The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1886-04-06
Flowers of Hawaii.

Mrs. Sinclair has struck an entirely new vein in
this work. Of books upon the islands we have had
no end. Hardly person comes to our shores that
does not rush into print to say something about
us. Our mountnins our volcano, our valleys, our
people have all been described over and over again,
but our flowers, the truly indigenous FLOWERS OF
HAwAu have never found anyone to do them honor,
or to show their beauties to the outside world.
Painters have come TO us and have caught here
and there beautiful clusters which they have trans
ferred TO canvass, but i'll many cases the pictures
have been of imported flowers, the gorgeous bios
SONS of other tropic climes Mrs. Sinclair has
devoted herself to those peculiarly Hawaiian.
Some of those which she depicts are only weeds.
but treated as she done them, she lends charm to
the weed and no one, who sees her book can leave
it without desire to seek out for him OF herself
somO of the beauties she has transferred to he
paper. .H..H-.. raH
There are in all forty-four plates, each accompa-
MED by description of the plant, giving its hab-
itat its manner of growth. the method by which
1t can be propagated and the uses to which it can
be put. When not peculiar to the islands, the
tropical countries where 1t is to be found are men
toned and the native names given to 1t by other
islanders are mention.
Mrs Sinclair dedicatcs her work in the following
words: TO the Hawaiian Chiefs and people who
have been my most appreciative friends and most
lenient critics"
The introduction is graceful as becomes such
graceful work, but it also contains reflections
which are eminenuy pertinent and show that
"forest-fiTes, animals aud agriculture, have so
changed the islands within the last fifty or sixty
years, that one can now travel for miles, in some
districts, without finding single indigenous plant
the ground being wholly taken possession of by
weeds, shrubs and grasses, imported from various
countries" Mrs Sinclair also points out the diff
ficulty of obtaining satisfactory representation
of our tropical flowers, owing TO their extremely
fragile nature and also to the heat of climate,
which 50 soon withers cut flowers.
Even glance through the pages will show any
one how successful Mrs. Sinclair has been in her
aim, and how thoroughly well Messrs. Leighton d
Co. have performed their task in reproducing what
Mrs. Sinclair had painted. Among the most strik-
ing representations of our native flowers those
of the white Hibiscus (HaBio keokeo-HibiScits
dBiOiidaHs,) plant which many think is imported
but whose blossoms were gathered wild eighteen
years ago, at the head OF Nuuanu valley, by the
present writer, and which is really an Indigenous
plant. The Hou is also admirably represented and
SO are the various varieties of cOnvolyulus which
are SO well known on these islands. They are
flowers which die IN an hour after they have been
picked. Mrs. Sinclair has shown great skill in
treating these blossoms, it must have been hard
task to have got accurate representations of them
The book Is one calculated to do credit to any
country, and Hawaii ought to be specially proud
that one of her daughters has spent her time SO
well and TO such good purpose.