Polynesian., 1855-03-31
Gle 1Dolpnesian.
. From the Friend.l
The Culture of Silk and the Vine.

Inc culture oil SILK and the vine.
The culture of silk has been tried at the
Sandwich Islands, and found to be impracti-
cable. Some fifteen years ago high hopes
were entertained that this would become a
silk producing country, but long since those
I hopes have been abandoned, and they proba-
| bly, will not be revived until an exceedingly
dense population occupies the Hawaiian ISL
andS.
The culture of The vine, we imagine, would
be doomed to the same fate, should it be un-
dertaken, as a mere matter Of pecuniary
speculation. At present the cultivation OF
the vine, fer the purpose of producing wine,
lis forbidden by the laws of the Kingdom
Should that tabu be entirely removed, we do
not imagine that it would lead to any exten-
sive cultivation of vineyards for the purpose
of wine manufacture. 1t was made tabu for
consistency's sake, we suppose, more than for
any other purpose. Inasmuch. as the Gov
ernment, for'good and satisfactory reasons,
made tabu, the manufacture Of such vile
drinks as ava, the product of the ti-root,
sweet potatoes, molasses, Sc, Sc, we sup
pose it included the cultivation of the vine
for wine manufacture. This, however, does
not include the cultivation of the vine for
eating purposes. Never yet has the vine
been cultivated to sufficient extent to supply
the market with grapes, one of the most de-
licious, nutritious and harmless fruits. Hith-
erto grapes have sold at prices ten fold, yes,
a hundred fold higher than they would have
paid to have been manufactured into wine. If
the removingofthe tabu upon the manufacture
of wine ,couId increase the cultivation to an
extent sufficient to supply our markets with
a choice variety of grapes, and at a reason
able price, we should be glad to see it done.
We say this not because we desire to see
wine manufactured here, and VIC have no ex-
pectatiOn that it would, even if the Govern
ment should offer a bounty. Let not the
tabu, however, be removed, if the hydra
headed monster, Alcohol, shall be allowed to
raise erect, his awa-head, ti-root-head, rum
head, or any other of his heads.
The following remarks upon the culture of
the vine and silk, we copy from the first VOL
ume of Bancrolt's 5 History of the United
States. The historian was led into this train
of remark, in noticing the action Of the Vir-
ginia Assembly, when it first began to legis-
late, under written Constitution, in I62l
g The business which occupied the first
session under the written constitution, rela-
ted chiefly to the encouragement of domestic
industry; and the culture of silk particularly
engaged the attention Of the assembly But
though Il can taror industry, can
not create Il. When soil, men, and circum-
stances, combine TO render manufacture
desirable, legislation can protect the infancy
of enterprise against the unequal canpeti-
ton with established skill The culture of
silk, long, earnestly, and frequently recon-
mended to the attention of Virginia, is sue
cessfully pursued, only when superfuty of
labor exists in redundant population. In
the first wants of life left nO labor
without demand silk-worms could not be
cared for where every comfort of household
existence required to be created. Still less
was the successful culture of the vine poss-
ble The company had repeatedly sent vine
dressers, who had been set TO work under
the terrors of martial law, and whose efforts
we're continued after the establishment of
regular government. But the toll irds IN rain.
The ertnSire culture Of The rine, unless Singu-
Iariy tauored By climate, succeeds only IN a
dense population; for a small rineyard requires
the labor of mann hands. 1t is law of ma
ture, that, in new country under the tenn
perate zone, corn and cattle will be raised,
rather than silk or wine"
Those lines of the foregoing paragraphs
which are italicised, were SO printed at our
The truth is, this paragraph
contains valuable hints, for Legislators I'M this
or any other land So much must not be en-
pected of any government. Governments may
not be able to make the people industrious,
but they can hinder industry. In years
past, the Sandwich Island government has
stood out resoIutely against the manufacture
of intoxicating drinks, and we hope It will
continue the same policy, so long as The flag
of the Kamehamehas shall wave This is
one of its gories.