FLORA VITIENSIS. 9] 
when I came away, i ‘ é . 
Makaiiabo, on bee a ee eee Bees to cotton-growing. He commenced a plantation at 
lindrunder ealiivation. ; as the experiment proved remunerative, he brought more 
The fact that cott i i 
ists wl lity Sopud ops i peo it inte ae eo 
of the group, and the character of its peo le, confidently look f co tac et tee 
Ovalau, and other districts longest fre oraiad b “whit - h ali ae ee supply ee Wg aac 
This is quite an innovation, and shows that the Fijian is “ih eae aed pres eee ee ee 
eae : n \ dually accustomed to labour for fixed 
wages; when the chiefs shall have either paisa coietked a : P Aeeara tice cat 
to all the property accumulated by the lower adatee favou rabl cs ie will bothe i Ee ae 
and a fresh impulse be imparted to all bran h if i Ae ete ae 
that nobody can legally take their fair Meet ae hdl thet tie hee forts irae 
they have managed to surround themselves may be openly displayed without the din a fb He Wi 
by the chiefs and their favourites, and they will doubtless be eager to engage in an os "k snus et 
require great mechanical skill or violent exertion, and at the same time will yield chem Meda bl on ef 
It is well known, both from public journals and the ‘ Correspondence relating to the Fiji Toland oa 
sented by command of her Majesty to both Houses of Parliament, May, 1862 that from aon sles suibmaitted 
by Mr. Pritchard, the Executive Committee of the Manchester Cotton Supply Association renotecdl Hs That 
recep ae of aes most desirable for British manufacture; that such a range of excellent cotton 
y received from any cotton-growing country; and that the supply obtained from the United 
States does not realize nearly so high an average value as this Fijian cotton.” It must be borne m mind, 
Petr pees Sev no aEAYOG at in 1859, before my visit to the islands and the publication 
able rep ade, and before the outbreak of the American rebellion. Doubtless the same 
Committee would now be prepared to pronounce a still higher opinion, if that were possible. The Fijian 
samples sent to the Great Exhibition of 1862 would furnish capital material for renewed examination, and 
amongst them would be found some of Sea Island cotton, the sort which, haying the largest staple and 
fetching the highest price, has been hitherto exclusively grown in perfection on the coast of South Carolina 
Georgia, and a small part of Florida. Fiji has now supplied every sort of cotton, from the cheapest to 
the very best, and capitalists would do well in directing their attention to it. 
_ _ From these considerations I turn to those of a more strictly botanical nature, The genus Gossypium 
is in great want of a thorough revision. At present, great doubt prevails as to the number of species com- 
posing it. Bentham and Hooker (Gen, Plant. p. 209) express their belief that only three species exist, 
including even the Australian Stwrtia, whilst Todaro, of Palermo, (‘Osservazioni su aleune specie di Cotone’) 
enumerates thirty-four. I believe that if all the characters are carefully noted, a monographer will have no 
difficulty in defining a considerable number of well-marked species. The native country of many species 
remains also to be traced. Cotton was undoubtedly indigenous both to the Eastern and Western hemi- 
spheres. It was met with by Columbus and the Spanish conquistadores. Captain Cook, as proved by the 
species now made known, found it wild in the Sandwich and Society Islands. The Vitian species are 
pee all introduced, and they are easily distinguished from each other by the following absolute 
characters :— 
Seeds closely adhering to each other 
Seeds entirely disconnected. 
After the removal of the wool naked 
After the removal of the wool “ mossy.” 
“ Moss” greenish . : ‘ 
G. Peruvianum (Kidney Cotton). 
G. Barbadense. 
G. arboreum. 
“Moss” tawny . , ; : . . G. tomentosum. 
1. G. Peruvianum, Cav. Diss. vol. vi. p. 313. t. 168; foliis 3-5-lobis inferioribus indivisis 
subtus 3-glandulosis; bracteis laciniatis basi glandula nigra depressa notatis; floribus flayis ad 
ungues purpureis ; semiibus adhzrentibus glabris, lana longa candida.—G. Brasiliense, Macf. FI, 
Jam. vol. i. p. 72. “ Kidney, Peruvian or Brazilian Cotton,” of the English colonies and markets. 
Nomen vernac. Vitiense, “ Vauvau ni papalagi.”’—Introduced into the Viti Islands (Seemann! 
n. 29). . 
9. G. Barbadense, Linn. Spec. 975; foliis sup 
triglandulosis; bracteis laciniatis; seminibus liberis glabris, 
Vitiense, ‘ Vauvau ni Viti2’—Introduced into Viti (Seemann! n. 30). 
lobis lanceolatis obtusis setula brevi 
uguibus purpureo-maculatis v. 
erioribus 3-lobis, inferioribus 5-lobis, subtus 
lana longa candida, Nomen vernac, 
3. G. arboreum, Linn. Spec. 975; foliis 5-lobo-palmatis, 
mucronatis subtus 1-glandulosis; bracteis subintegris; petalis flavis u 
