The Polynesian., 1841-07-10
Vol. 3.-NO. >.


nests Graded amid bright flowers and green
leaves, are the cottages of the superintend-
ants, ard near by the matched houses of he
'aborers. disposed in regular rows fronting
the roads. FATHER off, the white walls of a
large church shonc conspicuouslt in the
bright sun, a striking contrast to the dingy
sides and distillery-like look of the boiling
house and sugar-ml; around these the ma
tives had clustered their rude hamets, and
little patches Of cultivated ground, the whole
atiording gratifying picture of incipient
civilization. The busy passing to and fro of
long lines of carts loaded with the sweets of
the soil, and the swarms of laborers welding
their hoes amid the fields, animated the
scene. The hoayv crest Of an old crater
rises abruptly from the plain near the sea,
amid field of ndurated lava, monument
Of natures wrath in former days. A rugged
and towering peak, conspicuous above all its
brethren, aHording an excellent land mark,
rises in solitary grandeur to the east, while
not far from its base. the ocean dashes on
the shore in long line Of breakers. The
beauty oft scene, even as it tempted the
eye to dwell in unceasing admiration upon
its fair features, keeps the pen still employed
in tracing its outline, fearful lest a single spot
of all that rich mixture OF grand and beauti-
inl, civilized and savage, should escape its
notice.
But to the silk plantation again. After
the land was secured, large portion of it
was Immediately planted with the native or
black mulberry, which bears but a small
leaf, and was the only variety on the islands
excepting the morus papyiera and few of
the morus alba( at that time. 1t hourished
beautifully and bore great quantity of leaves
-one from the field at random, of eight
months growth afforded 81 pounds of leaves
and in six weeks after it was wholly stripped,
| 1t lcaved out again so as not 70 be distin-
guishable from the rest. So much were the
Proprietors encouraged thus far, that they
imported another variety of the Mulberry
| from China, known as the Canton. which
thrived well and afforded much more food in
! proportion to It's size, some Of the leaves
measuring eight and ten inches broad by
twelve inches long. They were all planted
in hedge rows from six TO ten feet apart. and
two feet apart in the rows, and were allowed
to attain height Of from six to eight feet
The ground was kept entirely free from
weeds. The Chinese worm was also i'm
! ported at this time, hut fed only in sufii
cient quantities to preserve sufficient mum
Der of eggs for stock. One Of the pro-
prietors embarked for the United : ates,
Were he spent eight months in acquiring in
formation in regard to the business, lurchas-
ing machinery for reeiag, which was intend
ed to be done by steam, ard in securing the
best varieties Of trees and eggs, with IA family
OF three persons 10 supcrntend cocooneries
and 10 teach the natives to reel. So highly
wasthIs enterprise thought of then N93 y in
the United States, that the proprietors could
have realized an advance Of two hundred per
cent. on their investment thus far Even the
most s'Ieptlcal in regard to the business there.
could see no obstacle to its success in eli
mate where the trees gave heavy crops the
year round, and the Temperature Was such
as to require but little artificial protection