The evening times., 1899-11-16
Professor Dali Describes the
Islands as He Saw Them.
The Beauties of verdure Sustained
by Artificial Irrfgation-The Deca-
SchOOls-The Thrift of the Chinese
Farmers-The Fruits Very Poor.

Prof. w. H. Dali, paleontologist in the
United States Geological Survey and hon
orary curator of shells in the Smithsonian
Institution, has returned from Honolulu.
Prof. Dali spent several months in the ISL
ands, and collected fund Of Information
concerning them.
1.-The outer roadstead," said Prof. Dali.
in an interview this morning. leads by a
narrow channel, carefully buoyed. to the
small but excellent harbor of Honolulu.
AS one looks landward before entering, a
mass of arboreal vegetation largely con-
ceals the town, which stretches for ten or
twelve miles along the shore. To the east
the crater Of Diamond Head rises to
height Of 700 feet, and, seen in profile,
from some points of view, singularly re-
sembles a couchant lion. Behind the mid
die Of the town rises a more circular era
ter known as the Punchbowl.
'For some weeks. continued Prof. Dali,
the thermometer has fluctuated between
Is degrees at midnight and S5 degrees at
noon, and these conditions l am told, are
typical. The direct rays Of the sun are
very hot. In the shade one can work
quietly without noticeable perspiration.
and no discomfort. The climate is one in
which white men can do manual labor with
about the same discomfort as in the val
ley Of California or in eastern Oregon-in
neither place is the temptation to muscular
energy great.
Honolulu is a town, where, outside the
business quarter, the houses stand in their
own garden, shaded by magnificent trees
and adorned by a multitude OF Towering or
decorative shrubs. Few of these, however.
are native, and only through considerable
effort were many Of the useful and orna-
mental trees and shrubs cultivated in Homo
lulu
Prof. Dali stated that the beauty of the
trees, shrubs, and towering plants depends
upon irrigation. "A six-months' drought, :"
he said, would wreck almost the whole Of
il. The water is derived from artesian
wells streams, or upland reservoirs. all Of
which depend on the mountain rainfall.
The dryness of the earth is surprising.
There seems TO be hardly any capillary cir
culation of moisture. and | am told plants
will wilt and die within two feet of a
trench full of water. The irrigation must
be applied directly to the ground about the
roots"
Concerning the fruit of Honolulu. Prof.
Dali said: There is nothing in the trop-
les to take the place of the luscious berries
Of the north, or the peaches, pears, and ap-
pies of temperate climes.
Owing TO the ignorance of the cultiva
tors, the fruit here. besides being extreme
ly dear, is very poor. The only fruit found
in the markets that / thought better than
that obtainable in the States is the pine
apple. The oranges are very poor and
acid. the cocoanuts small. and the grape
fruit wretched compared with the same
fruits from California or the West Indies.
only the ignorance or indifference of the
growers prevents their having as good fruit
as anybody. The Chinese are the chief
farrAers. and with vegetables and cereals
al dish Of Hawaii, is now nearly all made
by Cinnamon who grow the taro from which
it is made. The market gardeners are all
Chinese, and their success with rice is SO
good that they can afford to pay $40 year
rent per acre for well situated rice lands.
These they make produce two or more
crops year.
The population of Honolulu said
Prof. DALI lis truly cosmopolitan. Chi
nese, Japanese, Hawaiians, Portuguese, and
other nations contribute to it II WAS
with a feeling of unwonted satisfaction
that have watched the passers-by on the
crowded street The brown people move
about with cheerful self-conidence
whatever their race. accosting each other
and the whites with an easy bearing in
dicative of reciprocal respect And hith-
erto there has been no color line here
Conduct. not complexion, has governed
the standing of individuals. The reluct-
ance with which the native Hawaiian has
accepted annexation is undoubtedly due
chiefly to his fear that the brutal race
prejudices which have disgraced the United
States SO often before the world, may find
a lodgment here"
DIR. Dali said that in the first days OF
civilized intercourse, there were practi-
cally two castles among the Hawaiians but
that noble blood no longer exists there in
purity.
physically" said DR.. Dali, the race
is decadent, and will perish from the
alities.
"As town, Honolulu is peculiar In its
charities. schools, institutions,
and churches, in which, among towns of
equal population. it would be hard to find
its equal. 1t has never forgotten its mis-
sionary origin and, besides its local mis-
sions to the Chinese and japanese, main
tains missions of its own in the Orient
The houses are, for the most part, suited
TO the climate, without cellars or Chin
neys, but with generous verandas. 1t is
not a place where the housewife will take
much comfort. The hotels and restaurants
are very inferior. and the sojourner must
put up with poor food and service at prices,
too, that seem unnecessarily high.