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OCEANICA. THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.

(From the 'Sandwich Islands,' by Manley Hopkins.)

e'-qui-poise, equality of weight or force
con-stel-la'-tion, a cluster of fixed stars
di-ag'-o-nal (n.), a line from angle to
angle of a parallelogram
par-al-lel'-o-gram, a four-sided figure,
whose opposite sides are parallel and
equal
ru-di-men'-tar-y, relating to first prin-
ciples, or the beginning of anything
a-bra'-sion, the act of rubbing off
o-a'-sis, a fertile spot in a desert

sub-merge', to put or plunge under water

hy-dro-graph'-i-cal-ly, with regard to
the description of water

ra'-di-us, the line drawn from the centre
to the circumference of a circle
pro-tract'-ed, lengthened, drawn out
ig'-ne-ous, consisting of fire

scor'-i-a, plu. scor-i-æ, (Lat.), dross;
the refuse of metal which has passed
through fire

ONE of the latest results of geographical research may be thus stated: - All the continents stretch downwards from the northern pole of our planet, and terminate in points; as if its waters, receding to the south, had left bare at the lower extremities of the land the central ridges only. In the southern hemisphere, islands form a partial equipoise to these continental masses of land, and declare themselves, by several indications, to be peaks of land, once elevated but afterwards submerged by the increased depth of ocean. Islands elevated by volcanic action constitute exceptions to this general formula.

Islands, comparatively few in number, above the tropic of Cancer, stud the southern waters of the world in countless abundance. Group after group spreads onwards like the constellations of the firmament. In size, they vary from the vast mass of Australia, and of Borneo, with its fifty millions of inhabitants,* to a little pulos and low lagoon-islands, rising but a few feet above the sea-level.

The whole of this tropical and southern realm of waters has been named Oceanica, and has been divided hydrographically, for convenience of reference, into five districts—a 8-as the stars have been mapped out into imaginary figures with corresponding names. The divisions of the Ocean World are the following: To the eastward, POLYNESIA; comprising the Sandwich, Marquesas, Society, Harvey, Friendly, New Zealand, and Samoan groups. To the south, MELANESIA—inhabited by black races; it includes the Figi (or Feejee), New Hebrides and Solomon Archipelagoes, and New Guinea. Still more south, AUSTRALASIA comprehending the great land of Australia, and its dependencies. Westward, MALAISIA - embracing the East India Islands, and inhabited principally by the Malay races.

* Its population is so reported by the Bishop of Labuan.

These islands, six thousand in number, contain the largest in the world, with the exception of Australia. Lastly, situated somewhat centrally with respect to the other groups, a region of small isles and islets, fitly named MICRONESIA.

It is proposed in the following pages to give an account of the most northerly cluster of the Polynesian Archipelago, viz. the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands. And if on close inspection we find reason to remove the place of the islands of the Blest still onward with the retreating horizon, and discover that, amidst natural charms and delicious climate, vice and death and sorrow hold their place, we only confirm the poet's discovery that

Things which to the world belong,

So false doth sad experience find,
She learns betimes among the throng,
To bound the kingdom to the mind.

But we shall be made acquainted with a very interesting people, evincing an extraordinary aptitude for European civilisation, and possessing a government which, youthful as it is, will bear comparison with those of the best-ruled states in Europe.' These islands have, moreover, a special interest to our countrymen at the present moment, inasmuch as, at the invitation of their sovereign, the English Episcopal Church is about to be planted for the first time on their shores;* not merely, it is hoped, to enlighten that immediate spot, but to shed its light across the waters to other island homes.

The importance of the Sandwich Islands, politically and commercially, arises from their particularly central situation. They lie in a diagonal position from south-east to north-west, in a parallelogram rather exceeding one formed by the 19th and 22nd degrees of North latitude, and the 155th and 160th meridians of West longitude; and it will be seen, by reference to a map, that the group is nearly equidistant from the coasts of America and Japan; and that a radius from its centre would touch in succession the shores of Central America, the northwest States, the Russian territory, the Aleutian Archipelago, Japan, the Philippine Islands, Torres' Straits, New Zealand, and the Feejee Islands. And whilst Australia is just beyond the ambit, California and Vancouver's Island are within a shorter distance of the Hawaiian Islands.

Thus they form an oasis in the ocean desert-a stepping-stone between two worlds; and they afford a place of refreshment of the utmost value for merchantmen and the large fleet of whalers in the northern Pacific. Commerce is establishing for itself a new road from east to west, and from west to east, across the

*This was effected.

ocean; and we still wait in expectation to see an opening forced through the Isthmus of Panama, by which ships may sail from sea to sea, carrying on the interchange of human labour and natural production, without the necessity of a protracted voyage round the South American Continent, and consequent exposure in the inclement and dangerous latitudes of Cape Horn. Should the Darien Ship Canal be constructed, the Hawaiian Islands will assume a far greater importance than they have yet had, for they lie in the very path which navigation would then take. 'Even now,' says a recent visitor, 'the islands, on account of their position and the extent of cultivable land they contain, enjoy advantages_above any other of the numerous groups which lie scattered over the Pacific Ocean.'

The origin of the islands is clearly volcanic. This tremendous agency, by which they were elevated from the depths of the sea, and which has tossed up mountain peaks in Hawaii 14,000 feet above the water-level, appears to have taken a direction from south-east to north-west; the first exertion of force having been greatest, and diminishing in intensity as it proceeded. Thus Hawaii, the most southerly island, has an area of 4,000 out of 6,000 square miles, the whole superficial contents of the group; and it possesses also the highest elevation; the two mountains Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa being of nearly equal altitude, viz. 14,000 feet. On the side of the latter mountain is situated the great volcanic crater Kilauea. Next in position to Hawaii, is the island of Maui, with an area of 620 miles, and having in its neighbourhood the smaller island of Lanai and Kahoolawe. To the north-west of Maui lies Molokai, a long narrow island extending east and west, formed by a mountain ridge, which runs its whole length. Next comes Oahu, with an area of 530 miles. Nearly two degrees beyond Oahu is situated Kauai, 500 miles in extent. Last in order of the greater islands is Niihau; and farther westward Kaula rises, which, with one or two islets and uninhabited rocks, shows itself the expiring effort of Plutonic energy.

The observation of Mr. Hill led him to an opposite conclusion with regard to the direction and order in which the islands were projected. He is of opinion that Niihau was the first thrown up, and that the volcanic action advanced towards the south-east, and increased in energy till it culminated in Hawaii, the last and largest link of the chain. As the ground of this opinion, he gives the more or less advanced state of the soil, the progress of vegetation, and the cessation or diminution of eruption and earthquakes. Upon all these data he decided Kaui to possess the greatest antiquity, and Hawaii the least. He feels his opinion fortified by the volcanic activity existing

in Hawaii, and by the fact that in 1837 an extraordinary retreat of the sea took place from the shores of that island, followed by a returning wave, indicating great disturbance, and giving rise to the impression that another island was about to rise to the south-east of Hawaii. The phenomena do not appear quite conclusive in establishing the relative dates of the islands. The oldest lava in Hawaii may be, and probably is, overlaid by newer deposits, and thus concealed; and the present volcanic activity may only show that the original seat of energy remains unchanged; and that the action, greatest at Hawaii, ex panded itself in a north-west direction, its last result being the rudimentary island of Niihau, and the rock called Bird Island.

The volcanic, though it is the primary, is not the sole origin of the group. From the flanks of the submerged mountains the coral insect builds upwards its wonderful structure, till it emerges from the waves as a reef, more or less distant from the shore. The antiquity of the islands is shown by their coralline formations, which could only have attained their present elevation by the incessant labours of an infinitude of insects, acting through vast periods of time. In some places there is a double reef; the outer line indicating, perhaps, the slow upheaving of the base of the mountains from the sea-bottom subsequently to its first projection, until it approached sufficiently near the surface of the water to fulfil the conditions necessary to insect existence. The coral reefs of the Hawaiian Islands are, however, of much smaller extent than those of more southern groups, and only appear on some of the coasts.

As might be supposed from the igneous origin of the islands, no metals are found on them. Scoriæ, decomposed lava, with sand, &c., are the materials of the soil; but ledges of compact limestone are found at considerable elevations above the sea; portions of the bottom of the ocean, probably forced upwards by the great submarine eruptions which have produced the lofty craters which abound. There is also found on the shore a species of white stone, which, from the description received of it, would seem to be analogous to the English 'clunch,' used in the restoration of Ely Cathedral; which, from the ease with which it is worked, is very valuable for carved tracery. This stone, found in the districts of Ewa and Waianae, island of Oahu, is soft whilst lying in the water or under the sand, and easily cut, but hardens by exposure to the sun. For building purposes there are basalt, compact lava, coral rock, and sandstone.

The regions of fertility lie at the bases of the mountains and in the valleys, where abrasion and disintegration have proceeded for untold years, and rich deposits of vegetable mould have accumulated. Such a valley runs up from the capital, Honolulu, among the hills; and from the beautiful views it

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affords-its grassy slopes, its bridged rivulets, its villas, and especially its air, which becomes more invigorating as the road winds upward, the Nuuanu Valley is one of the favourite rides of the residents of Honolulu.

The soil is generally thin and poor, but this is not universally the case; and it affords fine pasturage. On the 'lands,' or grazing farms, are raised large herds, which supply meat for the whalers and merchant-shipping, and thus find a ready. market. Vast numbers of horses also subsist on the islands, mostly of an inferior kind; and it would be an advantage to the kingdom if four-fifths of them were destroyed. They unnecessarily consume the grass, and break the fences; but horseriding is a passion with the natives of both sexes.

Some of the islands are well supplied with rivers and streams, particularly Hawaii and Kauai. Along the shore of Hilo, a district of that island, sixty permanent streams of various sizes fall into the sea; whilst their numerous branches and feeders thread the country, and give unrivalled facilities for irrigation.

Large forests abound, very dense, and broken with chasms, ravines, and extinct craters. In making the ascent of the two great mountains in Hawaii, twelve miles of forest have to be passed through.

The great harbour of the group is Honolulu, situated on the south side of Oahu. It is formed by an indentation of the coast, protected by a broad coral reef. The channel through the reef has only twenty-two and a half feet water at its shallowest part; so that, though the harbour is commodious, vessels drawing more than twenty feet are excluded, and lie in the roadstead outside, where there is excellent anchorage, except during a Souther, or 'Kona.' For shipping of less draught, pilots are in attendance, and the vessels either run through the channel on a wind, or, more generally, are towed in. Ships go out of harbour under sail, as for nine months in the year the trade wind is blowing seaward.

MENSURATION.

To find the area of a rectangle, a square, a rhombus, or a rhomboid.

(1) Find the area of a square whose side is 27 ft.

(2) What is the area of a rectangle whose length is 8 ft. 5 in. and

breadth 4 ft. 7 in. ?

Find the side of a square whose area is 60 ft. 9 in.

What is the area of a rhomboid whose base is 75 ft. 7 in. and perpendicular height 9 ft. 8 in. ?

(5) Find the area of a rhombus whose side is 57 ft. 9 in, and perpendicular 9 ft. 5 in.

(6) Find the area of a rectangular field whose length is 6.5 chains

and breadth 4.35 chains.

(7) Express the length, breadth, and area of the field in No. 6 in yards.

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