The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-08-27


inland into the bush, following an
ancient Hawaiian trail which has
6ne IA macadam, hut over which the
team roller canuot have passed since
Kamehampha the First was pulling
iufant. Once we'll into the bush the
line Of the new road IS reached, ard
this we followed for a number Of
miles. The heavy forest indicates a
fine soil, and openings here and there
display the traces of ancient cultlva-
ton. Nothing can be imagined more
superb than the beauty of these
clearings which are now possessed
by ferns, ginger and tea. In their
silent, MINDLESS depths, into which
the rain and sunshine pour alter
nately, one feels that the processes
Of growth are almost visible, and one
sees nature weaving and unweaving
in alienation of death and life,
growth and decay, the garment of
the Time Spirit Nothing is here
now of the animation which must
have marked the place in times past
when Puma had a great population,
and the coast was fed by the pro
ducts of these fertile clearings in the
mountains. Driving on through the
bush, Malsma is reached-as fair
hill side as ever eye looked on-com-
manding a superb view of the melan-
choly ashen-grey and black expanse
of the ohia forest, the coast
line and the sea. Here Hawai-
ians entertained us most kindly,
after which we rode up the
hill and came with startling sudden
ness upon three pit craters, the CEN
trail one of which, Puulena, is a natG
raj wonder and a miracle of rich
vegetation. 1t is very small, fan
shaped, and can hardly be less than
600 feet deep. Too steep to be des-
cended, one is content to survey from
the brim its fern-clad sides and the
tall ohias growing on the bottom.
The survey of the new road runs
directly past this crater. Some dis
lance further we left the line and
turned toward the coast, Mr.. Loeben-
STEMS intimate knowledge Of every
foot of the country enabling him to
follow short cut of his own. After
crossing and re crossing a famous
mawae, or volcanic crack, which
closes up entirely and then as sud
denly opens to almost bottomless
depths, we emerged on the coast
road and soon found ourselves at
Rycroft's. Here warm welcome, a
nice bath, hot dinner and comfort
able beds awaited us both, but Mr..
Loebenstein's zeal in the Govern
ment service would not permit him
to wait, and he pushed on several
miles further. The hospitality of Mr.
and Mrs. Rycroft is of the good, old
fashioned sort, and puts the guest
thoroughly at his ease. Early in the
dawn we drove afield on visit to
the coffee plantation, which was
reached over stretch of road as fine
as any in the Kingdom. This is
probably the only carriage road IN
Puma, except that to the Volcano
Mr.. Rycroft has over thirty acres
in coffee, which is all doing
finely. None of the trees are more
than seventeen months old, but some
have already attained height OF
about four feet, and number have
berries on them. The trees are SET
out on a gently sloping hillside
which is thoroughly cleared. They
are planted in the open, Mr.. Rycroft
not being a believer in the shade
theory. There is some blight, which
is promptly suppressed as soon as il
appears, and some of the trees were
being sprayed at the time of oul
visit. The formula for this spraying
has already been published in the
ADVERTISER and Planters Monthly
It is cheap and eficacious. Mr.. Ry
croft also has 100 young cocos
plants waiting to De set out, beside:
large numbers of lines, oranges, cit
rons, ETC., and thousands upon thous
ands of young coffee trees in hi:
nursery, all planted in the open.
The return makai was effected OF
the smooth road at two-forty gait
Arrived, Mr.. Rycroft's large saw mil
was inspected; erected under his owl
personal supervision by ordinary day
labor. The business of making rail
road ties is dull just now, but it viii
probably pick up again. A fine boat
30 by Z feet 6 inches beam, built by
Mr.. Rycroft and Mr.. Lynch was also
inspected, after which we were very
ready for a hot breakfast and deli
cious, smoking cup of Puma coffee.
This spot, situated directly on the
shore, was so delightful, and thu
trade wind sweeping in from the set
was SO cool, that one was almos
ready to believe Mr.. Rycroft's asser
ton that the people never die il
Puma, but merely dry up and blow
away
Three or four miles beyond Ry
croft's the road passes Lyman's anG
here, after flying visit to the famou!
warm spring and Green Lake, WI
rested and were most Hospitality
pressed to stay to lunch. a Ions
ride was before US, so that adieus
were speedily said. Leaving the
coast trail we turned mauka through
a country of green fields, hala trees
rounded hills and deep craters lMr
Loebenstein has more than forty o.
these crater plotted in on his still
incompleted survey and found oul
way again by very circuitous route
to the line of the new road. W.
crossed and skfrted the flow of 1S4(
which consists of very soft anc
scoriaceous pahoehoe mixed in spot:
with "a, and from this point oul
track was crossed and re- crossed by