The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1877-03-10
The Castor Oil Plant.

To the Editor Of The Pacific Commercial Advertise:
HILo, February 18th, 1877.
DEAR SIR: As your esteemed paper speaks In
favour Of culivating ramie, eucalyptus and other
new plants, you seem to forget an old and most
familiar one. In this district as well as in Hama
kua and Puma castor oil trees are met everywhere
along the roads. bearing plenty Of nuts all the year
round. 1t may be that their seeds are nearly
worthless. but that luxuriant growth shows evil
IDENTIFY how well the West India bean would do even
in soil Of inferior quality. .s af.
Castor Oil being one Of the articles free Of duty
by the treaty convention. I beg to ask you whether
it can be raised here as in South America.
Yours very truly, PoLLUx.
I'VE beg TO refer our correspondent to our issue
for the 9th Of January last. where in the editorial
columns he viii ind an article on the subject Of the
castor oil plant, as one among the many neglected
resources of these islands, and the cultivation Of
which we predicted was erelong destined to figure
among our ndustries.-ED. p. c. Al
On A Sunday afternoon. a walk along Emma
street, and beyond it by the country road which
leads to Q ford in q stream winding through Pauoa
Valley, well ~repeys the stranger in Honolulu. At
least. to we thought as we sauntered leisurely along
in the direction indicated. in the afternoon Of last
Sunday Shortly before we reached the ford in
question, the tolling Of q bell farther up the valley
attracted our attention. aud. as IL obviously was
sammonfng the surrounding coDgregation TO the
afternoon service in the church Of the locality, we
decided to be one Of the prayer meeting, and accord
ingly fastened our pace. soon arriving at the little
church. 1t was a very unpretending edihce, fur
nished inside with q double row of open pews Of
plain wood work. and at the upper end q desk Of
the mesimple workmanship. When we entered,
the church choir was entoning a hymn in the Ha-
wsiian language, and, as we listened for the first
time to this choral song in q tongue still quite un-
known to us, we were struck by the melodious
sweetness of the feminine voices and the sonorous
effect Of those Of the male choristers. Some old
men spoke successfully in very expressive style
in their native language; we distinguished the Oft
recurring word .~Akua-God-in their discourses.
The native teacher or preacher also delivered a
long discourse, the first Of the kind we ever heard,
and we could not help being moved by the earnest
ness and pathos of his language although we did
not understand what he said. Our conclusion was,
that the Hawaiian language possesses no mean capa-
bility for oratOrical display. Before the services
terminated a goodly little congregation had gath
cred under the roof Of the valley church Of Pauoa.
We could not help contrasting in our own spirit the
prompous Christianity Of the old world, with the
simple Servour of these Neophytes. We left the
little native church Of the valley Of Pauoa, edited
and Inundated, considering how far more advanced
in the path of the gospel these Hawaiian converts
really are than many Of the congregations of our
grandest old world churches. After quitting the
sacred edi6ce several men shook our hand very
friendlily, and the women greeted Us with q pleasant
Aloha; one Of the men spoke English, and asked Us
to come and rest 4 while in bis house, which we
accordingly did. We we're introduced TO his
whom we noticed at church, who spoke
English very well, and wrote down in our pocket
book, the name Of the locality in q very clear hand,
as well as her own name; we also met a fne little
boy, the grandson Of mine host. After taking q
kindly leave Of these new Hawaiian acquaintance,
We strOllsd along by q winding by-road to the grand
Avenue leading from the city to the Pail, and had
occasion to admire the elegant suburban residences
emboWered in luxuriant gardens and pleasure
grounds, of the Honolulu aristocraey, which Aanked
our route homewards. Upon our arrival at our
own abode, we felt that we had spent q very ~edifying,
and at the same time for us a very novel aud enter
tanning Sabbath afternoon, with the native Hawai-
ian congregation Of the quiet valley Of Pauos. the
memory of which shall not soon be obliterated.
E. D.
Io~noN Fob e-Germanv denies the cezsion