for cooling, the 
progress of which we watched very anxiously, and, 
ultimately, had the satisfaction of beholding fine-grained 
crystals of sugar formed from the liquid. The natives 
were delighted and astonished; and although our sur- 
