The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1861-10-17

with a low, sullen, unwavering and never-end-
ing cadence burst upon it in broad, rushing belts
OF foam There are shallow openings through
- which the waters ebb and flow but the pillows
lose themselves, and the tidal currents steal along
the inner shore with smooth and silent motion. :
= crossing this sheltered lagoon we find sedge-
: bank and salt-grlss meadows, with many creeks
ana DrackIsh pools, and much debatable ground,
: mlry and rush bearing. On the higher parts
there are dense thickets of cane, palmetto. and
other low trees and shrubs, and multitudes of
birds aud animals here make their nests and LARS.
Farther from the sea, and a. the water hac,,,az
les s4lt from the flow Of stream. from tbe a
land, tie iOw grounds also. though submerged bv
every rising tide, send up strong shaftei cypress
trees and are shaded under their dense, though
light and featheTy fOliage. Frequent slugpi,b
creeks meand-r through this shOreland re5i,n
and many rivers that rise far away IN the noun
tains, here lose themselves. becoming dead and
eurrentless, a. the lagoon water rises under the
silent, but ~resistless influence of the seui-diurp,I
thrOb OF the ocean. Their broad, low borders
are thus twice each day flowed over. and the a,l
kept wet and spongy.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SOIL.
Elevated ridges of sandy land, BEARING forests
Oh clustering pine and glossy magnolia, sometimes
ada DIVERSITY 70 these swamps. Heavy rains fire.
quently swell the rivers, and the torrents of their
Hood being at length conquered by the tide. the
eddylng currents deposit TT the base of these
sandy ridges the rich freight they have brougbt
from the calcareous or granite and alumiu0us
ooh5 VI ne lstan mountains IN which they rise
with the organic waste Of the great deciduous
forests through which they flow silicious uarti-
cies are again washed down from these, and with
all Is mingled the rich silt of the lagoon bottom
brought up by the turbid tide during extraordi-
nary storms OF the ocean. Such is rhe soil !
which has been gradually forming until il is of
great depth, now overgrown with an almost i'm
penetrable forest, and thicket Of underwood and
PUSHES, which is chosen TO be transformed INTO a
rice plantation, If is ut such a distance from rho
SGD, LudL There Il no tnGfp cF za1. -, IL
the tidal rise Of which il IL twice submerged ~ .
dePth oil from one to three feet and alternately
left bare.
no" A RICE PLANTATION Is LAID OUT. ]
Inc shape and extent of the proposed rice 7
sLTuhu' having been determined on, the trees are c
lelied ana the surface cleared for q space of fftv I
feet all around it. On the inside of mis- bsIt t
aiIch Is now dug eight or ten feet wide and five
deeP, the earth excavated from which serves TO .
iOrh an eInDanknent about midway between il
and the river. This embanknent must he higL
enough and strong enough to Withstand the press n
nre OF the strongest flood, and If the ditch does -
lot auord material enough TO make it 80, earth is
from the edge of the river. 4 large mar
sIh oeyoho is outer base line being left for this 4
purpose and to the security Of its foundation. h
NJ the commencement Of this work, Of course.
lothIng can be done except for a few hours at a =
line after the tide has partially ebbed, but it &
'o-s NOT axe long TO throw mp u slight intrcnch- =
nent, which Is sufficient 10 resist its ordinary
God. As soon as This is finished gates are formeJ n
'hlch allow the outward flow of the water with
q the embankment, but prevent its return. The II
loor Is then continued without interruution &c,
Is soon as the main embankment is completed "a
ne work OF clearing the land commences. tbe 'PI
rees are felled and rolled into long rows. MINGLED -
Ith the Drushwood and rushes. This being ,
one, the Enclosure is subdiyided into fields OF 4
size by smaller embanknents and -
ltches, each of which has a separate communi- v
alton with the river by means Of a strong trunk
.oVldeo with twog gates, by which the passage
""'eF III either direction may be permitted or "a
As soon as the log heaps are sufficient
ury' they are SET hre TO, and as much AS possi- He.
e consumed. Then the negroes 20 all over the and
CLOSED ground, .chopping'' and turning over It
e surface as we'll as they can with rude heavy the
'es the cypress stumps are much too strong and OreH
imerous 10 admit the Use of any of the more y
ual instruments of tillage. In the surino If Is vim,
wn with rice. tbo'
As the soil dries, and the vegetable matter in IL incl
cays under the Influence of air and heat, il Nth
IN bulk, and the surface becoming 100
IL IS less completely drained, and many sOu
nor bitches have To be dug, until. when in . after
' years the ground has become complct and lie,
Ole, each field IL divided into II number of and
OF perhaps II quarter of an acre .Spe
~ Inc new rice plantation does not offer q aors.
y pleasing landscape to the eve, the ground Is Or
ng closely studded with stumps and .ncum- Ld
ed with half charred logs let US leave il and TO Tn
an groui
OLD FAMILY RICE PLANTATION. cieir
n as a gentleman whom you have met in sum- Harm
r, ut Saratoga or Biden-Yiden, will drive Won
to, If you have the good fortune 10 fall in Gu,
n him again, IN Charleston or Savannah. dur-
the winter. IL WAS his great-grandElther G
t had the work done, that We have thus far
mined. G
lou are drawn rapidly by a fine pair of horses
: deep lee and trying sandy road; through the II
ST OIL u dense pine forest, until You reach u -.
pie gateway and lodge the latter occupied by polar
lppied negro, unfit for feld-work, who opens E@coal
gate Tor you You enter and are ut the end "s"'
'our friend s plantation il IL vet, however. 262-
Fly three miles 10 the river ON which the ric.
: are situated, about two-thirds of the 1000
> when u contains being sandy upland, COW r.
mainly with pine wood. Soon after rassinc -
gate, there Is Il clearing OF "A quarter Of an 6
, peach . "a %n and fl f. a , r,nali G garden IN and nd a a dozen or d %GsFt
IN one OF the cabins, the other dwellings are 2-s-a
coupled The d" suInmer-hOuse' our friend "
IT. Ills overseers family reside here in sum-
ana ne mas a room that he can occupy him 5
In case he should have to spend a night on For 8
during the heat Of summer: for -
IL IsaIinost certain death for a white man who
not of ff the P Pise tj hnd brought ta light up subject to the w
" summer-house" IL so far removed from vaihae
J, ana there Is SO much pine wood To inter- notice.
the malaria, that it is quite safe for rhe over -.o
VINO spends the day experimenting the labor
night: The negroes, although they h y are conn m re.
ID malarlI-proOf, are less healthy than ON
otton plantations; the mortality among the
especially, Is greater. They formerly
oollged to spend the night in close proximity
e rice fields, but recently new cabins for 80
nave been built back 4 little distance in the
;, and "a marked Improvement in their o.n.-
saIth has been found to result Fl from tnl't this sSr re- srts 6.
i Following the crooked road through the
a mile or two further, We 1t length drive -
their settlement. Us il is here called : the G,
are IN two rows some sixty yards apart, 80
N N ~ --A.a nv II