The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-05-15

Carefully nursed till able TO survive,
| they were distributed TO the various
members of the Royal Hawaiian Agri-
| cultural Society and soon became great
ornaments to our city and ;he islands
generally. These tropical trees grow
ing in such thrift, with the addition
of flowers and ferns beneath them,
convey the idea 10 those newly come
from temperate CLINE the impression
OF a conservatory broken loose"
The samang or monkey-pod (Pithe-
colobium Samaug) is tree OF great
vitality, and affords tough timber
for certain limited uses. It's shade Ia
dense and grateful, but its noxious
influence over all grass and shrubs
under its shade or within reach OF its
thirsty roots make 10 undesirable, ex-
cept with a clear acre of land about
each one. Under such circumstances,
however, IL is magnificent, rlvalling
the elms of temperate climates. This
tree must have been brought here be-
fore 1850; the first one I'm Honolulu Is
remembered to stand in Or. Woods
yard, now the premises of DIR. Nc
Grew.
The Eucalyptus OF course came from
Australia. Its wood is tough, but
twists when made up into timber, and
is almost incapable OF being split for
firewood. AS a febrifuge, its leaves
are valuable, but IL is now believed TO
have been much Overrated as a pro-
phylactic for malaria.
The ironwood from the South Seas
is a much more valuable importa-
tion, growing readily rs IL does In
the clear coral sand. IL should
be more freely planted on our sandy
wastes. This review shows that
nearly all of our trees that appear
to be thoroughly acclimated here are
foreigners. A glance in any direction
over our city will prove the assertion
that nearly all of our plants are exot-
les. Only here and there the natives
are seen, TO wit, the bread fruit, cocoa-
nut, kamane or kukui, only kept
growing when nutured with careful
attention. These are typical of the
fading race of aboriginal inhabitants.
The bulk of our vegetation is inn
ported. Within the recollection OF the
writer and OF others In this society,
the only flowers we had in Honolulu
were the Damascus rose, that most
sweetly scented of all roses, from
which the ottar is made. This was
our only one until the red monthly
or Agrippina, and the little button
hole miniature came. We then had,
also, the pink periwinkle or everlast-
ing, and white spider lily. Later
came the multifiora rose, now grow
ing TO perfection about the Volcano
House. Then came the Montgomery
rose, and later the Lamarque, cloth OF
gold and finally the multitude OF ever
blooming, choice and delicate roses
from the Dingee, COnard Company,
which are in such profusion on every
hand. Early there was brought here
a double red hibiscus, then called the
Celestial rose" It Is now rare, hav-
ing been superseded by the single red
hibiscus, favorlte hedge plant. We
had before 1S45, a common 'four
O'clock" q red canu or Indian shot
and what we called primrose (now
gomez, that opened with snap at sun
down. A larkspur we also had in
childhood, with whose flowers little
coronet, the size OF Kalakaua dollar,
would be made by hooking the calyx
of one blossom into the other-a fay
orite ornament for the albums OF
affection of those days.
The leis of forty years ago were
from the MALE and favorite iltms, as
now, and also the ends Of the pan
danus fruit and the red globes OF the
love apple or kikania, strung together.
Why are the natives so fond OF the
lima? 1t is celebrated in their poetry,
though odorless and very perishable.
y
about it, for / see it worn as fetch
by accused persons coming into court
to be tried for ohenses. But the Ha-
walian will make lei Of anything.
If he cannot get MALE or ferns or
roses, he will string together the eyes
of pineapple, seaweed, shells or
feathers, and however dilapidated his
clothing and hat may be, lei makes
him happy. A cowboy with spurs as
large as dinner plate, knife and lassO
at hand, will walk into court on tiptoe
with garlands of roses and plumerias
around his neck, and see nothing in
copgruous in his decorations.
Cattle were introduced into the ISL
and Of Hawaii by Vancouver in 1893 4.
They were tabooed by Kamehameha
for ten years. They became so numer-
Gus in that time that party OF Cali
fornians employed by the king for the
purpose, killed some 0,000 of them in
q few years for their hides and tallow.f
Cattle were introduced to all the ISL I
ands, but have not run wild 10 any
great extent except on Haleakala,
Maui, and on Waialeale, Kauai.
What has been the effect of these
herds of cattle on our mountain vege.
tation? Undoubtedly grasses, ferns,
vines and young trees are destroyed
and thus the ground is made bare and
the sponge OF moss and leaves which
retains the moisture and Helps further
growths is exposed to the sun and de-
stroyed. A small valley on Kauai from
which cattle were kept for few years
grew up with q jungle as dense as to
be almost impenetrable. A large
tract of forest land above Kukuihaele
from which all stock had been taken
and the lend fenced, has grown up
with ferns and Hilo grass 20 as to be
While admitting that cattle keep
young trees and shrubs down, they
certainly can have no effect upon the
large groves Of gigantic ohia and
koa. Yet we find hundreds of acres
of dead forest on the mountain
sides and plateaus of Hawaii. Has
the denuding by cattle OF the roots Of
these trees, removing the under
growth and exposing the soil to the
sun been sufficient to kill them? This