280 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
exigencies of those seasons of scarcity which they 
often experienced during the intervals between the 
bread-fruit crops. We also persuaded them to 
use such articles of our clothing as were adapted 
to their climate and habits, and to adopt our social 
and domestic habits of life. This not only required 
a considerable addition of personal labour, but a 
variety of articles that could not be supplied on the 
islands, and must be obtained through the medium 
of commerce with Port Jackson and England ; and 
they could only procure these articles, in a degree 
equal to that in which they multiplied the produc¬ 
tions of the soil, so as to be able to exchange 
them for the manufactured goods of civilized 
countries. 
None of the spontaneous productions of the 
islands were available for purposes of barter or 
exportation. The sandal-wood of the Sandwich 
Islands, and the pine-timber of New Zealand, 
produced, without effort on the part of the inha¬ 
bitants, being valuable commodities, and, given in 
exchange for the articles conveyed by foreign 
vessels to their shores, afforded great inducements 
to commercial adventure, and furnished the natives 
of those countries with facilities for increasing their 
resources and their comforts, of which the Tahi¬ 
tians were destitute. Whatever articles of export 
they could ever expect to furnish, must be the 
product of their own industry; this we were de¬ 
sirous to direct in channels the most profitable, 
such as were best suited to their means, and con¬ 
genial to their previous habits. We therefore re¬ 
commended them to direct their attention to the 
culture of cotton, one variety of which appeared 
to be an indigenous plant in most of the islands. 
Several valuable kinds of cotton having been at 
