one with the requisite skill and capital, besides leaving a large amount of money in the country, now paid out for foreign labor and capital, and conferring a benefit indirectly to the pockets and corns of all Hawaiians who wear shoe-leather.

You will permit me to say that I had not given the subject a thought until since listening to the report of our worthy president when it occurred to me that as no mention was made of the subject last year, it might also be forgotten or overlooked this year, and deeming it worthy the attention of our society, as well as one which is recognized and cared for by similar institutions in other countries, I have very hastily thrown together these remarks, hoping that such steps may be taken as will ensure next year, an amount of Hawaiian leather in our market sufficient at least for the manufacture of a pair of new boots for the exhibition. J H. WOOD.

AN INQUIRY

Into the importance and necessity of an increased attention to Horticulture.

The subject referred to your committee, viz. Horticulture, is one so familiar to all who have been in any degree interested in the products of the soil, that its very familiarity renders it somewhat difficult to present it in such a light that any new motives may be derived to incite the members of this body to an increased attention to it.

Without further preamble, we will ask: "What are some of the motives which should urge the members of our society to pay more especial attention to Horticulture, as embracing the culture of every description of fruit trees and garden esculents?"

would present the following:

1st. The enjoyment it affords.

2d. The remuneration it would afford.

3d. Individual as well as national reputation.

Among these we

These points may not embrace all the motives which should prompt the members of this society to greater exertion in this department, but

they cover a ground so broad that, if duly weighed, little doubt ought to rest with any that it is not only their duty as citizens, but one of the highest sources of pleasure allotted to men, to engage ardently in Horticulture.

It matters little what may be his particular occupation-the cultivation of his garden affords to the artizan as great a pleasure as to the man of wealth. As he returns from his daily labors, and enters the gate to his own homestead, he spies some new bud or flower, or fruit on the plant or tree which he has watched with care to see if the species could possibly be grown in this climate, and as he daily sees the progress of the new and untried plant, it affords him constant pleasure to point out to his visitors the success of his labor and recount the particulars of his manner of dealing with the exotic. Yet there are many that meet with disappointments, in the cultivation of new and rare plants, and it is on this point that we would urge those who have had success to point out the errors to be avoided. We appeal to all those who have been engaged in Horticulture whether they have not found in it their highest source of pleasure.

But another and more important motive is the remuneration which a successful cultivation of trees affords. There are several of the staple fruits of these islands, the cultivation of which promises as great a profit and wealth as any business which can be engaged in. To say nothing of the comfort of having an abundance of fruit in every family, or of the improved health which is guaranteed by its use, it should be our endeavor as members of this society to promote the culture of fruit as a source of profit. The day is not distant when the demand for our oranges and lemons, will far exceed our ability to supply it. Yet there are thousands of acres lying waste throughout this group, capable of producing as fine oranges as were ever grown in the Azores or in Italy. Especially is this true of vast tracts on the southwestern side of Hawaii, which nature seems to have fitted for a vast garden, soon to be cultivated to supply the wants of the rapidly increasing population on the northwest coast. The soil of these islands is of the same nature as that of the Azores and of Italy, which produce the finest of oranges The island of San Miguel, one of the Azores, supplies London with from 15,000,000 to 20,000,000 of oranges annually. And so abundant is the produce that some of the trees yield from twenty to twenty-five

thousand oranges annually. The same may be done here, and the day is not distant when it will be done. These remarks will also apply to pine-apples, figs, raisins, and a few other fruits, the demand for all which will increase faster than our ability to supply them. It will not be long before the communication to the north-west coast is made so rapid that there will be no more risk in shipping oranges and pine-apples to that market than there now is in shipping the same products from Koloa to Honolulu.

Closely allied to this and forming another motive to perseverance, is our national reputation. We are beginning our career, and our reputation remains to be established. How much advantage our sister island, Tahiti, has over us in this respect. Already do her rich fruits draw a fleet of vessels for that trade which advantage in locality will award to this group, if we only awaken to our true interests. It is said that so great is the trade in oranges between the Azores and London, that seventy-five small vessels may be seen at once, during the harvest season, in the harbor of San Miguel. The day may not be far distant when a similar scene may be noticed in the bay of Kealakeakua on Hawaii.

The subject of Horticulture is one of such importance to us as individuals and as a people, that your committee feel that it has not received in this hasty report that attention and inquiry which it demands. They would therefore request that a committee be appointed to act during the coming year, and collect information and statistics showing the state and progress of Horticulture throughout the group. Such a document would be valuable in showing the annual progress at future periods.

All which is respectfully submitted.

15

HENRY M. WHITNEY, Chairman.

COMMUNICATION OF R. C. WYLLIE, ESQ.

To all who are interested in the prosperity of this kingdom, it is of importance to consider what the islands are capable of. They contain, as you all know, an area of 6,050 miles with a population, perhaps, not exceeding, at this moment, 80,000 souls. It is believed that taking the whole of Europe, the population averages 70 to the square mile. At this rate the Hawaiian islands should support a population of 423,500 souls.

But, if we take the island of Barbados, which comprises a surface of only about 106,470 square acres of land, abounding in mountains and precipitous ridges, divided by deep ravines or gullies, and yet by the last census of 3d June, 1844, had a population in its twelve parishes, of 122,198 souls, the Hawaiian islands with their 3,897,600 square acres, ought to be able to support a population of 4,473,362 souls.

Let us see to what extent sugar plantations have been carried in that small triangle of land, (Barbados,) measuring only 21 miles by 15, while Oahu, alone, measures 46 by 25, and has a surface of about 339,200 square acres. The following table of Barbados will surprise most of you:

Owing to the density of the population, Barbados is the only island of the West Indies which has not suffered by the emancipation of the slaves. In 1844, the export of sugar alone was about 460,000 cwt. At the same rate of sugar production, the 3,897,600 acres, in the Ha

waiian islands, ought to export 16,839,447 cwt., which at only 2 cents per pound would amount to $37,720,361 annually.

But it may be said that this comparison is unfair, as it assumes that the whole of the Hawaiian soil is fit for cane cultivation. It assumes no such thing, but merely that relatively to the whole, there is not more of the Hawaiian soil unfit for cane cultivation, than there is of the soil of Barbados. The table before given, shows that that island devotes part of its soil to the pasturage for 4813 horses, mules, &c. ; it affords pasture, besides, for numerous cattle, and exports rum, molasses, arrow-root, aloes, cotton, ginger, cocoa-nuts, log-wood, hides, tamarinds, cocoa and coffee.

Where so small an island exports so much, it is not surprising that it should have to import largely of the necessaries of life for the sustenance of its inhabitants. These islands would probably be under the same necessity, if the population should increase to 4,473,362, which I hold to be just as possible, as that the population of Barbados from the part of a ship's crew landed in 1605, should have increased to 122,198 souls on the 3d June, 1814. Great Britain is the richest country on earth, although it has to import largely of the necessaries of life; Barbados is, comparatively, the richest of the West Indian islands, although it is in the same condition; and the Hawaiian islands might be teeming with wealth, although, in exchange for their sugar, coffee, tobacco, &c., they should draw much of their supplies of grain, &c., from Oregon and California. According to my ideas of political economy, it is just as certainly the shortest and easiest way for a nation to become rich, to confine itself to what it can make of the best quality, and at the cheapest price, as it is for an individual to follow the same maxim, buying what he does not make, from his neighbor, who can make it better and cheaper than himself. Upon this principle every nation will support not alone the population for which it can raise food, but that and the farther population for which it can buy food.

From this brief statistical statement, the conclusions which I draw, are the following:

1. That the hopes of the wealth, power and glory of this kingdom depend exclusively upon its agriculture.

2. That the Hawaiian islands afford a wide field for capital and labor in the cultivation of the soil.