VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. 67 
and anxious also that our establishments should 
become models for the natives in the formation of 
their own, and in this we were not disappointed 
A neat little garden was afterwards considered by 
numbers as a necessary appendage to their habita¬ 
tion. The natives display a taste for the beautiful, 
in their fondness of flowers. The gardenia, hibiscus, 
and amaranthus, were often woven in graceful 
wreaths or garlands, and worn on their brows. They 
were delighted when the helianthus was added to 
their flowers. Pomare and his queen passed by 
my garden when the first ever grown in the islands 
was in flower, and came in, to admire its size 
and brilliancy. Soon after their return, I received 
a note from the king, asking for a flower for the 
queen, and also one for her sister ; I sent them each 
a small one; and the next time they appeared in 
public, the large sunflowers were fixed as ornaments 
in their hair. 
To the list of the edible vegetables, fruits, and 
roots of the Society Islands, already given, others 
might probably be added, but these are sufficient 
to show the abundance, diversity, nutritiveness, 
delicacy, and richness of the provision spontan¬ 
eously furnished to gratify the palate, and supply 
the necessities, of their inhabitants. Here man 
seemed to live only for enjoyment, and appeared 
to have been placed in circumstances, where every 
desire was satisfied, and where it might be imagined 
that even the apprehension of want was a thing 
unknown. Amid the unrestrained enjoyment of 
a bounty so diversified and profuse, it is hardly 
possible to suppose that the divine Author of all 
should neither be recognized nor acknowledged; 
or, that his very mercies should foster insensibility, 
%nd alienate the hearts of the participants in his 
f 2 
